five hot topics in technology for studentaffairs.com virtual case study margarita dubocq (team...

Five “Hot Topics” in Technology

for StudentAffairs.com Virtual Case Study

Margarita Dubocq (Team Leader)

Stephanie Acheson

Jessica Berwick

Jennifer Novotny

Presentation Guide

Our Department ~ Department of Technology (dot.) Mission of dot. Generational Gap in Technology Technology’s Application to Student Affairs’ Theories Five “Hot Topics” in Technology Closing Remarks References

dBuilding communITy one click at a time

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Department of Technology (dot.)

Our committee, as members of the University’s Department of Technology (dot.), has identified that our campus needs to evaluate its use of technology.

We acknowledge that there is a generational gap in understanding technology that needs to be bridged.

Additionally, we recognize that there are advantages and disadvantages of incorporating new technologies on campus.

Therefore, in keeping with our Department’s mission statement, we have selected which five “hot topics” our campus should consider embracing.


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Mission of dot.

The Department of Technology (dot.) exists to provide innovative, cutting edge, and secure network services to support the campus community.

dot. is committed to working collaboratively to build and maintain community on campus through technological advancements.


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Generational Gap in Technology

A generational gap is the difference in lifestyles between older and younger generations (Vallone, 2007).

The pace at which technology advances is faster than generations’ exposure to new developments and trends.

Therefore, universities have to respond to the demands of students with regards to technology, while remaining aware of the needs of faculty, staff and administrators to be proficient in the new technologies (Chronicle, 2007).


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Technology’s Application to Student Affairs’ Theories Chickering and Reisser’s Environmental Influences (1993),

specifically: Institutional objectives Student-faculty relationships Teaching Friendships and student communities Student development programs and services Acknowledgement of the cyclical nature of learning and

development (Evans et al., 1998). Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development (1950), specifically:

Intimacy versus Isolation (Comstock, 2005 & Corey, 2005).


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Chickering and Reisser’s Environmental Influences

The selected environmental influences relate to one or more of dot.’s “hot topics” in technology.

Since technology is becoming a part of everyday campus life for students and administrators, it is important to consider how technology will impact their surrounding environment, as well as academic and social interactions.


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Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development During collegiate years, students are in stage six of Erikson’s

Theory of Psychosocial Development. Stage six: Young Adulthood, ages 18-35 years. The major

psychosocial crisis that this age group faces is Intimacy versus Isolation (Corey, 2005).

The challenge for Student Affairs professionals will be to find a healthy balance between technology that fosters intimacy, rather than encouraging a stronger environment of isolation.

As Student Affairs practitioners, it is imperative to find ways to encourage a feeling of intimacy while utilizing technology.


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Five “Hot Topics” in Technology

Blogs Institutional Spam Online-Learning YouTube Smart Cellular Phones


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Importance of Blogs

Blogs are a means of communication that allow individuals to express themselves in new and creative ways.

In Higher Education, Blogs can be used for educational purposes (courses’ assignments), as well as a means of allowing students, faculty, staff and administrators to convey their thoughts, feelings, opinions, and even activities in an online journal style.

Considering the increasing use of technology in university campuses, the inclusion of Blogs into the services provided by the university meets its constituents’ needs for communication with their technological-oriented lifestyles.


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What are Blogs?

The term originated from “web log,” which is a journal-style website that maintains information in chronological order (Wikipedia, 2007).

Blogs can be used for different purposes: personal journaling, scholarship publication, class reflections, admissions’ recruitment tools, and as a way of disseminating information to the campus community (Krause, 2005 & Carnevale, 2005).


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Example of the Appearance of a Blog

DescriptionHere's a short description about my blog. It's all about my crazy life and family.

Katie’s Blog

« February 2007 »

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 910

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

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Suspendisse at ipsum. Sed porta, nisl eget rhoncus convallis, elit augue fringilla lorem, ut blandit nibh nunc a tellus. Donec molestie vestibulum elit. Donec sed sem. Nunc eleifend consectetuer lectus. Suspendisse tempus, diam non fermentum vulputate, metus arcu suscipit lorem, et sodales pede ipsum a dui. In porta posuere metus. Quisque mollis nonummy metus. Vivamus bibendum. Ut ac quam sodales enim euismod posuere. In ante. Proin porta libero. Aenean a nibh ac turpis sodales rutrum. Phasellus eleifend tempus turpis. Sed a mauris vitae odio rutrum sollicitudin. Aenean mauris orci, imperdiet nec, egestas eget, euismod ac, eros. Integer at sem.

