A Safety Net? Using New Technologies to Engage Education Students in Controversial Topics

As new technological platforms for media increase, so do the calls to utilize them in the classroom. From online discussion boards to synchronous online learning, teachers hear claims of the relative advantages of new technology over the old. However, technologies seem to develop faster than they can be evaluated for effectiveness in the classroom, and more research is needed to inform practice (Fernández, 2007; Fisher, 2003; Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000; Park & Bonk, 2007). As Snelbecker (1999) has suggested, teaching and learning theories ought to be driving the use of emerging technologies in the classroom, and not the reverse. However, practical considerations often take priority, such as nontraditional students’ needs for flexible scheduling and even the rising cost of fuel to drive to a campus. Thus, in reality, it often falls to teachers to connect students’ needs for emerging technology to effective pedagogy.