student life and technology at telnet college a report by the telnet college technology committee:...

Student Life and Technology at Telnet College

A report by the Telnet College Technology Committee:Jene Kapela, ChairAmelia MannKara MillerMary Tufaro

Submitted by the College of William and Mary

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Purpose:

Mac G. Ford, Vice President of Student Affairs, Created the Technology Task Force To

Investigate Issues Concerning the Impact of Technology Upon

Student Life at Telnet College.

Mission:

The Technology Committee members will study and report on the pressing technological issues that affect student life at Telnet College. The Committee members realize the important role that technology can play in the education and development of students when used appropriately. For this reason, the Committee members will approach their task with the intent to:

Promote an understanding of student uses of technology outside the classroom.

Inform the campus community to both the benefits and risks of student uses of technology outside the classroom.

Determine the ways that student affairs staff members can utilize technology to better serve students.

Foster a better understanding of appropriate uses of technology when working with families of students.

Enhance professional use of technology, including increased knowledge and skill.

Promote an Understanding of Student Uses of Technology Outside the

Classroom.

“Technology is one of the forces today that has the power to transform the nation’s colleges and universities.”

“The convergence of publishing, broadcasting, telecommunications, and education is blurring the distinction between education and entertainment.”

Levine, A. (2000). The future of colleges: Nine inevitable changes. The Chronicle of Higher Education, October 27.

Technologies

The committee members recognize that students have access to a variety of technologies. However, this presentation will primarily focus on the use of computer-based technology on campus.

Worldware

“Worldware” is the term used to describe software that is not designed solely for education purposes but that can be used for teaching and learning. Examples of worldware include:

Word Processors

Design Programs

Image Composing and Editing Tools

E-mail and Instant Messaging Services

The Internet

Uses of Worldware

Students use worldware for a variety of purposes, primarily including:

Information

Communication

Entertainment

These uses can present both benefits and dangers to students.

Inform the Campus Community to Both the Benefits and Risks of Student Uses of Technology Outside the Classroom.

“Ahead for many in the campus community is a contest in which “high touch” competes with “high tech.” For some, these are inherently conflicting constructs. For others, the coming integration of “high tech” resources with “high touch” instructional practices represents what many faculty members and administrators view to be the best hope for revitalizing education.”

Green, K. C. (1999). High tech vs. high touch: The potential promise and probably limits of technology-based education and training on campuses. Competence Without Credentials, March.

“We definitely need specification and clarification of the rights and responsibilities of faculty members, students, and administrators on a whole range of issues relating to information technology.”

“We need to be very careful to ensure that information technology serves the university and not the other way around.”

Kantz, S. N. (2001). Information technology: Don’t mistake a tool for a goal. The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 15.

Benefits

Worldware has the potential to:

Enhance Student Development

Help Encourage the “Seven Principles”

Level the Playing-Field

Improve Learning Outcomes

Enhance Student Development

Extracurricular activities, including use of technology, can significantly enhance student learning and development (Astin, 1993; Chickering & Reisser 1993; Pascarella & Terenzini).

In general, use of technology is positive for the personal development of students (Kuh and Hu, 2001).

Student uses of technology can help advance Chickering’s “Seven Principles” and “Seven Vectors.”

Promote the “Seven Principles of Good Practice”

The seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education, developed by Arthur Chickering (1987), outline effective techniques for interacting with students to promote learning.

Good Practice:

1. Encourages Contacts Between Students and Faculty

2. Develops Reciprocity and Cooperation Among Students

3. Uses Active Learning Techniques 4. Gives Prompt Feedback 5. Emphasizes Time on Task 6. Communicates High Expectations 7. Respects Diverse Talents and Ways of

Learning

Arthur Chickering and Stephen Ehrmann (1996) determined that technology can play an important role in promoting these principles of good practice among students, as well as faculty members and administrators.

For example, technology can:

strengthen interactions between students, faculty, and administrators,

encourage the practice of study groups, collaborative learning, and group problem solving,

provide tools and resources for active learning, including learning by doing, time-delayed exchange, and real-time conversation, and

allow students to make better use of their time.

Encourage Development of the “Seven Vectors”

The seven vectors, developed by Arthur Chickering (1969) and revised in 1993 by Chickering and Reisser, provide a framework through which to view student development.

The Seven Vectors:

1. Developing Competence

2. Managing Emotions

3. Moving Through Autonomy Toward Interdependence

4. Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships

5. Establishing Identity

6. Developing Purpose

7. Developing Integrity

Technology can help encourage student development along the seven vectors.

