Event Title

Student Perceptions of Audio Books in the Classroom: Technologically Savvy or Shabby?

Location

Dolan School of Business Dining Room (104A)

Start Date

30-5-2013 5:15 PM

End Date

30-5-2013 6:30 PM

Session Type

Poster Presentation

Description

As the use of technology continues to evolve and society demands more productivity in less time, instructors seek innovative ways and technological tools to connect with and instruct students. The current generation of college students is so adapted to the digital world they have been labeled the multi-tasking generation (Foehr, 2006; Wallis, 2006). Unfortunately, it is more common today for instructors to see students staring at their various media devices than reading course textbooks. One reason may be that traditional textbooks do not meet the needs of the digital generation. Could we harness the media addicted behaviors of students to improve their reading habits? For educators to tap into the multi-tasking, time conscious nature of students, it is necessary to think about innovative ways to encourage students to access assigned reading more frequently and efficiently. This study explored student perceptions of the use of audio books for course reading assignments as an innovative technological tool in an effort to encourage consumption of textbook materials. Findings revealed preference is tied to learning style and student perceptions of audio books is highly dependent on the level of engagement developed by the audio book, the navigability of files, and the ability of the audio book to be used by multiple devices.

Topic Designation

SoTL, Teaching & Learning, Technology

Presenter Bio(s)

Dr. Joey Gray, Associate Professor of Leisure Sport and Tourism Studies, received her Ph.D. from Indiana University, her master’s degree from North Carolina State University, and her bachelor’s degree from Averett University. A faculty member at MTSU since 2006, her primary research interests include pedagogy in Leisure Studies and gender issues in Leisure.

Dr. Gray has assisted with the development of and taught online courses for several years, including “Introduction to Recreation & Leisure Services” and “Leisure in your Life”. While at Indiana University, Dr. Gray received the Trustee’s Teaching Award and has been an honored with teaching award nominations by students throughout her teaching career. In 2006, Dr. Gray received the Future Leader Award from SPRE and in 2008 she was named TAHPERD Recreation Professional of the Year.

Always striving to incorporate technology into the classroom, Dr. Gray designs and maintains course websites for all of her courses, utilizes new and innovative technologies in her teaching, and incorporates unique technologies in her research. In the classroom, her latest teaching innovation includes the use of an audio book for the course text with a website and download component for student access. Her current research includes collaboration with the MTSU SOTL research group on student and faculty perceptions of online course. In addition she has received over $30,000 in grant funds for various research projects.

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May 30th, 5:15 PM May 30th, 6:30 PM

Student Perceptions of Audio Books in the Classroom: Technologically Savvy or Shabby?

Dolan School of Business Dining Room (104A)

As the use of technology continues to evolve and society demands more productivity in less time, instructors seek innovative ways and technological tools to connect with and instruct students. The current generation of college students is so adapted to the digital world they have been labeled the multi-tasking generation (Foehr, 2006; Wallis, 2006). Unfortunately, it is more common today for instructors to see students staring at their various media devices than reading course textbooks. One reason may be that traditional textbooks do not meet the needs of the digital generation. Could we harness the media addicted behaviors of students to improve their reading habits? For educators to tap into the multi-tasking, time conscious nature of students, it is necessary to think about innovative ways to encourage students to access assigned reading more frequently and efficiently. This study explored student perceptions of the use of audio books for course reading assignments as an innovative technological tool in an effort to encourage consumption of textbook materials. Findings revealed preference is tied to learning style and student perceptions of audio books is highly dependent on the level of engagement developed by the audio book, the navigability of files, and the ability of the audio book to be used by multiple devices.