As students commonly use laptops and tablets to stay connected, learning doesn’t just happen in the classroom anymore. Even more now, the latest smartphones are becoming essential tools for students. Our recent Rogers Innovation Report  found just that, as 54 per cent of Canadian students (18-24) look to their smartphones for help with their schoolwork, whether they’re researching online, accessing coursework, interacting with their teachers and classmates or submitting assignments.

To find out more about how students are using technology in the classroom, we caught up with @SuzeMuse, part time professor at Algonquin College in the Interactive Multimedia Developer program to see how she is using technology in her classroom and interacting with her students. Here’s what she had to say:

How do you think technology is changing the classroom?

Just a few short years ago, technology in the classroom simply meant using PowerPoint slides to present lectures. YouTube didn’t even exist until 2005! I believe that technology is the single most important change in the classroom in the past several years. It’s changing the way we do everything from communicating with students outside of class time, to the way we share information with them in class.  Like any fundamental shift, it’s not without its challenges, but I firmly believe the benefits outweigh the risks.

Do you allow your students to use smartphones and devices in class?

This is a controversial subject. I do allow use of smartphones and devices in class, but with a few limitations imposed. I have a rule about no texting or talking on cell phones during lectures, but I do encourage students to be active online in class. For example, if I refer to a specific web site during my lecture, I think it benefits students to look up that web site while I’m talking. If they want to share what they are learning with their Twitter followers or Facebook friends, I’m okay with that too. Being able to explain concepts that one is learning is a valuable skill. I encourage the use of technology when it helps further understanding and retention in my students.

As for students who may take advantage of the freedom I give them, and spend that time chatting with their friends and not paying attention? Well, if they are distracted and not listening in class, they won’t do as well in my course, plain and simple. Most of them figure this out pretty quickly.

Are you embracing technology with your students in class and for assignments? Can you give some examples?

I wholeheartedly embrace technology in my classrooms. Last year I “flipped” my video production class – I developed a series of video tutorials and posted them to YouTube. Students review these videos as their homework, using their computer, or smart device, and then our class time is devoted to working on creative projects. It has worked wonderfully well. I encourage students to tweet during class, and we have a very active Facebook group where students can share interesting links, ask questions and talk about what they are learning.

How do you feel about a virtual classroom with textbooks on tablets, cloud assignments and online collaboration?

I have taught fully online courses and hybrid courses (part in-class, part online), as well as fully classroom based courses. In my experience, it depends on the learner. The older generations (say, 35 and above) tend to be more amenable to classroom-based learning, simply because that’s the way we were brought up. But the younger generations are looking for new ways to engage and learn. We now have the entire world’s worth of knowledge in the palm of our hands. Not only that, but we can now connect, collaborate and share with anyone, anywhere on the planet, in real time. This is powerful stuff, and it changes the way we learn.

I do believe that the virtual classrooms of the future are about tablets, cloud work and online collaboration. It’s our job as teachers to define how that will work for our students, as we continue to be focused on key learning objectives and ensures that our students are being successful with these new tools.

Do you feel that embracing technology trends in the classroom will help give students the skills they need for future success?

I absolutely believe this, but I also think that the more that time goes on, students are becoming more savvy with technology too. In the past 4 years I’ve seen this shift first hand, with each new class that comes in. Students that are leaving high school to enter post secondary education these days are kids who have never known life without the Internet.

Many teachers are threatened by this fact – students sometimes know more than we do about how to use technology. However, teachers do still have a very important role to play. It’s up to us to teach students how to use the technology they were born with to become more effective communicators. We also need to ensure that they are aware of how to use the tools safely and responsibly.

In order to be able to do this well, teachers have to embrace the tools themselves. That requires education and the courage to just try things out. It may not always work, but if we don’t have the courage to try doing things differently, then there’s a great risk that we’ll be left behind.

Katie is a regular contributor to RedBoard