Olinda Ricard

Purpose of TLT Group

What do you think faculty should know about student use, attitudes about IT?

Olinda:  

Would like faculty to know that we are interested in learning how to use tech with them for them to embrace it as our society is moving at a faster pace.  ... not to pressure faculty into using it.,...

David:

I'd like for students to realize that faculty are almost as diverse in their approaches to teaching as students are  in their approaches to learning!  There are some who will never use technology in their teaching, on the other hand, I look at the progress we've made .. and marvel at how far we have come.   We've talked today about some things we never could have imagined... I hope the students are as patient with us as we try to be with them. 

January 18, 2007...

SUNO was hit hard by hurricane as well as Dillard ;   SUNO classes STILL being taught out of trailers..

Dillard private;  SUNO is HBCU and public;  NSU different;  Dillard got federal grant for student housing..

Schedule Boudreaux

Dec 6

Impact of Technology on your life/role as student (& student leader)

1. Are you especially pleased with any particular educational uses of technology?
2. Are you especially disappointed with any particular educational uses of technology?
3. Any fears and hopes about the impact of technology on higher education in the near future? 
   
4. How do you see new available technology helping/hindering constructive, humane problem-solving?
   

Today attended NSU President's Cabinet to discuss Blackboard;  worried that some faculty reluctant to use Blackboard; want to get more faculty to use Bb more;  president has agreed to estab policy to encourage faculty use of Bb;
She also made presentation to NSU Board of Supervisors about need for additional athletics funding - many told her afterwords that they had changed their minds about voting based on her (PowerPoint) presentation
Uses email daily;  3 email addresses;  uses Bb;  has taken online courses
Appreciates online courses to allow her to spend more time with family, other work...
Sees advantages of tech avail
Email...  NSU has trouble communicating with students... over past 2 semesters NSU using email more to reach students with info about scholarships, etc., internships,...
Uses 1 email as Student President for correspondence for that purpose;  personal Yahoo! acct (likes vast storage options);  NSU student acct - checks often because that's the one that faculty use and insist on using that email acct;
Likes Bb because it will force more students to use their NSU email accts
Student leaders and others who use NSU accts frequently tend to be leaders
Students who are commuters (vast majority) includes a lot of "non-traditional" students... lot of students are NOT much ahead of faculty... many are almost afraid, reluctant to use technology.. just as some faculty are "reluctant"...  beyond age difference... seems to be faculty who are comfortable with organizing how they work, how they communicate in certain ways they will be more receptive/less - those who are more outgoing, eager for personal relationships will resist computer/telecommunications - same for students...

Part of being leaders, active is wanting to be AWARE of what's going on... so want to use email, etc. to be keeping up, on top...
Faculty who like F2F interaction less receptive to technology...  don't feel tech should take place of traditional interaction... don't have need for technology in their daily lives...

At Nicholls - bandwidth has increased... now allowed to use Facebook, etc.  can use almost anything... blogs, etc.??????
Faculty reluctant because of lack of experience

Used NSU email acct during trip to France ....  along with 18 students and David Boudreaux...

Many student orgs use Bb for discussion board... kind of like own Website... can sign individual members into that site..

NSU is doing something interesting with blogs for admissions... orientation leaders make weekly entries;  so high school students can learn from current NSU students via blog would appeal - 2 or 3 semesters

Faculty Senate passed a resolution to "encourage" faculty use of Bb... President  said he would start a policy to "require" use of Bb.... at least posting grades and syllabi

Olinda likes about faculty use of Bb:    access to grades!   Likes the way some faculty have created discussion questions, provided supplemental info;  discussion boards allow students to interact with each other more than could happen within a regular classroom meeting (esp. lecture).  

