Teaching With Technology

Pedagogical Innovations
with Technology

As I have noted in the "Teaching with Technology" section of this website, technology is constantly changing and offering us valuable teaching tools. This section of my web page is dedicated to explaining and visualizing some of the different technological features mentioned in my technology philosophy.

Angel

Angel is Penn State's online course management system. It may be used for many different purposes. For example, Angel can help systematize course information in an easily-accesible manner. Below, you can see how documents can be posted on angel for students to open. Also, if assignments require work in groups, the instructor can create individual folders for each group to organize its information.

Submitting Assignments through Angel

Angel also allows the student to complete and submit assignments online. This allows for much more flexibility, considering the assignments may be completed from any computer, on or off of campus. Below, you can see how assignments are submitted using Angel.

Quizzes on Angel

Not only can homework assignments be completed using Angel, but instructors may even create quizzes and tests. This feature of Angel can create a complete test, offering a variety of quiestion types (multiple choice, short answer, matching, fill in the blank, etc.), and can even grade the quiz automatically. The instructor can also decide if students should be able to submit the quiz once or twice, and how precise an answer must be for correctness. Below is an example of what a quiz on Angel may look like.

Angel as a Communication Tool

One of Angel's most helpful tools is e-mail. Through Angel, students have access to one another's e-mail addresses. Simply by clicking on the "communicate" tab, students can send a message to the instructor, another student, and even the whole class.

Calendar on Angel

Angel also has a calendar option. Not only does each student have his own personal calendar, but each specific course has a calendar which is shared between the instructor and the class. Therefore, the due-dates for assignments, quizzes, and extra-curricular activities pertinent to the course may be posted and made visible to the entire class. Another major benefits of the online calendar is that it is accessible from any computer.

Gradebook with Angel

Another feature of Angel that greatly benefits the instructor is the gradebook. By using Angel's gradebook, the instructor can forget about keeping written records of each individual assignment and later trying to calculate the student's overall grade at the end of the semester. Angel's gradebook can do this automatically. It records the students grades and also lets the instructor access these grades quickly. This is an efficient way to organize grades, and it also makes it easier for the instructor to monitor students' progress throughout the semester.

Adobe Breeze

Adobe Breeze allows students to collaborate with each other from their own personal computers. This can prove especially helpful when groups cannot physically meet together to work on a project. Also, students can even send files to one another using Adobe Breese. Below you can see an example of how one can communicate with Adobe Breeze.

Web Sites to help with S.L.A.

Web sites are very helpful for students trying to learn a second language. Below, I have put an image taken from the web site "El Universal". Students could use this web site to read in Spanish and to stay up-to-date with current events happening in Mexico.

The Pennsylvania State University. Copyright 2008
Last updated on: December 5, 2008 12:48 PM