Ann Murray: teaching through technology
Thursday, October 11th, 2007
An associate professor in Family Studies and Human Services, Ann Murray teaches all her classes online, for both residential and distance students. Her courses include Assessment of Young Children, Child Development and Infant Behavior and Development.
Her effective use of technology was lauded recently when she received an Excellence in Teaching Award recently from the University Continuing Education Association, Great Plains Region.
She was one of the first professors to teach online at K-State. Her primary audience is non-traditional students in rural Kansas who are place-bound and usually working full-time, students from other states and countries have completed her courses.
“My impetus for teaching this way really comes from my academic area, which is child development. The major theories of development and learning are called ‘constructivist’ in that they argue that active engagement is necessary for learning to take place,” Murray said.
“We seem to forget that adults also learn best when they have to use the material rather than just memorize it for a test.”
She has developed a pedagogy that increases the interaction students can have with the professor, the course material and with their classmates.
“This is because many interactions are occurring simultaneously in contrast to what happens in a traditional classroom where usually only one person holds the floor,” she said.
“It is really the pedagogy and not the technology per se that improves student learning. The technology simply allows me to design and facilitate learning experiences in a much more efficient manner than I could in the classroom.”
For two hours each week, students log onto the K-State Online course website connecting them with Dr. Murray.
“For each class period, I give students a ‘plan for the night’ that gives them a series of learning activities. Activities could include individual web searches, small group discussion, collaboration on group homework assignments or sessions with guest speakers in a chat room,” she explained.
This entry was posted on Thursday, October 11th, 2007 and is filed under Dean's Blog.