Hey everyone! I picked out 3 articles for this week that I think relate to some of the discussions we've been having in our classes.
The first article is "Why Teaching is Not Priority No. 1". It discusses the ways in which college campuses are beginning to change, but that those changes are not being reflected in the classroom by faculty and why.
The second article is "Many College Boards Are at Sea in Assessing Student Learning, Survey Finds". This article also deals with the issues of quality, but in terms of whether or not boards of trustees on campuses are spending enough time discussing goals and student-learning outcomes.
The third article is a different topic and deals with technology, “Social Media Blackout”. Eric Darr, the provost at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology is pulling the plug of social media websites for a full week. Afterwards, students will be asked about their experiences and reactions to the experiment.
I think the social media blackout is a great idea. I enjoy my time on facebook and as the cohort can see its a great way to get to know people. Having the facebook group for the CSA program made me feel welcome before I even came here. People use facebook, twitter, myspace etc. way to frequently though for pointless things. I remember hearing that some people update their twitter status 2000 times a day. That is craziness! I'm interested to see what the students essays say. A week is not that long but to some avid users it may seem like a lifetime. I can say one thing, I would definitely not be receiving extra credit for staying off facebook for a whole semester. Its a great way to keep in touch with family and friends especially when you live across the country from most of them.
As I read the article “Social Media Blackout,” I couldn’t help but laugh and be intrigued as to how students, faculty, and staff will react to being prohibited from using all social media sites for a week. As the article predicts, I too feel as though constituents of Harrisburg University will go in a craze as though it were a “detox” because we as a society today are so caught up in social media’s that it has become the norm. I remember when I first entered USF as an undergrad in the Fall of 2006 how Facebook wasn’t a big deal and Twitter wasn’t even into existent; however, that is not the case anymore. Nowadays almost everyone has a Facebook and/or Twitter account and use them them as a primary means of socializing, marketing, and personal entertainment. Society has given more precedent to social media sites as means of information, rather than the more legitimate and reliable sources, such as the New York Times and CNN. I think the community at Harrisburg University will be upset when they first realize that they can’t access these social media sites at first because of it not being the norm; however, I do feel that by the end of the week they will appreciate it because it will have forced them to be more proactive in accomplishing meaningful activities. It will force them to study more, pay more attention in class, and not lose the common touch of making telephone calls and speaking firsthand to their classmates, friends, and colleagues.
The article "Many College Boards are at Sea in Assessing Student Learning" is interesting because it explains how the governing boards of universities and colleges don't spend a lot of time focusing on student learning. The boards are more concerned with the financial aspect of the universities or colleges. Most of the boards hold the administration accountable for the schools academic programs.
I feel like this system should be improved. The fact that college ranking data is more concerned with graduation rates, retnetion, and alumni surveys over quality of learning seems a little bogus to me. People go to college to learn and specialize in a certain field. They also go to develop, mature, and become more self-aware individuals. I think that ranking systems are all about status and numbers. In my opinion, the scales are very impersonal and inaccurate dipictions of universities and colleges. I also think that is important for members of the boards get involved in academic programs. They have a lot of say and push in certain universities and college so if the school is struggling with academic progress they have the means to change this problem.
As I read the “Social Media Blackout” article, my first reaction was it would be very difficult for me to do. It seems that at Harrisburg University social media is a part of the culture and taking it away will impact the way they get work done. My panic thought is: even though they are not using the technology that week, everyone else still is, so will they miss something important? But it is just a week, and there are other means of sharing information. I do think we are very dependent on social media, since it is so simple to stay in touch with people across the globe. I also know am more excited to receive a personal note in the mail than to get a facebook message. I hope students can see that sometimes communication is just as exciting without using social media.
As I student I do want teaching to be a priority for professors, but because of certain evaluation systems professors are not heavily rewarded for student success. If students and parents, the “customers” of higher education, are not pushing for a change then what will motivate professors to be more focused on student learning?
Alright…In a way I think taking away social media is a fantastic idea, but in another way I feel as though I am a “junkie” to social media as well. Facebook provides a lot of benefits, but in no way should it be a replacement for living your life outside of the computer world. Just like Lisa said, Facebook provides a way to keep in contact with family and friends across the country and I believe if used the right way is very beneficial for society. There isn’t a reason for 2000 Twitter status updates in one day…our lives are not that important to everyone following us. It is funny to know how many people this social media blackout at this one university will drastically affect and it isn’t just the students. I’m curious to see if we were to look on everyone’s computer while they are working on it…how many would have a tab or separate window dedicated to Facebook open all the time. Even though some of the older generations scowl at it, social media and technology has woven its way into our culture. You can see that just by looking at the “What Your Frosh Don’t Know” article Alyssa shared with us. Sure, a lot of us rely on it and it is a great experiment to take it away, but if we were growing up 50 years ago and didn’t have it…we wouldn’t know the difference. It will be interesting to see the outcome of this social media blackout!
In the article "Social Media Blackout" I think it is interesting that the provost would actually think it is a good idea to take this social media outlet away from the students.
When students go away to college many students use social media outlets like facebook to keep in touch with family and friends from home, as well as make new connections in their new environment. I also think that facebook and twitter keep students informed of what is going on in campus life, and keeps them involved. By taking this outlet away from them, the provost is preventing involvement and causing them to find alternate ways to communicate with everyone. (I.e. picking up the phone and calling)
If the students are working on a project together and using facebook to communicate with one another, and some of students that do not have cars and cannot get off campus to access these outlets, the quality of work can be jeopardized. (This can be particularly true if freshman students are not allowed to have cars)
Everyone uses social media outlets for different things. When I was working full-time after college, I barely had the time to go on facebook, and check messages, ect. When I would be able to on facebook, I would respond to messages and look at pictures and see what others were doing. I think taking this outlet away from students and faculty, without warning or knowing what they use it for is just inconsiderate.