Online interaction... discussion board and file exchange very useful... esp. for group projects...  good to be able to share info via upload/download files onto group page and give comments;   hasn't seen much use of Bb "virtual classroom" -  where people can meet at set time and hold live discussion via text - has done text chat via instant messaging not thru Bb;  most students now have cell phones... only met one student in 3 years who does NOT have a cell phone!    And now can do instant messaging via cell phone; 

Now, during hurricane, use of Bb was great for communication - even when phone lines were down!  Even when cell phones weren't working.

Why go back after Bb?  Because nothing beats human interaction!  Vital component of retention of students!  Knowing that faculty care about you!  Faculty can walk up and put hand on your shoulder and say "What's wrong?"  Why not use ALL of our resources as best we can.  

Guess that less than 50% of faculty have cell phones!  Or phones they bring to class or use when walking around!  Don't see faculty using cell phones ...

Use of cell phones in classes...  not unusual during a course meeting...  99.9% has nothing to do with the course being conducted in that classroom?

Many faculty say from the beginning of a course:    "If you have a cell phone, turn it off."  - that works mostly.  If faculty do NOT make this request, students may abuse the liberty of using the phone.    Maybe the university could send notices via email or text messages..  not sure of any other methods at this time...  maybe with Blackberry - but VERY few students use Blackberries yet...  maybe should invest in hand-held eLearning systems...

Lots of students have iPods - including her 12-year old son wants one for Xmas -....  

DavidB:  now aware of iTunes University!   

Olinda:  lots of students already audio-record lectures!  Not yet via cell phones.  Also possibly

Constructive Student Roles

With/without technology

1. What are some examples of student activities in recent years that best exemplify the kind of active, constructive, engagement you admire and hope to foster?
2. What are some of the most important ways you know of for students to participate constructively in the life of their college or university?
   
3. How do you see technology helping to provide or obstructing opportunities for students to take more active, constructive, engaged roles?  

Students ahead/behind Faculty vis a vis Technology?

1. How much/little undergraduates are ahead of faculty and administration with respect to use of new information technology tools and resources? 
   
2. Any comments about emerging role of cell phones?  instant messaging?  “texting”?  blogs?  FaceBook?.... 
   
3. Does your own experience suggest some categories of students who are being left behind the faculty and administrative staff in their access to and use of information technology?

Disaster:  Implications for Online vs. Face-to-Face  

1. What if you could download a copy of a lecture (like a video-recording)?  IN WHAT SENSES COULD/COULDN’T A “LECTURE” ACTUALLY BE COPIED AND REPRODUCED ELECTRONICALLY?
2.  How is the experience and threat of natural or man made disasters changing teaching and learning?   Changing the role of information technology?  Do some disaster plans include shifting – at least temporarily – more  classes to purely online?
3. As it becomes easier and more important to offer some parts of some courses online instead of face-to-face, what kind of important differences between those two situations emerge as most significant?  What kinds of differences emerge as least significant? 
4. What would we be losing temporarily?   What would be most important to make up for?
5. What would be most important to prepare for in advance? 

 

Efficiency vs. Personal Connections (Hallowell’s “Connectedness”?) 

1. What are the changing trade-offs between “efficiency” and “personal connections” in student work – face-to-face vs. online? 
2. What is being lost or gained? 

 

As we look at the role of communication tools in education that are powered by the Internet and other technologies we find the scope of the changes rapidly increasing. The theory behind Web 2.0 is that social networking is being facilitated by this new spectrum of software and hardware tools. Unlike[????  Not "unlike" but even faster!]  the introduction of the Internet and tools such as Internet Browsers and Email - the new tools within Web 2.0 are emerging in a fast a furious pace.

Even if you have no idea what Web 2.0 is, what is stands for, or have even heard the term - most know the technologies here and on the horizon are changing the way we can talk, think , and communicate with others.

Students?  Constructive roles WITHIN colleges, universities AND outside;  students who help TLTG identify issues, trends, tools...  react to practices, ideas, ...

 Good stuff, Lisa!

