How are you using technology in the classroom?

I show videos from internet and DVD; I base discussions on images and text projected from Powerpoint and other graphical integration platforms.

How do you integrate technology into your courses?

Students use the internet for research and discussion-facilitating media such as Angel; students use Google Earth, ArcGIS, and discipline-specific computation and graphics tools.

How do you see technology improving learning?

The multiplicity of data available online, from blogs and discussion forums to search engines, citation indices and online journals, provide great research opportunities that were previously either more difficult or non-existent.

How have your students responded to your use of technology?

I did not teach a significant number of courses in the pre-technological era, so I can't say specifically how it has changed student opinions or outcomes.

What does technology add that would not be possible without it?

As stated above, capacity for rapid and more comprehensive research of topics is vastly improved over previous capacity.

What new goals do you have for using technology in teaching?

I am working up to getting one of my courses to be feasible as a hybrid (GEO 306) and would like my upper level major courses to have more coherent use of the available tools.

What is your biggest challenge in using technology in the classroom?

Dealing with an outdated computer-projection system in Piez Hall; having to re-load Google Earth for every GEO 100 class meeting because it is not on the university image.

How could the University better facilitate the use of technology in the classroom?

Make every classroom "smart"; implement "smart" whiteboards or something that allows sketching on projected images; have universal wireless access.

Are you using technology in any interesting or unique ways?

We had an analytical instrument funded this summer (ICP-mass spectrometer) that will hopefully be working in the spring -- this device is state of the art technology that I will be working with heavily, with students, faculty from other departments, and visiting scientists.

Is there anything in particular that you love (or hate) about technology?

I mainly am driven nuts by how dependent I have become on computers and the web.

How are you using technology in your daily life?

Since I don't live close to campus, I rely on email and online sources of information more than I would probably otherwise; I do not use a cell phone or similar devices, though (and hope to continue this way as long as possible).

If you had to pick one technology item that you couldn't live without, what would it be?

As stated, I don't like the feeling of techno-dependency, although I appreciate all that technology adds to my research and teaching.