Enriching Instruction through Integration of Multimedia and Computer Technology Resources

Jeffrey K. Hadden, Sociology

1995 TTI Fellow

Project website: http://cti.itc.virginia.edu/~jkh8x/

Using traditional classroom material to communicate the beliefs and practices of new religious movements (NRMs) presents special challenges in a higher education setting. This is the challenge that Mr. Hadden has faced in teaching about religious movements (SOC 257) at the University, over the last fifteen years.Most students in this course have little familiarity with the rich and constantly changing landscape of non-mainstream religion in America and have difficulty reaching beyond the media stereotypes with which they are familiar. In response to this challenge, Mr. Hadden employs a two-pronged approach in his use of multimedia technology in the classroom. To display the often vivid material associated with NRMs, such as ritual settings and behavior, he uses Microsoft PowerPoint to incorporate into his lectures a variety of images and photographs, taken from books, magazines, pamphlets and television. Through use of PowerPoint's powerful graphing and charting capabilities, Mr. Hadden is also able to display the complex statistical data on his subject that is the hallmark of empirical sociology. Another benefit of his use of PowerPoint is the capability to present a complete lecture outline as a series of slides, supplemented by images, graphs, and charts, rather than having to take time to write partial lecture outlines on the chalkboard during each class time.In addition, Mr. Hadden has made creative use of the World Wide Web in his course, by assigning browse sessions through numerous home pages on religion and by encouraging participation in a number of lively discussion groups, devoted to the always interesting and controversial subject of religious movements. Students also gain familiarity with news services available on the Internet, such as AP and Clarinet, that document the rapidly changing world of religion and are constantly updated. Used as a teaching resource in this manner, the World Wide Web provides an unprecedented source of information from which student may complete assignments and real learning may take place.

Related citations for this TTI project.