New technologies offer the possibility of increased access to education, giving potential learners access to any resources they want, at any time, from anywhere in the world. More importantly, emerging technologies shift the focus of education away from the requirements of institutions and onto the needs of individual learners. OLT promotes increased educational access and flexibility by supporting emerging technologies and helping to establish the information technology infrastructures that support learning and teaching environments.
Our efforts cover a comprehensive range of activities, including:
- Providing hosting and technical support for faculty, staff and students for online applications, including blogs and wikis.
- Working with partners across campus as consultants to identify their needs and assist them in developing successful strategies. An example of this practice is collaborating with instructors to determine what technology choices are appropriate to their pedagogical needs, and then following up with the information and support required to ensure best educational practices are followed.
- Conducting ongoing applied research into the evolution of existing social software tools and practices, as well as the emergence of new approaches, and sharing the findings with the UBC community via online materials, workshops, and consultation.
- Developing a framework for an open content network that would promote the sharing of knowledge at the University. We are exploring ways of using blog and wiki tools to build knowledge resources, distribute information and foster communities of practice.
For more information please visit this wiki outlining some of the emerging technologies that can be incorporated into the classroom and the Faculty e-Learning Resource Guide.