I found the "Many College Boards..." post intriguing, especially after the conversation we had in class yesterday. Does anyone else find it interesting that it is becoming increasingly difficult for a university to define "academic quality"? My take, and a spin-off from our conversation yesterday, is that the student affairs side of education is growing more and more prominent in a student's life, almost to the point where the experiences outside of the classroom teach as much, if not more, than the classroom itself. These experiences are making it increasingly difficult to determine whether the university is delivering a quality academic product because it is nearly impossible to decipher how the student learned a particular subject matter. But that begs the question, does it really matter? If the student left the university with an increased knowledge and understanding of a particular matter, why does it matter how it was acquired?
Anyway, I guess I just think it's interesting that the variables leading to "academic success" and "academic quality" are becoming so foggy...
The "Social Media Blackout" article was interesting because Darr made a decision that was obviously not going to be popular, but might be one that opens some eyes. At one point, right before graduating from college, I had completely deleted my Facebook account. It's not that I didn't want to use it anymore, it's just that I realized I could probably save a ton of time by NOT having it in my life. And I did. For about 3 months, I was perfectly happy without my account. In fact, the ONLY reason I have one now is because I have moved so many times in my life that I use it to keep in touch with friends and family all over the country. I'd much prefer using a phone to communicate. So, having said that, I will be following this to see if any students realize, like I did, that Facebook isn't exactly necessary in their lives...
Also, I didn't have access to see the "Why Teaching is Number 1" article, was anyone else able to see it without subscribing?
I like the social media blackout article. I think it’s addressing a question that is coming up over and over again in all aspects of education, what to do about and with social media. Obviously this class uses a blog, one of my friends, who is teaching high school history, has a facebook page for her class, they can comment on discussion questions for extra credit and check their homework assignments on the facebook page. She said if they were going to use it anyway she might as well give it a purpose. I was amazed at the response we got to our admissions page when it started at the U of I last year. Prospective students post all kinds of questions and it is starting to look like they would rather post (in public!) on the facebook page then directly email a counselor. That really surprised me. I know we talked about a dislike of email as a mark of the millennials, but it still really surprised me that they were willing to ask questions about their college applications via our public facebook page. That first facebook page has expanded to an admitted students fan page and even a parents of admitted students fan page! If that’s what people want to use to get information, I guess I don’t see a reason why we shouldn’t keep expanding our use of it.
First, my comment regarding "Why Teaching is Not Priority No.1" is made under the assumption that the article is evaluating research universities, not liberal arts colleges (based on the institutions mentioned).
Research institutions do not base their evaluations of faculty (full time, tenure track or tenured) entirely off of their teaching. It is a multi-faceted evaluation that takes their teaching, research and service (to their field & to their university) into account. As you may have noticed though the Ecology presentations this week, the research universities value research, innovation, growth, etc.. To have faculty work to meet those expectations doesn't seem unreasonable to me; it is a means of succeeding at their jobs. This may make some students distressed over the quality of their classroom experience, but research universities hopefully are able to provide experiences outside of the classroom that are also educating.
I think that the comment that faculty demands are falling as student grades are rising is interesting. Is this a reaction to the increasing number of students? Or this a representation of the current generation of college students?
The article concerning shutting down social networking access at Harrisburg is very interesting. The issue can be viewed from the perspective of concepts that we have studied recently. We all like to consider ourselves dynamic individuals, flexible and willing to adapt to change. However, the article identifies how we are actually very static. Restricting the use of every day conveniences can be challenging for anyone. It is human nature to find comfort in static environments, and regular use of social networking leads to such comfort. It is clear that the experiment at Harrisburg was intended to be a growing experience from the perspective of the provost, however the majority of campus participants only saw the inconvenience; this proves how static we all can be when it comes to things we depend upon daily.
Emily, your take on teaching priorities at research universities was interesting and really made me think. I completely agree that students involved in research are receiving a valuable education through a much more hands on approach; however, those spots for undergraduate research are few and far between, as well as competitive to work with the professor and project the student wants. Shouldn't all students have an equal opportunity to learn the material they need to for their degree and build a relationships with a professor?
Also, I found it interesting that the article mentions "incentives" that schools are now trying to provide to faculty to get them to extend their office hours and engage with students more. Shouldn't faculty members WANT to do that? If someone doesn't care about making connections with students (which research has proven increases a student's ability to learn), then maybe they shouldn't be a professor.
The article on the social media experiment is one that is quite interesting. I want to highlight one point which made me think of an experience during my time interning in New York City.
“It’s not that, as an institution, we hate Facebook,” says Darr. Rather, it is about pausing to evaluate the extent to which social media are woven into the professional and personal lives of the people on the Harrisburg campus, and contemplating what has been gained and what has been sacrificed, he says. That colleagues with offices 300 yards apart communicate predominantly via the Web is interesting, Darr says, and merely talking about it does not dig deeply enough. “I wanted to make it real for people -- not to make it an intellectual exercise,” he says.
I remember my whole experience interning, and it was a challenge trying to talk face-to-face with producers for the show. They were so immersed in their work that in order to communicate with them, you had to send them an AIM message or e-mail. They were somewhat decent with responding to those messages. However, it made me think about how social media may have handicapped us as a society in reference to communicating.
