Dr. John E. Knight is a professor of Management in the Department of Marketing, Computer Science, and Information Systems at UTM.   Dr. Knight has incorporated a variety of technologies in his courses and has particularly utilized the ECHO 360 lecture capture system to record and post lectures for both on-line and on-campus classes. 

1. How are you currently using technology in your courses? Please share any significant projects and or activities.

I am presently an avid user of the Echo360 lecture system.  I have found that such lectures are beneficial to both on line and on campus students.  On line students are able to view the class lecture just as on campus students do while on campus students can view the lectures when they miss class ( I still have an attendance policy for on campus students).   Additionally,  given that the basic classes have been recorded,  I can always have material ready in the case that I have to be out of town for an academic conference or in case of sickness.

2. In your view, what are some of the benefits of incorporating current technologies with conventional teaching methods?

The benefits of the current technology result in greater flexibility of student participation.  With on-line classes,  students can work at times that they select.  Usually,  my on line classes total 25 students and thus finding a specific time for a live interactive session is severely limited.   My class evaluations by on line students have been excellent and the students vote with their feet.  Most of the students seek to take multiple classes using my teaching methodology.

3. Do you think the use of technology improves your teaching? If so, are students responding positively to the increased use of technology in their classes?

Using the Echo system to record lectures forces me to develop a variety of presentation methods and exercises  and have them extremely organized so that the lecture appears smooth and easy to understand.  Additionally,  the technology allows me to access internet sites,  access on line video presentations and work numerical problems via an overhead so that equations can be written in traditional form.  The students seem to respond well when the technology allows them to learn the needed knowledge though a variety of experiences including visual media and traditional work involving dealing with mathematical calculations and physical exercises.