The Role of Technology in Your Course

There is no doubt that technology will play an important role in your digital learning course. As an instructor, you will use technology to create and format digital content, communicate with and interact with students, grade and provide feedback, and manage your course. Additionally, you will select the technology tools that students will use in your course to demonstrate learning, interact and collaborate with classmates, and create content. 

The types of technology tools and the extent to which you use these tools in your course should be driven by your course objectives and course map. It may be tempting to adopt a technology tool that looks interesting or fun and try fitting it into your course. However, it is important to first determine the types of learning activities, assessments, and interactions that align with your course objectives and then select the technology tools that will best support these items.

We recommend starting by examining the tools available to you at UCF to determine if these align with your course objectives. You may adopt and implement technology tools that are not supported by UCF, but there are several considerations when doing so which are mentioned below. 

<<Note: This content is provided as an example. The content should be updated with your department's available resources.>>

Resources Tools Available in Your LMS

You are likely already familiar with many of the tools available in Canvas to communicate, assess learning, and provide a variety of interactions for students (e.g., Announcements, Quizzes, Discussions). There may be tools that you don't have previous experience with that you would like to implement in your online or blended course based on your course map. You will have an opportunity to further explore tools relevant to your course design later in this module. 

There are a few specific tools you have access to in your course that we want to bring to your attention which are listed below:

Canvas Rich Content Editor

As previously mentioned, the rich content editor allows you to easily create and format content, embed videos, add links, and more. Later in this module, you will learn strategies that utilize these features to effectively format content to create accessible materials. 

Screen Shot of Canvas Rich Content Editor

Faculty Tools

The Faculty Tools page provides a list and description of tools available to you in your course in addition to the standard set of Canvas tools. To view the Faculty Tools page, you will need to access your <Replace - Institution Name> development course or another course in which you are enrolled as an instructor. If you do not see the Faculty Tools page on the course menu, go to Settings then Navigation to add this to your course menu.

Screen Shot of Faculty Tools page

Technology Integrations in Your LMS

In addition to Faculty Tools, there are several technology integrations available to use in your course, including third-party tools licensed and supported by <Replace - Institution Name>and third-party tools which are not licensed or supported by <Replace - Institution Name>. Please review the considerations for using third-party tools below. 

 

<<Note: This content is provided as an example. The content should be updated with your department's available resources.>>

Info Considerations for Using UCF-Supported Technology vs. Third-Party Tools

If you are unable to identify a UCF-supported tool that aligns with your teaching and learning goals, you may consider exploring third-party tools that are not licensed or supported by UCF. A few third-party tools commonly utilized to promote collaboration and interaction in digital learning courses include Google Docs Links to an external site. and Padlet Links to an external site.. In addition to testing the features of a third-party tool to ensure they support your teaching and learning goals, it is recommended to also consider technical support, FERPA, privacy, accessibility and cost. Explore the considerations provided in the table below. 

The table below provides consideration for using technology supported by UCF and third-party tools.
Topic UCF-Supported Technology Third-Party Technology Not Licensed by UCF
Technical Support
  • LMS Support and UCF IT provide technical support for you and your students for UCF-licensed technology tools (e.g., Canvas, Panopto, Zoom, Honorlock).
  • Third-party tools may or may not provide technical support for you and your students. 
  • Technical support is often limited to free online tools and may take longer to receive responses or resolve issues.
FERPA and Privacy
  • LMS technology integrations that have been installed by CDL have been vetted for FERPA and privacy issues. 
  • When adopting a third-party technology, check to see if the information is provided regarding FERPA, privacy, and data usage.

  • If the technology is public-facing (e.g., blogs, wikis), include a FERPA statement in your syllabus reminding students not to publish any personally identifying information.

    • A sample FERPA statement is included in the syllabus template. 
Accessibility
  • Review the accessibility features available for UCF-supported technology tools. 
  • Include information about the accessibility of third-party tools supported by UCF in your syllabus.
  • Thoroughly test the tool(s) to identify any potential issues or additional resources (e.g., online tutorials, help guide) students may need.
  • Review the accessibility features available for third-party tools. 
  • Include information about the accessibility of third-party tools not supported by UCF in your syllabus.
    • A sample accessibility statement is available in the Syllabus template.
  • Thoroughly test using third-party tools to identify any potential issues or additional resources (e.g., online tutorials, help guide) students may need.
Cost
  • Students have access to several UCF-supported tools at no additional cost beyond tuition fees.
  • Determine whether or not there will be an additional cost to students. 
  • When using free versions of third-party tools, check to see what limitations there are (e.g., the number of students that can access them at one time). 
    • Explore options for exporting or saving student work outside of the third-party tool. Sometimes free tools don't allow you to export. 
    • Consider your needs to save student work long-term. 

Technology Tools should...

...support learning objectives and/or goals. Selecting technology tools that may help you meet your teaching and learning goals will ensure that you are effectively using technology in your course.

...support a variety of interactions. Limited interaction, including with instructors and other students, has been identified as one of the most common reasons for student dissatisfaction in online courses (Cole et al., 2014). Technology tools can be utilized to promote student-to-student, student-to-instructor, and student-to-content interactions while helping to build community in your digital learning course. 

...promote active learning. Technology tools can be incorporated throughout your course to promote active learning in both synchronous and asynchronous settings. 

 

References

Cole, M. T., Shelley, D. J., & Swartz, L. B. (2014). Online instruction, e-learning, and student satisfaction: A Three Year Study. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 15(6). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v15i6.1748 Links to an external site.