Teaching improvement grants: what they tell us about professors’ instructional choices for the use of technology in higher education

To understand the creative possibilities for the instructional uses of technology, it is important to understand what professors' are thinking about or imagining they could be doing. This article describes how an analysis of teaching improvement grants can inform us regarding professors' instructional choices for the use of technology in higher education. An analysis over 6 years of award winning innovative technology proposals emphasized the positive practices that were being proposed, the importance of situating the analysis within an historical framework (eg, over time, culture, infrastructure) and the value of focusing on professor thinking that precedes teaching action and subsequent evaluation of its impact on learning.