Changing Pedagogies

While all chapters throughout this eBook are about cultivating change through the innovative use of technology, those in this first section focus on the use of academic technology to transform pedagogy. Contributors address aspects of pedagogy that have seldom (if ever) fully been addressed, moving decidedly beyond memorization to explicit attention on problem solving and interactive coaching.

Creating Solutions

The solutions shared in this section indicate how the innovative use of academic technologies add value and increase efficiency and effectiveness. The solutions include imaginative uses and development of videos, podcasts, vodcasts, and simulations; they indicate how faculty and staff are using GoToMeeting, Moodle, Blackbag, iPads, Camtasia Relay, Skype, Ning, and Google Apps. Those on the digital frontlines at the University of Minnesota are indeed focused on student success.

Providing Direction

The chapters in this section illustrate how innovative leadership – at system-wide, campus, collegiate, and departmental levels – has stepped forward to provide direction and support for cultivating change. These contributors challenge the assumption that we need a big, expensive program to get things to happen.

Extending Reach

The chapters in this final section most explicitly indicate our expanded engagement via innovative uses of technology. Researchers are changing strategies to meet the needs of a social and mobile population; they are collecting data via texting, transitioning computer courseware to mobile web apps, and building mobile technology training for response to disasters. What better time to share 50+ stories about cultivating change than in 2012 – the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Land Grant Mission!