8. Step Five: Master the Technology
8.1. The Exponential Growth in Learning Technologies
There are now many common technologies available for educational use:
- Learning managements systems (such as Blackboard Learn, Moodle, D2L, Instructure/Canvas)
- Synchronous technologies (such as Blackboard Collaborate, Adobe Connect, Big Blue Button, ZOOM, GoToMeeting, Microsoft Teams)
- Lecture recording technologies (such as GarageBand or Audacity for podcasts and Echo360 for lecture capture)
- Tablets and mobile devices, such as iPads, mobile phones, and the apps that run on them
- MOOCs and their many variants (SPOCs, TOOCs, etc.)
- other social media, including blogging software such as WordPress, wikis such as MediaWiki, Google Hangouts, Google Docs, and Twitter
- Learner-generated tools, such as e-portfolios (for example, Mahara)
- Search engines and translation tools, such as Google Search and Google Translate
It is not necessary to use all or any of these tools, but if you do decide to use them, you need to know not only how to operate such such technologies well, but also their pedagogical strengths and weaknesses. Although the technologies listed above will change over time, the general principles discussed in this section will continue to apply to other new technologies as they become available.