Guiding Principles for Instructional Technology
Instructional technology is an important tool to help advance the curricular goals of the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences and meet its mission to teach with creativity and dedication. When integrating technology into the curriculum, the following principles will be followed:
- Curricular goals and objectives will determine if and how technology is used.
- Instructional technology will facilitate learning in multiple settings, both inside and outside our classrooms and in multiple clinical venues.
- Instructional technology will assist in developing active and lifelong learners.
- Organizational structure, with sufficient financial resources, is critical to support optimal use of technology by faculty and students. This structure will include hardware, software, and human resources guided by policies and procedures to sustain robust and creative use of the technology.
Elaborating further on the principles above, it's important to understand that technology is simply one of many tools to assist learning. New devices and applications are appealing, but instructors must ensure that learning needs and pedagogical principles drive the tools and technologies that are used.
GW is poised to facilitate the shift from simple information delivery in the classroom to active student learning and mastering professional competencies using tools such as iPads and online video modules. Instructional technology will become a tool to support each student’s own learning style and preferences and to increase each student’s knowledge base.