I agree with everyone who has posted so far regarding the "Social Media Blackout". Without being repetitive in the "Social Media Blackout" conversation, I want to point out two things. I saw this article earlier this week while looking at my facebook newsfeed before Andrea shared it. A colleague in MA had shared the article and that is how I saw this to begin with - through social media. Also, another person posted a blog response with some information about how Harrisburg University uses twitter to inform students of details for events and it last tweeted that more information is to come next week...but there will be a social media blackout so students will not get those event updates. You can read the full blog post at http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/student_affairs_and_technology/shutting_down_social_media_access_i_take_umbrage This website also has many blogs on interesting topics and may be good for us to browse as professionals.
"Why Teaching Is Not Priority No. 1" was a very interesting article. As a former education major, there is a large push for differentiated instrction, student engagedment, and varied teaching techniques to be used in classrooms. Like the article mentions, it is impossible to assume all college students have been successful up until college with just lecture based style teaching. Students are used to variation, group work, discussions and overall classroom engagement. We are not doing students any favors by teaching students in one way. Also, in reading this article, I was immediately reminded of the Learning Recondsidered article we read this past week. That article called for student affairs and academic affairs (including faculty) to work together, be innovative, and be willing to change up everything for the benefit of the students. When I read this article, I was thinking about how student affairs professionals are more willing to do this and are forward thinking to think of the college administrators, faculty, and staff as a united front. I can think of many faculty at Brudgewater (a primarily teaching focused univesity) who didn't "get it" when it came to student development and growth and are not willing to change. Faculty in general, I think, are more static and put a lot of resistance to changing their ways. This article brings up a lot of reasons why the change in teaching format is important and the challenges of faculty to jump on the bandwagon. Some of the initiatives, like incentive pay, are unique but extrinsically motivated. The best student focused faculty and student affairs professionals "get it", are intrinsically motivated, and are willing to change their ways and try something new to see if the students benefit more. I don't think this is something that can ultimately be taught and so for an insitution to move in this directions, would need to think about those important charachteristics when hiring someone for an open position.
I think “Why Teaching Is Not Priority No. 1” brought up a lot of interesting points. Andrea brought up a good point that all students should have access to the same opportunities, despite the type of institution they attend. Many students may not realize when they are looking at schools that they may be getting different academic experiences based on what their faculty are required to do. I think it was very important in the article when Kevin Carey suggested that universities need “verification” that students are learning. I think this concept ties in with the maxim “look to the pioneers,” in that there must be an evaluation of what students are learning in order to better prepare for the future. If an instructor has an innovative idea to teach to a specific learning style, those successes must be documented in order for similar results to occur in other settings. Similarly, if new students are not responding to an older strategy, that must be taken into account as well.
"Why Teaching is Not Priority No. 1" is a complex article. In thinking about our discussion in class and what Ryan brought up in his comments, students are experiencing meaningful learning outside of the classroom. And through those practical experiences students are able to make connections with their academic course work. Can that be attributed to why students study less? Who knows, but it’s a thought.
Colleges and Universities are businesses and we’ve all heard that students are the consumers. If institutions pride themselves on all participants learning and teaching then faculty members are consumers also. Even so, if faculty cannot manage their time to connect with students and do their research, then I would not select them to “teach” students. Money should not be the driving factor in education and students need to be empowered to voice their opinions about the education they are getting. Have any of your professors asked you what your expectations of them were? I think academic affairs needs to be rejuvenated, the only time students “asses” professors is at the end of the semester and depending on the type of school you attend, often times students will not see that professor again. If student affairs educators are intentionally adapting to students needs outside the classroom wouldn’t one think that adapting to needs in the classroom is just as important? I know professors created a Service learning curriculum around their research. Because of that students are able to create a partnership with an outside organization and apply course work to something tangible. Win/win situation? Ultimately, resistance to change in the classroom hinders the student, faculty, and community. There needs to be an inclusive approach in the classroom for Universities and Colleges to truly say they are upholding their missions.
Assessments usually frustrated me more so in certain subjects than others. I think certain assessments make students feel incompetent which really may not be the case at all.
The "Student Learning" Article was interesting, especially coming a week after we read about the University of Washington and other universities that are facing severe budget deficits in the upcoming year(s). When looking at the structure of any Board of Trustees for a university, it is easy to see it is similar to any other public company in the country. All are successful business men and women from their respective fields coming together to make decisions that impact the university. However, hardly any of their business experience is anywhere close to dealing with education. Even if they were to focus on academic discussions during their meetings, how effective could they actually be? Many universities are trying to improve their rank, standards of education, etc., through detailed strategic plans and learning outcomes, but with budgets decreasing cuts will have to made somewhere. I guess just like everywhere else faculty and staff are asked to do more with less and produce higher quality results.
The Facebook article is interesting. In our office we have four computers that do not have access to Facebook (for whatever reason I do not know). Guess which computers are the least used? All of our student leaders know this and avoid these computers unless the rest are in use. The test is an interesting idea, but students, faculty, and staff will still be able to access social media through phones or wireless cards. I feel social media has a place in all of our lives and that just like anything else in life, use in moderation is healthy.