Posted: 03:03, 2006-Aug-9 Comments (1) | Add Comment | Link

Source: http://www.blogsplosion.com/demo3


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Advantages of Blogs Blogs provide an outlet for students, faculty, staff and administrators

to exercise their first amendment right (freedom of speech). Blogs are a way for faculty, staff and administrators to be involved in

the world of technology, while keeping a pulse on students’ thinking. Blogs can be used to incorporate technology into the classroom,

particularly in the form of online reflections (Krause, 2005). Admissions offices can also use Blogs to communicate with parents

and potential students, by having current students post information about their experiences on campus (Carnevale, 2005). An example of a school that is currently doing this is Baldwin-Wallace College (Baldwin-Wallace, 2007).


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Disadvantages of Blogs Blogs may no longer be a “hot topic” among students. The origin of

Blogs dates to 1994 (Wikipedia, 2007). Therefore, students may not feel as though this technology is innovative enough if it starts being incorporated into their classes and services provided by the university. Students who like to Blog may already be doing so on a different site.

The university needs to ensure that its policy regarding technology use regulates comments posted on university Blogs that may pose legal liabilities and bad publicity for the university.

Unprofessional comments written in Blogs can have lasting negative effects for the Blogger and the reader of the Blog.

Blogs are thought to hinder the quality of academic writing (Krause, 2005 & Dawson, 2007).

Not everybody likes to write journals, and not everyone has the time to read what it is written in them (Dawson, 2007).


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Importance of Institutional Spam

Institutional Spam is a way to communicate in an open, immediate and direct way with a community.

In light of the increased use of technology in today’s world, Institutional Spam allows universities to share important information with its constituents through a medium that is widely used by most people (e-mail).


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What is Institutional Spam? Institutional Spam is the policy under which mass communication

from the institution to students or groups of students is permitted or not permitted.

An example of Institutional Spam is the use of list serves that the university automatically creates for a selected group of people, in order to disseminate information to such group.

Another example of Institutional Spam is when individuals are copied in the carbon copy (cc) or blind carbon copy (bcc) line of an e-mail. This feature indicates that the message is for them to read, but that they do not need to take any action as a consequence of receiving such message.

The approval process for submitting requests to send a message from the university should entail determining if such message contains information that affects/informs students about issues that impact their well-being.


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Advantages of Institutional Spam

Institutional Spam is a cheap form of communication. With Institutional Spam, the university has the ability to select the

population to which the messages are disseminated. Institutional Spam allows the university to send information to

protect/inform students about issues that impact their well-being.


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Disadvantages of Institutional Spam If too many messages are being sent in the form of Institutional

Spam, students may choose to disregard the messages that come from the university. Therefore, the idea of using Institutional Spam as a means of mass communication would loose its effectiveness.

The university needs to consider if the messages are relevant to each recipient before sending them, in order to avoid loosing the effectiveness of Institutional Spam.

Policies should be developed to restrict the amount of Institutional Spam that is sent by the university, whether it would be through list serves, or by copying constituents in messages that are intended only for them to be informed (Ottawa Business Journal, 2006).


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Why Online-Learning?

Online-Learning was selected as a “hot topic” because it allows universities to have the ability to not only reach more students, but also a more diverse population.

The Internet is a popular tool that much of the academic population is already using.


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What is Online-Learning?

Traditionally seen as taking a class or possibly even achieving an academic degree through online coursework.

May also include using online tools, such as Blackboard, and incorporating it into “traditional” class work, such as class discussions, submitting academic work, or completing quizzes online to review course material.


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Advantages of Online-Learning

Online-Learning will allow the university to reach students who may not be able to attend a “traditional” campus. Popular reasons that students cite for enrolling in online coursework are work schedules and family obligations (Schwartman, 2007).

Online-Learning is accessible 24 hours a day, which is conducive to schedules that do not coincide with in-class lecture style classes.

Utilizing online education allows the instructor to constantly contribute to the material that is made available to the class, based upon student feedback, work, and class discussions (Bailor, 2007).


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Disadvantages of Online-Learning The Office of Postsecondary Education has changing regulations on

federal funding pertaining to universities that utilize Online-Learning. Until recently, universities with over half of its student population enrolled in distance-learning courses were not able to participate in federal funding programs (Pekow, 2006).

Funding limitations may be most imperative for public universities to consider, because they are more dependant upon federal funds and grants.

Anywhere between 50-70% of online learners are identified as adult learners and, the older the student, the more likely they are to be unfamiliar with technology or face challenges (Ezarik, 2006 & Schwartzman, 2007).

Universities must find ways to make Online-Learning courses ADA accessible, such as incorporating audio conferencing (Schwartzman, 2007).