No students joining us today - but I will mention a few statistics on student usage of new Web 2.0 applications. - then mention that students have been key assistants to many faculty, development staff, network administrators, and other university personnel for quite sometime. Having work with several Student Technology Assistant Programs - I found that students provide an extremely important component to assist us in implementing ed tech in the curriculum. Why? TLT has been helping universities ask this important question and help them implement STA programs for....  Now we are stepping into the next era and forming a TLTG STA of our own - Student Tech Advisory panel - comprised of students who will come together virtually to help (see above). This is an exciting project and we look forward to sharing this experience...

 

BOTH GUESTS PLEASE CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS AND IDENTIFY 2 TO 5 YOU WOULD LIKE STEVE GILBERT TO ASK YOU DURING THE SESSIONS

Look back over past 10 years, think about next 2 to 5 years….

 

Expectations, Fears, Hopes for Improving Education with Information Technology 

Have your expectations changed with respect to how much/little undergraduates are ahead of faculty and administration with respect to use of new information technology tools and resources?  Any comments about emerging role of cell phones?  instant messaging?  “texting”?  blogs?  FaceBook?....  Does your own experience suggest some categories of students who are being left behind the faculty and administrative staff in their access to and use of information technology?

 

Are you especially disappointed with any particular predictions or expectations about the educational uses of technology from 5-10 years ago that have NOT been fulfilled?

 

Do you recall any important fears and hopes about the impact of technology on higher education that you still hold… still hope/expect/fear? 

 

Human Side of Technology 

The challenge:   to integrate the human side of education with the technology options

David Boudreaux is deeply representative of the human side and someone who has been both receptive and supportive to using technology… How do you see new available technology helping/hindering constructive, humane problem-solving? 

 

Student Roles 

How do you see technology helping to provide or obstructing opportunities for students to take more active, constructive, engaged roles?  

 Good stuff, Lisa!

(Lisa) What are some examples of student activities in recent years that best exemplify the kind of active, constructive, engagement you admire and hope to foster? Several years ago we brought in our STA students for a summer session to help with faculty development - these were students who had actively worked with technology for many years. During the summer training - they were simply available to help faculty with whatever training they needed - developing WebCT, learning video teaching tools, etc. What we found was that these students were able to partner with faculty and sit down in an active learning mode. Not only where they showing them how to setup a discussion board in WebCT - but we found the faculty would engage them in a conversation about - how to use the tool and ask them their opinion about the methods they should use to teach students. This was a very "teachable moment". Not from just the perspective that the students became the teachers in the truest sense - but - we used this to demonstrate how the connections for learning don't always come in the form of lecture. When the learner and teacher truly connected they both assumed both roles. It was of course the technology that brought them together - but the lesson was far a technology lesson.  In what ways has information technology helped or hindered? Sometimes the technology hinders that relationship - replaces the ...

 

Disaster:  Implications for Online vs. Face-to-Face  

How is the experience and threat of natural or man made disasters changing teaching and learning?   Changing the role of information technology?  Do some of your disaster plans include shifting – at least temporarily – more of your classes to purely online?

As it becomes easier and more important to offer some parts of some courses online instead of face-to-face, what kind of important differences between those two situations emerge as most significant?  What kinds of differences emerge as least significant? 

What would we be losing temporarily?   What would be most important to make up for?

What would be most important to prepare for in advance? 

 

What if you could download a copy of a lecture (like a video-recording)?  IN WHAT SENSES COULD/COULDN’T A “LECTURE” ACTUALLY BE COPIED AND REPRODUCED ELECTRONICALLY?

 

Efficiency vs. Personal Connections (Hallowell’s “Connectedness”?) 

What are the changing trade-offs between “efficiency” and “personal connections” in your own teaching and supervision of student independent work – face-to-face vs. online?  What is being lost or gained?  In what ways have your mostly online tutorials of the recent years been better/worse/different from your “regular” classroom-based courses?   What is the role of your “Chaucer day” event and how is it improved or undermined by the emerging role of information technology?