This assessment may apply almost exclusively to research universities, however, I think this is mostly where the issue discussed in the article “Why Teaching Is Not Priority No. 1” occurs. In my opinion, the lack of priority on teaching and student learning has almost everything to do with the point brought up by Ms. Kezar in the third paragraph of the article – faculty rewards have little, if anything to do with student learning. A fundamental rift exists in what these universities say they are expecting from their professors and what is actually being encouraged. Learning is not being encouraged if the rewards (promotions and continued employment) are contingent upon publishing and research success. Dr. Miller gave us an excellent example in class demonstrating how these inconsistencies are perpetuated when he told us about the faculty member who was an excellent instructor but didn’t publish enough and therefore did not receive tenure. I don’t think that teaching can be expected to be a priority for faculty if they are not being rewarded for it. This is why, Andrea, those incentives are often needed. Faculty members are sometimes being stretched in two different directions, and if giving more in the direction of research and other work means keeping his or her position, which way do you think a professor will go?
Without being redundant to the conversation on social media, I just want to point out that I first read this article, "Social Media Blackout" before Andrea posted it here on facebok because an out of state friend shared the link on my newsfeed. My first introduction to the article was through social media and I think that says a lot.
The article "Why Teaching is Not Priority No. 1" was very interesting. I was thinking about the incentives in the article like Caitlin mentioned above. I agree with Caitlin that the lack of incentive for student learning only promotes this same focus that hurts student learning, but I also think we need to be careful what is created to be an incentive. The article mentioned merit pay for an increased focus on student learning but I don't think that is a good solution either. That type of incentive is a extrinsic and not a pure motivation that will last in the classroom. Like Dr. Miller was talking about this week, people should be intrisically motivated, they truly believe in what they are doing. Students can tell the difference of why one professor puts his heart and soul into teaching and one who goes through the motions. Like Monica mentioned, Academic affairs should be more dynamic and open to change. When reading this article, I thought of the "Learning Reconsidered" article from last week that called for student affairs and academic affairs to be a united front and be open to changing their ways if it benefits student learning. Like Monica, I agree that student affairs professionals are more open to developing themselves and trying new things but overall faculty can be stagnant and stubborn in their ways. Even at Bridgewater, a teaching focused school, a large number of faculty still taught lecture style without diversifying instruction styles - something our education classes called for. The only way an institution will make a change to make teaching and student learning the number 1 priority is if they keep that in mind during the hiring process. Although some of this can be learned, I do think being open to change and being intrisically are more personality traits than somehting people can learn.
The article that caught my attention the most was the "Social Media Blackout." It had me from the first sentences. Seeing a 16-year-old girl on a cell phone, let alone an Iphone, multi-tasking with the internet and talking on the phone. This sad to say is becoming a popular image to many parents today.
I commend Darr for making this an experiment, not just for the students, but adding faculty and staff as well. I think it was a good idea to have everyone take a break from technology and focus on other things. I'm sure like the article said some faculty and even more students would be upset, but in the long run this only works to help them communicate better with the people right in front of them and not the people in different states they are less likely to meet.
I would be very interested to read the comments student and faculty made about this experiment. I am very curious to see how their day to day routines changed without social media.
I used to be like the daughter described in the "Social Media Blackout" article. However, after a certain point I just could not keep up! The social media that is presented to us today is great in a lot of ways, but for every thing used for positive, there are people who will abuse and use it for negative unfortunately. Then there is the whole fad aspect of the social network. I continue to use the social network facebook, but juggling facebook, twitter, myspace, etc. I wont do. For college students the social media is often where we explore and test things to broaden our horizons help benefit our future career goals. All and all , I think the social media will continue to grow to new lengths and we will be blown away!
I found the "Social Media Blackout" very interesting. Like Angela mentioned above it is fine in moderation. I feel that social media can be a helpful tool to reach out to college students. For example the USF page often posts upcoming event to get students involved and even the Career Center has a Twitter page and blog. It is about reaching the students where they often look. In addition I know that when I worked at Disney we posted ad's for our internship position in Facebook and this brought in a high volume of applicants. So I feel like so many do, social media is fine in moderation and is a new and exciting way to reach out to our students.
The "Social Media Blackout" article was fascinating. I believe many of you would agree that the majority of young adults have become dependent on Facebook and other social media sites, as well as other technological forms of communication such as skype, text messaging, etc. I do believe that such an experiment would be very interesting and I would actually like to try it. At the same time, it becomes difficult because, as Lisa mentioned, being out of state I find facebook and skype to be the best way to keep in touch with friends and family on a daily basis. I would almost feel disconnected from them if I didn't have social networking. I also agree with Julie. Because students update and check facebook on a regular basis, it becomes a great way to communicate information as well as events on campus.
In regards to the "Social Media Blackout" article. It was a cool idea, but I'm sure that experiment was not effective if it was done this year. Removing social networking from campus computers would only cause students to access them elsewhere on just on their phones. I don't see this experiment accomplishing anything. It's an interesting concept though.
I was amused by the Harrisburg experiment. It has been said that if you give a person two weeks, they can learn or break a die-hard habit. Granted, this is only a week long, they’d be half-way there! There will no doubt be withdrawal symptoms depicted in their data. My freshmen year, all the social networking consumed my time to the point that I had to go cold turkey just to be sure that I made time for my schoolwork. Needless to say, according to my friends and family, I apparently “dropped from the face of the earth,” simply because I chose to spend more of my time ON earth, rather than in cyberspace. I’m on facebook, sure, but not on any measure of a regular basis. Anyone else go through something similar? Are people still as active on social networking sites as they were when the sites first came out and generated high new membership volumes? I’m just curious…
The “Social Media Blackout” article was a very interesting read. At first I was imagining that the provost was going to ban social media web sites out right. Understandably, I did not quite agree with this idea. Then I realized that it was just an experiment for a week. This is a rather interesting concept to illustrate just how addicting—and necessary—technology is in today’s interconnected world.