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Why ?

The popular YouTube, free video sharing website, was selected as a “hot topic” because it poses potential threats and opportunities to university campuses, specifically related to marketing and communication.

YouTube has recently been in the news turning average individuals into overnight celebrities.

YouTube is a form of entertainment, and was voted “Invention of the year” in 2006 by TIME magazine. Alexa, a subsidiary of Amazon.com, ranked YouTube as the 5th most popular website, ahead of MySpace (Alexa, 2007).

One of the key features of YouTube is the ability to embed videos on other sites, such as MySpace and Facebook, which are popular networking sites among university students.


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What is ?

YouTube is a free popular video sharing website that allows users to upload, view, and share video clips.

YouTube has attracted massive young audiences, by allowing them to post homemade videos to their site and share them online.

100 million clips are viewed daily on YouTube, and approximately 65,000 new videos are uploaded every 24 hours. According to the Nielsen/NetRatings, YouTube has about 20 million different visitors each month (USA Today, 2007).


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Advantages of Universities can use YouTube as a means of viral marketing to potential

students, parents, alumni and financial donors. A hip video that highlights the university, its students, activities or other unique features is a popular way to get people talking about the university. A few videos already exist on YouTube that could be considered viral marketing for a university. For example, Boston College’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire” video (YouTube, 2007).

Opportunity to “Broadcast Yourself” as a student or broadcast a university.

Enhance feeling of intimacy for students with common interests, through visual and audio information sharing among other universities and the world.

Advertise programming and campus events. Ability to post lectures or guest speaker presentations for future review

and easy access. No special user account is required to view videos.


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Disadvantages of

Liability for content posted using university resources including, but not limited to: university computers, network, and video editing software.

Copyrighted infringement and law suits from copyrighted material owners.

Incriminating student videos which show illegal activities happening on campus, such as underage drinking, vandalism to campus property and policy violations.

Limited video length, 10 minutes. Video segments longer than 10 minutes have to be broken up into sections for viewing.


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Why Smart Cellular Phones?

Cellular phones and mobile device technology continue to improve. Most individuals who attend college possess a cellular phone and/or

mobile device(s) (i.e. iPod, PDA, etc.). For this reason, our Department believes that Smart Cellular Phones are an untapped market on college campuses.

Nearly every college student carries a mobile phone and, therefore, this has become students’ preferred form of communication. Leveraging mobile phones is a way to engage students more fully in the academic experience, because it literally puts the campus right at students' fingertips (Rave Wireless, 2007).


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What are Smart Cellular Phones? Smart Phones are sophisticated

mobile devices that offer students more than storage for their friends’ telephone numbers.

Through a USB cable or Bluetooth wireless technology, Smart Phones can: Synchronize data with a student’s

PC and Outlook Calendar. Serve as a GPS device to increase

safety on campus. Be utilized for classroom polls and

activities (Matthews, 2005).Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone


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Rave Wireless Rave Wireless is an example of a set of mobile applications that

provide possibilities that will allow the university to build community, increase campus safety and improve communication. Rave Essentials: Will allow broadcast text messaging (i.e.

emergency/safety alerts), enable group messaging and polling, offer the ability to download phone numbers from the student and staff directory, and even the capability to send e-mails to mobile phones.

Rave Academic: It will be possible for faculty to utilize mobile phones as a learning tool, by incorporating an in-class response system (i.e. classroom surveys) and the ability to send course announcements (i.e. change in classroom locations, cancellations, homework reminders) (Rave Wireless, 2007).


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Rave Wireless (Continued)

Rave Guardian: This GPS application puts a virtual campus safety officer at an individuals’ side when they would like, which can increase the campus communities’ feelings of safety.

Students have the option to activate a Rave Guardian timer on their mobile phone whenever they feel unsafe (i.e. about to cross campus late at night) and deactivate the timer after they safely reach their destination. Only when the timer expires and a person has not deactivated Rave Guardian, campus safety is notified with the student's personal profile, date/time and nearest GPS location.

This feature can also assist persons with special needs who may have medical problems or other disabilities (Rave Wireless, 2007). d

Building communITy one click at a timet.

Rave Wireless (Continued)

Rave Transit: A GPS system that tracks shuttle buses’ locations and sends messages of the estimated time of their arrival to mobile phones.

Rave Extender: This feature will allow the university to create mobile applications that are valuable for the students, faculty, staff and administrators (Rave Wireless, 2007).

Montclaire State University is one institution that has welcomed Rave Wireless into their campus. The following link provides a short video clip from students and staff discussing their experience with Rave Wireless: http://www.ravewireless.com/spotlight_overview.htm (Rave Wireless, 2007).


