Innovative teaching: Assistant professor uses digital tools to create collaborative workspace
When classes resumed this fall, Andrew Jackson, an assistant professor in the Department of Career and Information Studies, made it a priority to ensure all of his students—whether they were attending class in-person or remotely—remained engaged in collaborative discussions.
“Classroom discussion is typically a big part of my instruction, especially in an introductory, graduate-level course like Introduction to Qualitative Research where students are exploring new concepts,” said Jackson. “I’ve added a few tools to facilitate class discussion and collaboration, which complement our Zoom meetings well.”
To encourage student engagement, Jackson uses a variety of digital tools, such as Slido, a free-for-education polling software, and MURAL, a collaborative workspace that allows users to post sticky notes, text, drawings, and more onto a single platform. He uses these tools not only to pose questions and test students’ understanding of pre-class materials, but also to help them brainstorm new ideas.