While the students will have to forgo Facebook for a week at school, they’ll be able to access it once they leave. I’m not sure how effective the experiment will be if all the students have to do is leave. On the other hand, students are known to check Facebook quite frequently, and this might throw a wrench into their normal routines.
I believe that technology is neither a good or bad thing. The people that use it determine its moral purpose.
I feel like the first two article are each leaning in the same direction. The direction of the university comes from the top down. When the focus of the Board and the administration shifts to focus on the quality of the education in the classroom we will see substantial change. I am not surprised that the professors are hesitant to embrace classroom changes. They have certainly seen new ideas come and go and cannot get caught up in the prevailing winds that are likely to quickly breeze past their schools. Research and publication seem to have been the driving force in higher education for years. When tenure and pay are dependent on teaching, instead of other areas, teaching will become more of a priority. As a previously paying university customer, I wish I had done a better job identifying the priorities of the schools I attended. It would be interesting to see what reaction would be for some of these research schools if students started basing their school decisions on what happens in the classroom.
I focused on the article "Many College Boards Are at Sea in Assessing Student Learning, Survey Finds." The article describes the disconnect associated with decision making board members and the academic progress of universities.
I found this interesting due to an experience that occurred this last year. I was given the opportunity to observe a board of trustees meeting for the University of South Florida in which I found myself wondering what role academics and student affairs played in the board of trustees. It is interesting to think that the group that decides the future of the institution does not have their hands in what the university is currently doing towards that future. This model of higher education more closely resembles a factory than a learning centered environment. It places value on efficiency rather than growth or meaningful work.
I found one section particularly disheartening, "the most commonly received information by boards was college-ranking data, which three-quarters of respondents said were very important or somewhat important in monitoring educational quality." The board members are evaluating our educational standards by looking at them through the lens of a ranking and not finding out the educational value of the institution in which they govern. To me this states that they are no more equipped to make decisions regarding the academic goals of the university than the students that are applying to different schools. Without any knowledge of the real problems at hand how can the board correctly address these issues? and if the institution does fall behind by academic standards how does the board judge what steps to take to correct the direction?
"Why Teaching is Not Priority No.1" really resonated with me. The issues, like Monica noted, are complex though. In one respect, I'd say that more focus on student learning should be integrated into campuses nationwide. Not to say that research, publications etc...aren't necessary and important aspects of those colleges and universities for whom that is their primary concern (research universities); however, I know firsthand that student DO often get the short end of the stick in those classes/colleges/institutions where the professor is more concerned with his deadlines than the students and their educational goals. Conversely, I do not think a universal shift to measuring/requiring explicit student outcomes would be beneficial. Such a universal push would stifle the freedom, variety, and open learning that makes the college learning experience uniquely what it is. It is incumbent upon the institution to, through whatever criteria they use, ensure that they are hiring educators who are teaching the students what they need to know. The professor in the article at the school in Maryland noted that "everybody will get something different" out of her psychology course. While this could be problematic for foundational/gen-ed courses (everyone needs to be getting the same thing out of Pre-calc and Composition 101), this is the beauty of a true learning process!
Oh and I thought the social media blackout idea was stupid, mostly for the reasons his colleagues noted in the article. A week really isn't enough time to get a clear picture of what it would be like to live without social media. I asked myself, "What happens when the students go home?" Or is it just the lack of the media at school/on campus that he wants to observe. Further, what is the point? The advent of social media and its implications for education have been positive. He was born in the 50s/60s, he knows what it was like. It sucked! Seems to me an idea born out of nostalgia. Maybe he should find some of his old high school buddies on facebook and get together and reminisce about the "good old days" when they used slide-rules in math, the Pony Express was how you sent a message, and the only computer was the ENIAC rather than imposing a blackout on the whole campus.
The article conerning the boards at Colleges and Universities raises valid questions. But what I think is lost in the whole discussion is how subjective the "learning process" is and how immeasurable outcomes can be sometimes. As a USF recruiter it made me shudder when students asked questions about rankings or percentages, especially for things such as "what perecent of biology majors end up at UF medical school". This is an extreme example but it is not far off from what we were asked. I agree that Boards may not be suited to accurately assess the academic progress of a school, but I also think schools need a more universal measuring stick. GPA of grads, # of grads from specific programs etc. could be helpful stats for prospective students. If you notice a lot of outcomes were measured from Alumni surveys. In my experience we had limited data concerning Graduate school placement, jobs etc. for graduates. Because the data is entirely self reported, if Alumni were not responding we had no data. This is why it is difficult to give appropriate info regarding these matters.
Social Media..........oh boy. I had to laugh at Justins comment about having facebook minimized on peoples' computers because I am positive it happens in the workplace. Ryan also makes a good point of social media being a "time waster" type of site. Now I dont know if 1 week of banning social media will really make a significant impact but it's an interesting idea.
After reading the article "Social Media Blackout" I thought...they're in for a rough week. Pulling the plug on big social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, will probably get harsh feedback. It's crazy though to think and realize how these sites have become such a big part of our lives. Facebook has become a social network that has sky rocketed past it's original use for college students. It's being used in classrooms and businesses are using Facebook for advertisements. It will be really interesting how the campus copes without being able to use these huge social networks. I think feedback from not only the students will be intriguing but the professors as well.
