eCampusNews is a huge proponent of classroom technology (as are we), but a recent article identified five technologies that best belong outside of the classroom. And even better yet, they provided some suggested alternatives.
| Avoidable Technology |
More Suitable Alternative |
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Social Media. Social media is hard to implement in a meaningful way, and it's even harder to filter out cyber bullying and privacy issues. |
Course-Created Forums. Forums that are specific to the class or topic blend digital interaction with relevancy and administration. |
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Gaming. It's very hard to incorporate digital gaming in a productive way. |
Augmented and Virtual Reality. AR and VR leverage technology to transport the student outside of the classroom. |
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Locked Digital Texts. Students don't use them and educators don't believe they are effective. |
Open Educational Resources. These remove the barrier and can be re-referenced and reused in the future. |
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Anything that's not accessible. Accessibility issues can lead to legal issues and simple non-use. |
Leverage Your IT Team. Your IT team is a wealth of knowledge on making sure your desired content is available for all. |
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Device-Specific Technology. Users prefer different platforms, and speaking to only one alienates a good chunk of your user base. |
Device-Agnostic Technology. It's imperative that media is supported on Apples, Chromebooks and Androids. Or better yet, make it web-based. |
