Academic Primer Series: Key Papers About Teaching with Technology
Abstract
Introduction: Modern learners have immediate, unlimited access to a wide variety of onlineresources. To appeal to this current generation of learners, educators must embrace the useof technology. However, educators must balance newer, novel technologies with traditionalmethods to achieve the best learning outcomes. Therefore, we aimed to review several papersuseful for faculty members wishing to incorporate technology into instructional design.
Methods: We identified a broad list of papers relevant to teaching and lea rning with technologywithin the online discussions of the Academic Life in Emergency Medicine (ALiEM) FacultyIncubator. This list was augmented with suggestions by a guest expert (BT) and an open callon Twitter (tagged with the #meded and #FOAMed hashtags) yielding 24 papers. We thenconducted a modified three-round Delphi process within the autho rship group, including juniorand senior faculty members, to identify the most impactful papers.
Results: We pared the list of 24 papers to five that were most highly rate d. Two were researchpapers and three were commentaries or editorials. The authorship group reviewed andsummarized these papers with specific consideration to their val ue to junior educators andfaculty developers.
Conclusion: This is a key reading list for junior faculty members and faculty developersinterested in teaching with technology. The commentary contextualizes the importance of thesepapers for medical educators, to optimize use of technology in their teaching or incorporate intofaculty development.