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Advantages of Smart Cellular Phones Land lines are becoming obsolete. The number of students who

own cellular phones has dramatically increased because they allow students to keep in touch with friends and family anytime and anywhere (Walling, 2007).

Smart Phones help students have a smoother transition into college life, and will hopefully increase the university’s retention rate.

Therefore, Smart Phones can allow campus administrators, faculty and staff to stay connected with students.


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Disadvantages of Smart Cellular Phones Smart Phones can be costly for the university and for the students

and/or their caregivers. Not all members of the university will be on board. The number of colleges and universities who have incorporated

Smart Phones on their campuses are minimal; thus there is limited research and assessment on this topic.

Some students who are new to college life may depend too much on cellular phones, which can inhibit a student’s independence when used too often to talk with parents and friends from home without engaging in the campus community (Walling, 2007).

New campus policies will need to be developed about the appropriate use of Smart Phones (i.e. no cheating in class via text messaging). Additionally, it is a concern that students may become distracted in the classroom.

Smart Phones are still a fairly new technology, thus there may be a few kinks with the technology.


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Closing Remarks

Technology is becoming a part of everyday campus life for students, faculty, staff and administrators. For this reason, it is imperative to consider how technology will impact the campus environment, as well as academic and social interactions.

Therefore, the committee from dot. believes that the incorporation of Blogs, Institutional Spam, Online Learning, YouTube, and Smart Cellular Phones will enhance the culture and learning environment of our Institution.

It is our hope that the Dean’s Council considers incorporating the aforementioned “hot topics” into our campus environment.


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ReferencesAlexa – YouTube.com. Retrieved February 11, 2007 from

http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?&range=max&size=large&compare_sites=myspace.com&y=r&url=youtube.com#top.

Bailor, C. (2007). Making the Grade. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Magazine, January 2007, 38-41.

Baldwin-Wallace Blog. Retrieved February 11, 2007 from http://www.baldwinwallaceblog.com/.

Carnevale, D. (2005). To Size Up Colleges, Students Now Shop Online. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 51, 40, A25.

Comstock, D. (2005). Diversity and Development: Critical Contexts That Shape Our Lives and Relationships. Belmont: Thomson Brooks/Cole.

Corey, G. (2005). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. Belmont: Thomson Brooks/Cole. Dawson, K. (2007). Blog Overload. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 53, 22, C2.

Evans, N., Forney, D., & Guido-DiBrito, F. (1998). Student Development in College. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Ezarik, M. (2006). Going the Distance on Engagement. University Business, December 2006, 17.

Katie’s Blog. Retrieved February 16, 2007 from http://www.blogsplosion.com/demo3.

Krause, S. (2005). Blogs as a Tool for Teaching. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 51, 42, B33.

Matthews, D. (2005). Beginner’s Guide to Smart Phones. Retrieved February 10, 2007 fromhttp://www.youngmoney.com/technology/cell_phones/050420. d

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References (Continued)Ottawa Business Journal: News Story. (2006). IT: Plugged in, wired up, stressed out. Retrieved February 9, 2007 from

http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com/286598582971646.php.

Pekow, C. (2006). Federal Officials Turn Aside Major Changes in Distance Learning, Direct Assessment Rules. Community College Week, 5.

Rave Wireless. Retrieved February 11, 2007 from http://ravewireless.com/.

Schwartzan, R. (2007) Refining the Question: How Can Online Instruction Maximize Opportunities for All Students? Communication Education, 56 (1), 113-117.

The Chronicle Review: Information Technology. (2007, January 5). The Chronicle of Higher Education, 53, 18, B16.

USA Today: Tech. (2006). YouTube serves up 100 million videos a day online. Retrieved February 11, 2007 from http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-07-16-youtube-views_x.htm.

Vallone, D. (2007). The Generation Gap is Not the Problem. Conversations On Jesuit Higher Education, 31, 33.

Walling, E. (2007). Cell Phones on Campus: Merging College Life and Modern Technology. Retrieved February 10, 2007 from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/44912/cell_phones_on_campus.html.

Wikipedia – Blog. Retrieved February 9, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog.

Wikipedia – Smart Phone. Retrieved February 11, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone.

YouTube – St. Ignatius Started the Fire. Retrieved February 11, 2007 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWaVR7M55Mo.


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five hot topics in technology for studentaffairs.com virtual case study margarita dubocq (team...

Documents

technology advances

understanding technology

increasing use of technology

mission of dot

importance of blogs

student affairs professionals

student affairs practitioners

generational gap