I read the "Social Media Blackout" article as many have and I find it courageous to take away the very thing that is revolutionary for college campuses right now. Even with a short term experiment, Harrisburg will absolutely face resistance. Today's students have grown up with information available at their fingertips, with the ability to know everyone's personal and professional lives with the click of a button. I have been without a social network at my immediate disposal and I found it frustrated and disconnected at first, but then I realized I was not concerned with it and I payed attention to other things. I was forced to talk with and interact face to face with people, which is one characteristic or skill that many students need help with. I enjoyed the part of the article where is was stated that “And I think that the beauty of this is it forces us to ask, ‘Why are we doing all this in the first place?". This is a great summary as to why the experiment is taking place, what is the point of creating a social network that you are so engrossed in. It is a great tool but with many challenges.
1 and 2) I found this first article to be really interesting. Assessing whether or not faculty teaching is really conducive to the learning process has really lagged behind. At USF for example, professors who receive high marks from their students at the end of the year receive higher bonuses (or something like that). The problem is, the assessments the students take don’t drive professors to change and the questions ask are confusing and students just don’t take them seriously. I recently helped facilitate the student success forum and in every single group, students pointed out that USF seems to focus on research and the focus on teaching has disappeared. I disagree with the article that students don’t focus on teaching because over and over again I heard that students are tired of being taught by TA’s, GA’s, and adjunct professors and want real quality instruction, not student-mills whose focus is on turning out graduates. Students recognize this; the assessments just don’t ask the right questions. Universities need to focus more on student education and less on research, unless that research is being used to educate (something I personally think USF does do well by its embrace of undergraduate research).
3) I found this completely ridiculous! This experiment seems pretty pointless in achieving its goals. First and foremost, it almost feels like they’re trying to reinvent the wheel. If you asked any sane person whether social networking has been engraved and woven into our culture, they would of course say yes. Why prove what has already been proven? And it really feels like they’re kidding themselves by attempting to block these networking sites. If any student is deprived of these sites, they’ll just whip out their phones and tweet and update their Facebook status on their mobile device. That should show that social networking is an integral part of our culture. Think about it, who doesn’t have a Facebook (at the very least) these days? And if they don’t, do we not try to figure out what is wrong with them or how they communicate with the outside world?
I actually heard about the Social Media Blackout trial before I read this article and already had some ideas forming about it. I remember at my undergrad, University of Louisville, my first year facebook, myspace, and all the other social networking websites were banned from every single computer on campus. Finally after many protest and discussion with administration the ban was lifted. It was found that the social networking sites weren't hindering student success but actually enhancing it. Students were able to easily connect with class project groups, people in their same hall, and any other student they met just once. The administration came to realize that students were doing more than just utilizing the social part of the sites they were actually utilizing the networking aspect. I do believe that the amount of use of the websites has become a little more than drastic, and find this experiment to be very interesting.
Hey everyone! I picked out 3 articles for this week that I think relate to some of the discussions we've been having in our classes.
ReplyDeleteThe first article is "Why Teaching is Not Priority No. 1". It discusses the ways in which college campuses are beginning to change, but that those changes are not being reflected in the classroom by faculty and why.
http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Teaching-Is-Not-Priority/124301/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
The second article is "Many College Boards Are at Sea in Assessing Student Learning, Survey Finds". This article also deals with the issues of quality, but in terms of whether or not boards of trustees on campuses are spending enough time discussing goals and student-learning outcomes.
http://chronicle.com/article/Many-College-Boards-Are-at-Sea/124349/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
The third article is a different topic and deals with technology, “Social Media Blackout”. Eric Darr, the provost at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology is pulling the plug of social media websites for a full week. Afterwards, students will be asked about their experiences and reactions to the experiment.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/09/09/harrisburg
I think the social media blackout is a great idea. I enjoy my time on facebook and as the cohort can see its a great way to get to know people. Having the facebook group for the CSA program made me feel welcome before I even came here. People use facebook, twitter, myspace etc. way to frequently though for pointless things. I remember hearing that some people update their twitter status 2000 times a day. That is craziness! I'm interested to see what the students essays say. A week is not that long but to some avid users it may seem like a lifetime. I can say one thing, I would definitely not be receiving extra credit for staying off facebook for a whole semester. Its a great way to keep in touch with family and friends especially when you live across the country from most of them.
ReplyDeleteAs I read the article “Social Media Blackout,” I couldn’t help but laugh and be intrigued as to how students, faculty, and staff will react to being prohibited from using all social media sites for a week. As the article predicts, I too feel as though constituents of Harrisburg University will go in a craze as though it were a “detox” because we as a society today are so caught up in social media’s that it has become the norm. I remember when I first entered USF as an undergrad in the Fall of 2006 how Facebook wasn’t a big deal and Twitter wasn’t even into existent; however, that is not the case anymore. Nowadays almost everyone has a Facebook and/or Twitter account and use them them as a primary means of socializing, marketing, and personal entertainment. Society has given more precedent to social media sites as means of information, rather than the more legitimate and reliable sources, such as the New York Times and CNN.
ReplyDeleteI think the community at Harrisburg University will be upset when they first realize that they can’t access these social media sites at first because of it not being the norm; however, I do feel that by the end of the week they will appreciate it because it will have forced them to be more proactive in accomplishing meaningful activities. It will force them to study more, pay more attention in class, and not lose the common touch of making telephone calls and speaking firsthand to their classmates, friends, and colleagues.
-Greg
The article "Many College Boards are at Sea in Assessing Student Learning" is interesting because it explains how the governing boards of universities and colleges don't spend a lot of time focusing on student learning. The boards are more concerned with the financial aspect of the universities or colleges. Most of the boards hold the administration accountable for the schools academic programs.
