A quick tech tip to improve student learning

By Gayle Golden

We should all take time to embrace technology when it leads to better interaction with students.

Claire Segijn

The university suggests many technologies you can work into your classes, including helping you with the transition to Canvas that will be inevitable next fall. (Psst. Canvas is mucho easier and more effective than Moodle, so you've got nothing but fun ahead of you.)

But using technology in a way that benefits students -- without overwhelming them or you -- can sometimes get tricky. Here's a quick blog post with a simple tip you can use from Assistant Professor Claire Segijn.

Segijn has figured out a way to use technology to help students do a better job remembering what she teaches them. (And that seems pretty relevant.) Using an open-source presentation tool called mentimeter.com, Segijn creates interactive polls, word clouds and banner displays to give students immediate in-class feedback on their understanding after a lecture. She can also use it to spread awareness among the class about their questions or even just their positions.

Sometimes she just breaks ice with it. On the first day, for instance, she might ask students to pull out their laptop or smart phone, go to the menti site and then input a special code she gives them for that exercise. When they put in the code,  they'll see a place they can enter their answer.

Once the class finishes answering, up pops the word cloud:

That sounds like fun, doesn't it?  But the tool can also be used to reinforce learning. (And yes, this is similar to the clicker approach. The CLA also has a tool called ChimeIn that allows similar polling in class.)  After lectures, Segijn will sometimes create polls about key points she tried to convey. She then gives asks those polls to see whether she got through to them.  If a sizable number of students do not understand a concept, she knows to reinforce it.


Segijn also wants to know what students are curious about too. So at the end of the term, she uses the tool to solicit open-ended student questions about the course and about the upcoming final exam. The questions help her address gaps she might not see otherwise and give voice to what students might not feel comfortable raising in class.

The power of the technology is evident, she said, in the feedback she gets about it, especially in a large class where it's sometimes hard to get student input.

"In my student evaluations, almost every student writes that this was helpful in retaining information in the class and in retaining information for the test," Segijn said.

These tools are useful when used in small doses. But here's something to consider: Although it may be hard to fathom, some students may not have smartphones or laptops. No policy at the university requires students to have these devices in class. So it's important to be sensitive to the students who will surely not call attention to the fact they rely on university computers, not their own bank accounts, for their technology needs.

In Segijn's case, none of these interactive quizzes count for a grade. One can always provide index cards or ask students to confer with others for input as well to capture the full range of student response.

For more information on courses or resources on innovative technology in the classroom, visit the Center for Educational Innovation website.

Do you have a tip for using technology in the classroom? If you have a question or a comment for ProActive Teaching, please post one below or email me at ggolden@umn.edu. I'll be back at you soon.