Teaching with Technology

Overview

Technology has been reshaping teaching and learning in higher education ever since the COVID-19 pandemic forced a shift to remote learning overnight in the spring of 2020. We've seen the adoption of digital learning tools advance significantly at SPS, and our expert Online Support and Academic Technology staff are fully prepared to support all our faculty in teaching effectively with technology.

Instructor Preparedness

The Columbia University School of Professional Studies (SPS) promotes instructor preparedness by supporting faculty in developing the skills, competencies, and contextual knowledge needed for effective online, hybrid, and face-to-face instruction. Through innovative technology solutions, comprehensive training, personalized consultations, and responsive technical support, our dedicated staff provides faculty and students with guidance throughout the course lifecycle, from design through delivery and evaluation. We build upon many years of experience delivering academic excellence and strive to provide high-quality, best-in-class teaching and learning experiences for faculty and students at SPS.

Please navigate to the Educational Technologies page to learn more about the technologies we support and how they can facilitate the meaningful use of technology in your course(s). 

Instructor Presence

Instructors who demonstrate presence in their courses - that is, instructors who are visible and available to students, who craft learning environments that foster student engagement, and who "set the stage" for human connection in their courses - deliver more effective courses regardless of modality. In online and hybrid courses, a well-developed instructor presence is a key indicator of teaching effectiveness.

The Community of Inquiry Framework defines three types of presence necessary to create meaningful learning experiences: social presence, cognitive presence, and teaching presence. In this model, teaching presence refers to "the design, facilitation, and direction of cognitive and social processes to realize personally meaningful and educationally worthwhile learning outcomes" (Anderson, Rourke, Garrison, & Archer, 2001). The Online Support and Academic Technology team specializes in providing integrated pedagogical and technological guidance to assist faculty with maximizing their teaching presence.

Instructional Continuity

In response to the need for instructional continuity during schoolwide emergencies, SPS has a process in place to support instructors in maintaining regular class operations during potential disruptions. Our teams are prepared to assist faculty in adapting their teaching practices to modality transitions (such as a move from face-to-face to online or hybrid instruction) while maintaining academic rigor and structure. We provide technical support, guidance, and resources to navigate such modality transitions, starting with our SPS Teaching and Learning Toolkit. Our channels of support enable faculty to rapidly implement the tools and strategies necessary for maintaining effective, seamless online instruction.

In the case of disruption, our teams follow Columbia University's guidance and protocols. Up-to-date information and recent announcements related to these can be found on the Columbia Preparedness hub.