MacEwan University Strategic Vision: “Adaptable. Engaging. Memorable. Personal. All that comes from a nimble, flexible, well-rounded education that delivers lasting value. One where caring faculty help people connect their passions to their future paths. One that understands the learning journey goes well beyond the classroom. One that wants each unique individual to learn what they need, and to help them succeed. In short, the kind of education that MacEwan University delivers.” (p. 2-4)
At MacEwan University, our approach to learning technologies aligns with this element of our strategic vision by ensuring that digital learning environments remain learning environments. When we talk about a “learning journey” or helping students “learn what they need,” the underlying constant is learning as a goal. Accordingly, our assessment of new technologies must always prioritize the fact that students come to MacEwan to learn alongside their instructors.
Definition
MacEwan University is where students come to learn. This requires that we ensure we are assessing all technologies primarily based on how they will aid undergraduates in achieving their learning goals. Providing evidence-informed, enriched learning experiences is our main objective.
What This Means
Below are four main elements ideally present in technologies informed by digital pedagogy. While the following aspects are crucial to supporting learning, the implementation and integration of the technology into existing pedagogical frameworks is equally important.
- Active Engagement: Technologies enhance active engagement by providing options for personalization, participation, collaboration, sharing, and creation, whether through collaboration, problem-solving, reflection, or interactivity. This includes hands-on activities, real-world problem-solving, and experiential learning.
- Pedagogical Purpose and Clarity: Technologies have a clear pedagogical purpose and directly support course objectives, ensuring they enhance learning by having a learner and user centered design rather than introducing distractions or additional workload for educators.
- Customizable: Customizability will ensure that the technology can be adapted for personal learner preferences as well as various classroom contexts, but also to real-world applications.
- Aligned Assessment: Technologies support assessment that aligns with course goals and provides meaningful feedback to students via real-time communication, peer review, and annotation. Data analytics will provide insights into engagement and performance, helping instructors tailor their teaching. The result will be an assessment that is both formative and summative.
Faculty Consultation: Finally, for technologies informed by digital pedagogy to be implemented effectively, faculty consultation is essential. Faculty members are to be consulted before educational technologies are adopted by the university to ensure that educational technologies can ideally suit varied pedagogical environments and aid instructors in confronting an open-ended number of learning experiences.