ReplyDeleteI feel like this system should be improved. The fact that college ranking data is more concerned with graduation rates, retnetion, and alumni surveys over quality of learning seems a little bogus to me. People go to college to learn and specialize in a certain field. They also go to develop, mature, and become more self-aware individuals. I think that ranking systems are all about status and numbers. In my opinion, the scales are very impersonal and inaccurate dipictions of universities and colleges. I also think that is important for members of the boards get involved in academic programs. They have a lot of say and push in certain universities and college so if the school is struggling with academic progress they have the means to change this problem.
-Megan
As I read the “Social Media Blackout” article, my first reaction was it would be very difficult for me to do. It seems that at Harrisburg University social media is a part of the culture and taking it away will impact the way they get work done. My panic thought is: even though they are not using the technology that week, everyone else still is, so will they miss something important? But it is just a week, and there are other means of sharing information. I do think we are very dependent on social media, since it is so simple to stay in touch with people across the globe. I also know am more excited to receive a personal note in the mail than to get a facebook message. I hope students can see that sometimes communication is just as exciting without using social media.
ReplyDeleteAs I student I do want teaching to be a priority for professors, but because of certain evaluation systems professors are not heavily rewarded for student success. If students and parents, the “customers” of higher education, are not pushing for a change then what will motivate professors to be more focused on student learning?
Alright…In a way I think taking away social media is a fantastic idea, but in another way I feel as though I am a “junkie” to social media as well. Facebook provides a lot of benefits, but in no way should it be a replacement for living your life outside of the computer world. Just like Lisa said, Facebook provides a way to keep in contact with family and friends across the country and I believe if used the right way is very beneficial for society. There isn’t a reason for 2000 Twitter status updates in one day…our lives are not that important to everyone following us. It is funny to know how many people this social media blackout at this one university will drastically affect and it isn’t just the students. I’m curious to see if we were to look on everyone’s computer while they are working on it…how many would have a tab or separate window dedicated to Facebook open all the time. Even though some of the older generations scowl at it, social media and technology has woven its way into our culture. You can see that just by looking at the “What Your Frosh Don’t Know” article Alyssa shared with us. Sure, a lot of us rely on it and it is a great experiment to take it away, but if we were growing up 50 years ago and didn’t have it…we wouldn’t know the difference. It will be interesting to see the outcome of this social media blackout!
ReplyDeleteIn the article "Social Media Blackout" I think it is interesting that the provost would actually think it is a good idea to take this social media outlet away from the students.
ReplyDeleteWhen students go away to college many students use social media outlets like facebook to keep in touch with family and friends from home, as well as make new connections in their new environment. I also think that facebook and twitter keep students informed of what is going on in campus life, and keeps them involved. By taking this outlet away from them, the provost is preventing involvement and causing them to find alternate ways to communicate with everyone. (I.e. picking up the phone and calling)
If the students are working on a project together and using facebook to communicate with one another, and some of students that do not have cars and cannot get off campus to access these outlets, the quality of work can be jeopardized. (This can be particularly true if freshman students are not allowed to have cars)
Everyone uses social media outlets for different things. When I was working full-time after college, I barely had the time to go on facebook, and check messages, ect. When I would be able to on facebook, I would respond to messages and look at pictures and see what others were doing. I think taking this outlet away from students and faculty, without warning or knowing what they use it for is just inconsiderate.
I found the "Many College Boards..." post intriguing, especially after the conversation we had in class yesterday. Does anyone else find it interesting that it is becoming increasingly difficult for a university to define "academic quality"? My take, and a spin-off from our conversation yesterday, is that the student affairs side of education is growing more and more prominent in a student's life, almost to the point where the experiences outside of the classroom teach as much, if not more, than the classroom itself. These experiences are making it increasingly difficult to determine whether the university is delivering a quality academic product because it is nearly impossible to decipher how the student learned a particular subject matter. But that begs the question, does it really matter? If the student left the university with an increased knowledge and understanding of a particular matter, why does it matter how it was acquired?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I guess I just think it's interesting that the variables leading to "academic success" and "academic quality" are becoming so foggy...
The "Social Media Blackout" article was interesting because Darr made a decision that was obviously not going to be popular, but might be one that opens some eyes. At one point, right before graduating from college, I had completely deleted my Facebook account. It's not that I didn't want to use it anymore, it's just that I realized I could probably save a ton of time by NOT having it in my life. And I did. For about 3 months, I was perfectly happy without my account. In fact, the ONLY reason I have one now is because I have moved so many times in my life that I use it to keep in touch with friends and family all over the country. I'd much prefer using a phone to communicate. So, having said that, I will be following this to see if any students realize, like I did, that Facebook isn't exactly necessary in their lives...
Also, I didn't have access to see the "Why Teaching is Number 1" article, was anyone else able to see it without subscribing?
Hey Ryan,
ReplyDeleteYou can subscibe to the Chronicle its quick and free. :)
I like the social media blackout article. I think it’s addressing a question that is coming up over and over again in all aspects of education, what to do about and with social media. Obviously this class uses a blog, one of my friends, who is teaching high school history, has a facebook page for her class, they can comment on discussion questions for extra credit and check their homework assignments on the facebook page. She said if they were going to use it anyway she might as well give it a purpose. I was amazed at the response we got to our admissions page when it started at the U of I last year. Prospective students post all kinds of questions and it is starting to look like they would rather post (in public!) on the facebook page then directly email a counselor. That really surprised me. I know we talked about a dislike of email as a mark of the millennials, but it still really surprised me that they were willing to ask questions about their college applications via our public facebook page. That first facebook page has expanded to an admitted students fan page and even a parents of admitted students fan page! If that’s what people want to use to get information, I guess I don’t see a reason why we shouldn’t keep expanding our use of it.
