Leveraging Technology to Achieve Teaching Goals

While some may have previously viewed technology in the classroom as a distraction, recent studies indicate that the integration of specific EdTech tools can both close achievement gaps and improve learning, particularly with students that are at risk of dropping out.

According to a 2014 study by the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education(SCOPE), 56% of teachers in high-poverty schools indicated that a lack of access to technology was a challenge in their classroom. Multimedia, particularly through a combination of multiple-choice and essay-based questions throughout lecture, can improve student retention over time.

"Significant gains in achievement and engagement can occur for underserved students in learning environments characterized by computer use that engages students in interactive learning that offers multiple representations of ideas and realtime digital feedback."

Reposted with permission from Teach The Mechanism

Canvas is an innovative Learning Management System that excellently facilitates pre and post-class interactions between students and teachers. Squarecap is a simple to use and inexpensive engagement tool that was created to provide in-the-class engagement support that teachers are looking to implement. Using Squarecap as a complement to a Canvas course can complete the picture to make it simple and effective to engage and communicate with your students in and outside of class. For anyone who is already using Canvas to guide instruction, here are three ways that Squarecap can help simplify what you are already doing.

Within the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin, attendance and participation are vital to student success.  Students are expected to attend class every day just as they would at their future place of employment. Management professor Dr. Katie Pritchett appreciates these attendance expectations, yet also believes in the importance in defining the difference between simple attendance and genuine engagement.