Ed Tech Toolkit: Tech Tools for the Classroom
by: Dr. Gordon Cobb
Greetings KPU Faculty and thanks for checking out this blog post. As part of KPU’s VISION 2023 we want to expand on innovation in teaching, learning and curriculum. We also want to enhance the experiences of our students (and ourselves), and incorporating Ed Tech into the classroom is one way to make this happen!
In my own teaching practice at KPU, I use a plethora of software and hardware to incorporate video, online resources, and digital media into my curricula and classroom activities. In order to physically use these technologies, there are a variety of gadgets, dongles, thumb drives and hand-held devices that I employ to get the job done. I always take these items with me – even the ones that I don’t use very often. In this blog post, I’m going to show you what is in my teacher’s tool kit and what I use each item for.
Intro Video!
What’s in the bag?
Making a case for a pencil case…
Where to find these items online…
In conclusion…
These items range in price from $10 to $400. Your own tool kit will evolve slowly over time – don’t expect to purchase it all at once. Start with a few of the items you think you might use regularly and then keep a list of items you may have needed at a conference or in a guest lecture or in your daily teaching practice. I tend to look on Amazon.ca for the best selection, and retail outlets such as Best Buy and London Drugs often have sales on dongles, adapters, thumb drives, cables/chords, chargers, microphones, and hand-held cameras. Often when I am out shopping and just happen to see a good deal on an item I will purchase it and add it to my tool kit. It might be an item you only use once a year, but sometimes it is EXACTLY what you or a colleague might need in a moment of stress.
Please feel free to contact me at the KPU Teaching and Learning Commons if you have any further questions or suggestions for this blog post. I can be found online at gordon.cobb@kpu.ca or in the TLC office on the Surrey campus. And remember, teaching with tech is much more fun when the tech functions correctly – and at times it might be a small item you dig out of your tool kit that saves the day!
Gordon received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School for the Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University and his Masters of Music in Composition for New Media from the London College of Music in the UK. In 2015, Gordon completed a PhD in Arts Education at Simon Fraser University where his research explored multimodal composing practices, new musical literacies, and transformative music engagement in music video production with urban youth. His work as a music composer and sound designer has been showcased in numerous public venues, including two Olympic Games commissions (Torino 2006 and Vancouver 2010), the VanDusen Botanical Gardens Festival of Lights, the New York City Ballet, and the Cedar Lake Ensemble, New York; and on television with The Knowledge Network, and the National Film Board of Canada where he was the recipient of a 2013 Leo Award nomination. Dr. Cobb is a part of the music faculty at Kwantlen Polytechnic University where he teaches music technology and music video production. He is also a senior instructor at the Sarah McLachlan School of Music, where for the past 14 years he has taught piano, musical theatre, music technology, and music video production. Gordon has implemented numerous innovative music programs at the Arts Umbrella, the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, the Vancouver Biennale, and Cobb House Studio.