For example, technology can:

increase communication and promote open discussion,provide opportunities for students to share their ideas and ask questions of others,enhance collaboration among students and increase student participation,encourage students to strengthen the skills they will need to function in today’s world,present learning challenges that force students to improve upon cognitive skills, andhelp individualize the learning process.

Level the Playing Field

Technology can:

allow for equal participation from a more diverse student population, and

afford equal opportunities for all students regardless of economic status, gender, race, physical abilities, and geographic location.

Dangers

Excessive Amounts of Time Spent On-line

The “Digital-Divide”

Legal Issues

On-line Harassment

Downloading Copyrighted Material

Excessive Amounts of Time Spent On-line

Students spend increasing amounts of time e-mailing, chatting, and instant messaging, downloading music, playing games, and browsing the Web.

Student use of technology serves as a popular method of procrastination, affecting students’ academic performance.

Furthermore, the amount of time spent on-line decreases personal interactions among students.

The Digital Divide

The term “digital divide” is used to refer to differences in economic status, gender, race, physical abilities, and geographic locations between those who do and do not have access and/or the skills to make use of information technologies (Shirley, 2000).

Although the digital divide presents extensive concerns for primary and secondary education, the matter is not as serious for higher education.

Two different recent studies (Lewis, Coursol, and Khan, 2001; Kuh and Hu, 2001) found that there is a lack of significant difference between male and female college students in use of technology.

Furthermore, the Kuh and Hu (2001) study found that college students use of technology did not differ significantly by race or ethnicity.

Legal Issues

A variety of legal issues arise out of student uses of technology.

For example, how does an institution define the line between free speech and protecting the community from offensive material?

How does an institution ensure the security of e-mail and web-based programs?

Is a technology service provider responsible for the misbehavior of those who use the services?

On-Line Harassment

The accessibility of computer technology has provided an easy means for students to behave inappropriately towards others.

As students can obtain e-mail addresses and log into chat rooms under any name, it can be almost impossible to track harassing messages.

Downloading Copyrighted Material

The practice of downloading materials – especially music – from the Internet has become very popular among college students.The high-speed connections provided by most institutions facilitate the ease with which students can share and download music and other items.Aside from concerns regarding copyright infringement, downloading large amounts of material also monopolizes the available bandwidth, clogging campus servers.

Determine the Ways That Student Affairs Staff Members Can Utilize

Technology to Better Serve Students.

“A specific example of the strategic use of technology is building community… Tailored online activities can expand horizons and make one a part of the greater world. However, students may become reclusive. The proper mix of high tech and high touch will be important in these new communities.”

Glick, M. D. & Kupiec, J. (2001). The answer is still technology – Strategic technology. EDUCAUSEreview, November/December.

“Our definition of learning is changing, just as is the delivery mechanisms (“technology”) available to serve learning needs.”

Twigg, C. A. (1994). The need for a national learning infrastructure. Educom Review, 29 (4,5,6).

“Technology is not something that happens to us. It is something we create. We must not confuse a tool with a goal. We must, therefore, be sure that technology serves the fundamental purposes of higher education.”


Student affairs professionals can enrich the college student experience by both protecting against the dangers and encouraging the benefits of student uses of technology.

While doing so, it is imperative to always ensure that technology use supports and serves the mission of the College.

Furthermore, student affairs professionals need to be more proactive in embracing current technology by providing better web-based services.

Counteracting the Dangers

Student affairs professionals can help counteract the dangers relating to student uses of technology by:

Building Community

Providing Equal Access

Educating Students About Important Legal Issues

Build Community

Work harder to provide programs that build community and encourage social interaction to prevent against losing identity, decreasing personal interactions, and excessive time spent on-line.

Create new learning environments that use technology to encourage communication between diverse groups of students. For example, host on-line discussions of significant campus issues that affect student life.

Provide Equal Access

Guarantee that all students – regardless of gender, race, financial situation, or enrollment status – have equal access to technology.

Reduce any inequalities that may already exist by providing training for all. For example, encourage women (who are less likely than men to use multimedia) to design their own web pages by offering a program on web design by women specifically for women.

Educate Students About Important Legal Issues

Many students, especially those who have not had extensive experience with computer technologies, are not aware of the vast array of legal issues surrounding technology use.Colleges should provide mandatory educational programs to inform students as to legal issues, such as downloading copyrighted music. These programs should also address students’ rights and responsibilities when using technologies.

Liability

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act relieves ‘on-line providers’ – such as universities that offer Internet connections to students – of some responsibility for copyright infringement by their users (Hutchinson, 2001).

