Creating a technology-rich associate degree program in office administration
Providing ideas to others who wish to explore the process of making a degree program technology rich is critical to faculty who are building best practice programs. Technology rich is defined here as technology-filled environments and curriculum that include innovative hardware and software combined with technologically enhanced activities and assessments. This literature review reveals a research gap in several areas relating to best practices with respect to the impact of integrating technology into teaching and learning. More quantitative studies that discuss research methodology and professional development in technological pedagogy are needed. Often research efforts have yielded no common definitions, significant differences, or guidelines to measure effectiveness. This article posits arguments for a more systematic study of how technology integration occurs within our schools, what increases its adoption by teachers, and the long-term impacts that these investments have on both teachers and students (Lawless & Pellegrino, 2007). In addition to the program background and findings on technology in education, this article also articulates a case example of a technology implementation in an associate degree program. Concluding with the students’ perspective, insight is offered into this program’s continued effort to bridge the gap of the digital divide for a student population of predominantly rural, underserved, and disadvantaged through a student-focused atmosphere and curriculum (Goode, 2010). A technology transformation and semester transition of an Associate of Applied Business degree program for office administration (OA) in rural Ohio is delineated.
Journal of Teaching and Learning with Technology
