I'm a practising Academic - I haven't got it right yet

It may be the Homer Simpson School of life that teaches: "If you don't try, you cannot fail" but it is a mantra adhered to by many academics teaching in Universities too.

Yes, if you try out new technology, a different assessment, changed teaching delivery, team-teaching (OMG!) it may all go horribly wrong.  But it is only by trying that we learn, and only by learning that we succeed.

PICTURE BY RAWPIXEL AT UNSPLASH

So, how can you be innovative, try out different things, fail and still not look foolish or incompetent in front of your class (who are bound to remember it when module feedback is taken)?

1. Keep it simple.  No need to have a fully functioning platform when a simple feedback wall such as PADLET will get classroom engagement instantly.
2. With a little more planning any number of quiz tools - SOCRATIVE, MENTIMETER, KAHOOT will engage and test your students.
3. With a lot more planning an interactive case study from IE PUBLISHING will wow the class.  (I can say that because IE do not own the copyright on the word "Wow").

As educators we have a lot to learn, not just about our favourite discipline and the latest research but also about the technologies and pedagogies that can make teaching and learning interesting, engaging and truly educational for teachers and for students alike.