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Innovation and Emerging Technologies

The intersection of education and technology created the need for the Teaching & Learning Technologies department. As both education and technology are ever-changing, this intersection must also change and adapt. Emerging technology in education promises to revolutionize the way students and teachers work and interact. At times, they also aim to eliminate some elements of traditional education altogether, including the need for physical proximity to the classroom, costly textbooks, or even the presence of a human teacher. These educational technologies try to make leaning more efficient, engaging, relevant, and entertaining.

One of TLT's strategic goals is to stay abreast of emerging educational technologies. A joint study(1) by Eduventures and Quality Matters identifies the most compelling technologies for institutions of higher learning as the following:

  • Adaptive Learning allows the students to follow unique learning paths based on their interests and experiences.
  • Learning Analytics allows teachers and administrators to track student behavior and make targeted imporvements to courses.
  • Simulations, Game-Based Learning Activities and Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality promise to capture students' imaginations.
  • Competency-Based Education offers a new way of measuring outcomes based not on hours behind a desk or in front of ascreen, but rather on a student's objective demonstration of competency in given areas.
  • Open Educational Resources pledge to make learning more affordable, accessible, and flexible by replacing textbooks with materials that are free to acccess for anyone with an internet connection.

While TLT researches all of these technologies, TLT has acquired funding to explore selected technologies in greater depth. These include 3D printing, Lightboard lecture-enhancement tool, and VR/AR/XR technologies. For more information on any of our emerging technologies contact TLT.

3D Printing Services

With the fall in costs for consumer 3D printers and the rise in availability of 3D digital models, 3D printing in education has exploded in recent years. TLT has acquired its own 3D printer to offer a pilot printing service to faculty and students. If you have a digital model or are in need of a medical model for educational purposes, feel free to contact the TLT EdTech department to learn more about our 3D printing service.

Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality Technologies

Simulation offers scheduled, safe, and valuable learning experiences that are difficult to obtain in real life. Learners acquire hands-on experience and thinking skills, including knowledge-in-action, procedures, decision-making, and effective communication. Currently, KUMC's state-of-the-art ZIEL (Zamierowski Institute for Experiential Learning) Simulation labs offers advanced healthcare education for its students. These simulations are resource intensive.

TLT is researching how VR technologies can supplement these simulations offering additional benefits of cost-effective, time-saving, and repetitive learning opportunities to meet the education outcomes of our programs. In addition, VR/AR/XR can extend to mobile devices and other consumer products obtainable by students so that learning experiences can done at home at the students' convenience. Much as the PC has expanded education over large computer mainframes, VR/AR/XR devices can expand the opportunities for simulation. If you are interested in exploring current consumer medical VR software and want to discuss the possibilities of VR/AR/XR technologies in your courses, feel free to contact the TLT EdTech office.

Lightboard

Pre-recorded video lectures are growing in popularity with an exponential increase in usage at KUMC. With the introduction of the Panopto video recording platform, the number of recordings is increasing each semester. While many of these recordings are capturing live in-class lessons, a growing number of them are pre-recorded for presentation to students later. The so-called "Flipped Classroom" encourages faculty to create instructional content in advance of class time, so that students come prepared with basic information that can be discussed or practiced during class sessions.

To support these pre-recorded lectures, the self-service recording studio (B209) in the HEB includes a Lightboard by Learning Glass. A Lightboard gives instructors a transparent writing surface so that they can sketch, draw, and write notes while maintaining eye contact with the learners watching online, either live or recorded. The image is flipped within the computer, so the instructor does not have to write backwards.


(1) Online Learning Goes Mainstream - http://pages.nrccua.org/rs/514-WFI-660/images/Quality%20Matters%20Eduventures%20CHLOE%202%20Infographic.pdf

Teaching and Learning Technologies

University of Kansas Medical Center
Teaching and Learning Technologies
Mail Stop 3034
3901 Rainbow Boulevard
Kansas City, KS 66160
TLT-EdTech: 913-588-7107, tlt@kumc.edu
TLT-Media: 913-588-7326, tlt-media@kumc.edu
TLT-Testing Services: 913-588-1471, tdoughty@kumc.edu