Inside Higher Ed reports on research that shows the effectiveness of adding visual and auditory tools to promote student learning. Web tools can aid in both student projects and in providing instructor feedback. ____JH____
"Even as many instructors embrace digital tools in the classroom,
some are pushing the technology envelope with more complex tools for
teaching or interacting with students. New research suggests the
promise of such approaches. One qualitative study, which surely won’t be welcomed by
manufacturers of basic word processing software, found that students
who create and edit documents using Web-based collaboration tools
include more complex visual media in their assignments--and come away
with a better understanding in the process. Another ongoing experiment
finds, with statistical significance, that instructors can be more
effective in grading students’ work if they record their comments
directly into documents as audio."