This means that students can be held responsible for inappropriate on-line behavior, such as downloading copyrighted music.

Encouraging the Benefits

As already mentioned, technology use can encourage the emergence of new learning communities and enhance student development. Student affairs professionals must take advantage of these potentials by incorporating the use of technology in activity and program planning.

Web-Based Student Services

As students become more inclined to conduct business on-line, it is necessary for student affairs professionals to improve their web-based services to meet the needs of a more technologically savvy population.

Departmental and program web pages should be redesigned to appeal to the increasingly diverse students who have access to the Web.

Students should be able to receive and submit necessary information on-line.

Furthermore, student affairs professionals should utilize available technology when providing services to students. For example, offer:

grades by phone and/or through a secure on-line student information system,

transcripts in electronic format,

telephone and/or on-line registration for courses,

on-line academic advising, and

continuous web-based evaluation.

Foster a Better Understanding of Appropriate Uses of Technology When Working With Families of

Students.“The rapid breakthroughs of new information and communication technologies will further change the way knowledge is developed, acquired, and delivered.”

World conference on higher education. (1998). World declaration on higher education for the twenty-first century: Vision and action. October 9. Retrieved on 4/10/2002 from: http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/wche/declaration_eng.htm#world%20declaration.

Traditional means of delivering services and programs will be enhanced by technology.

Upcraft, M. L.; Terenzini, P. T.; & Kruger, K. Looking beyond the horizon: Trends shaping student affairs. ACPA Scholar Series. Retrieved on 4/7/2002 from: http://www.acpa.nche.edu/seniorscholars/trends/trends5.htm.

Communicating With Parents and Other Family Members

Family members of students increasingly expect all relevant information about the College and its services to be available on-line, as well as for some services to be provided on-line.These individuals also more often prefer to communicate with student affairs professionals through e-mail. For these reasons it is important to keep the needs of family members in mind when updating web-based services.

Enhance Professional Use of Technology, Including Increased

Knowledge and Skill.

“Institutions must change to meet the changing needs of learners. Information technology is playing a central role in these changes, driving the information explosion and making it possible for us to think about new ways of responding to new demands.”

Twigg, C. A. (1994). The need for a national learning infrastructure. Educom Review, 29 (4, 5, 6).

“We can continue to be reactive and use whatever technology seems to fit a given or perceived need, or we can be proactive and purposefully consider the larger arena in which we operate, and adapt our strategies accordingly.”


“The most successful institutions will be those that can respond the quickest…”


No longer can only a few individuals in an office be responsible for the technological needs of that office.

It is essential that all student affairs professionals have an understanding of the technologies currently in use by the institution.

Furthermore, it is necessary for staff members to learn new skills in order to provide new services and also to meet the expectations of students and their families.

Recommendations

It has become necessary for our student affairs division to not only respond to the technological advances taking place on campus but also to anticipate the changing needs of the student body.

The members of the this committee would like to recommend that the Technology Committee be appointed as a permanent standing committee to create a strategic plan addressing the five following propositions:

I. Systematically observe how much time students spend using technology for various purposes to better gauge how student affairs can meet students changing needs.

II. Develop a document that clearly outlines expectations as to students rights and responsibilities when using campus technology services.

III. Enforce a residence requirement for all first-year students to guarantee that students are exposed to the experience of living and learning in a residential community.

IV. Provide continuous training for student affairs professionals to ensure that staff members are able to use existing technology in a manner that meets the expectations of students and their families.

V. Complete a review of the current professional uses of technology within student affairs to determine how we can improve our practices.

These measures will guarantee that uses of technology on campus will better serve the mission of the College.

On-Line Resources

Association for Educational Communications and Technology - http://www.aect.org/

EDUCAUSE: Transforming Education through

Information Technologies – http://www.educause.edu/ Higher Education Trends for the Next Century: A

Research Agenda for Student Success – http://www.acpa.nche.edu/seniorscholars/trends/trends.htm

International Conference on Technology and Education

– http://www.icte.org/

National Learning Infrastructure Initiative - http://www.educause.edu/nlii/

U.S. Department of Education: Digital Divide –

http://www.ed.gov/Technology/digdiv.html U.S. Department of Education: Office of Educational

Technology – http://www.ed.gov/Technology/ World Conference on Higher Education – http://www.

unesco.org/education/educprog/wche/world.htm World Declaration on Higher Education for the 21st

Century : Vision and Action. http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/wche/declaration_eng.htm#world%20declaration

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Chickering, A.W. (1969). Education and identity. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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student life and technology at telnet college a report by the telnet college technology committee:...

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