Conversations - Overview

We have all had the experience of being new to something, perhaps as a young instructor teaching a course for the first time. How do you get started? Often the first step is to find someone more experienced, buy them a cup of coffee, and ask them for help with the many questions that come to mind. We asked a national audience of instructors entering the world of instructional technology to help answer a few such questions.

We did this in order to provide college SMET instructors with better resources for understanding why and how they should use technology-enhanced learning strategies. We deeply valued the comments we received. We did not want burden our colleagues too much so we gave them the choice to answer those questions that were "right" for them. We believed a helpful answer to even one question would be valuable.

We urged our audience to use personal stories or anecdotes to exemplify their points and to feel free to be discipline-specific or institution-specific in their responses. We were confident that a suggestion from a chemist to another chemist will be all the more appreciated, or similarly for an instructor at a community college.

We collated a subset of all answers received into an easily readable, friendly product as part of our website. We did not use names, unless explicit permission to do so was given.

We extend to those who provided answers to our questions our deepest thanks, both from ourselves and from the colleagues around the nation whom you have helped.