ReplyDeleteFirst, my comment regarding "Why Teaching is Not Priority No.1" is made under the assumption that the article is evaluating research universities, not liberal arts colleges (based on the institutions mentioned).
ReplyDeleteResearch institutions do not base their evaluations of faculty (full time, tenure track or tenured) entirely off of their teaching. It is a multi-faceted evaluation that takes their teaching, research and service (to their field & to their university) into account. As you may have noticed though the Ecology presentations this week, the research universities value research, innovation, growth, etc.. To have faculty work to meet those expectations doesn't seem unreasonable to me; it is a means of succeeding at their jobs. This may make some students distressed over the quality of their classroom experience, but research universities hopefully are able to provide experiences outside of the classroom that are also educating.
I think that the comment that faculty demands are falling as student grades are rising is interesting. Is this a reaction to the increasing number of students? Or this a representation of the current generation of college students?
The article concerning shutting down social networking access at Harrisburg is very interesting. The issue can be viewed from the perspective of concepts that we have studied recently. We all like to consider ourselves dynamic individuals, flexible and willing to adapt to change. However, the article identifies how we are actually very static. Restricting the use of every day conveniences can be challenging for anyone. It is human nature to find comfort in static environments, and regular use of social networking leads to such comfort. It is clear that the experiment at Harrisburg was intended to be a growing experience from the perspective of the provost, however the majority of campus participants only saw the inconvenience; this proves how static we all can be when it comes to things we depend upon daily.
ReplyDeleteEmily, your take on teaching priorities at research universities was interesting and really made me think. I completely agree that students involved in research are receiving a valuable education through a much more hands on approach; however, those spots for undergraduate research are few and far between, as well as competitive to work with the professor and project the student wants. Shouldn't all students have an equal opportunity to learn the material they need to for their degree and build a relationships with a professor?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I found it interesting that the article mentions "incentives" that schools are now trying to provide to faculty to get them to extend their office hours and engage with students more. Shouldn't faculty members WANT to do that? If someone doesn't care about making connections with students (which research has proven increases a student's ability to learn), then maybe they shouldn't be a professor.
The article on the social media experiment is one that is quite interesting. I want to highlight one point which made me think of an experience during my time interning in New York City.
ReplyDelete“It’s not that, as an institution, we hate Facebook,” says Darr. Rather, it is about pausing to evaluate the extent to which social media are woven into the professional and personal lives of the people on the Harrisburg campus, and contemplating what has been gained and what has been sacrificed, he says. That colleagues with offices 300 yards apart communicate predominantly via the Web is interesting, Darr says, and merely talking about it does not dig deeply enough. “I wanted to make it real for people -- not to make it an intellectual exercise,” he says.
I remember my whole experience interning, and it was a challenge trying to talk face-to-face with producers for the show. They were so immersed in their work that in order to communicate with them, you had to send them an AIM message or e-mail. They were somewhat decent with responding to those messages. However, it made me think about how social media may have handicapped us as a society in reference to communicating.
I agree with everyone who has posted so far regarding the "Social Media Blackout". Without being repetitive in the "Social Media Blackout" conversation, I want to point out two things. I saw this article earlier this week while looking at my facebook newsfeed before Andrea shared it. A colleague in MA had shared the article and that is how I saw this to begin with - through social media. Also, another person posted a blog response with some information about how Harrisburg University uses twitter to inform students of details for events and it last tweeted that more information is to come next week...but there will be a social media blackout so students will not get those event updates. You can read the full blog post at http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/student_affairs_and_technology/shutting_down_social_media_access_i_take_umbrage This website also has many blogs on interesting topics and may be good for us to browse as professionals.
ReplyDelete"Why Teaching Is Not Priority No. 1" was a very interesting article. As a former education major, there is a large push for differentiated instrction, student engagedment, and varied teaching techniques to be used in classrooms. Like the article mentions, it is impossible to assume all college students have been successful up until college with just lecture based style teaching. Students are used to variation, group work, discussions and overall classroom engagement. We are not doing students any favors by teaching students in one way. Also, in reading this article, I was immediately reminded of the Learning Recondsidered article we read this past week. That article called for student affairs and academic affairs (including faculty) to work together, be innovative, and be willing to change up everything for the benefit of the students. When I read this article, I was thinking about how student affairs professionals are more willing to do this and are forward thinking to think of the college administrators, faculty, and staff as a united front. I can think of many faculty at Brudgewater (a primarily teaching focused univesity) who didn't "get it" when it came to student development and growth and are not willing to change. Faculty in general, I think, are more static and put a lot of resistance to changing their ways. This article brings up a lot of reasons why the change in teaching format is important and the challenges of faculty to jump on the bandwagon. Some of the initiatives, like incentive pay, are unique but extrinsically motivated. The best student focused faculty and student affairs professionals "get it", are intrinsically motivated, and are willing to change their ways and try something new to see if the students benefit more. I don't think this is something that can ultimately be taught and so for an insitution to move in this directions, would need to think about those important charachteristics when hiring someone for an open position.
I think “Why Teaching Is Not Priority No. 1” brought up a lot of interesting points. Andrea brought up a good point that all students should have access to the same opportunities, despite the type of institution they attend. Many students may not realize when they are looking at schools that they may be getting different academic experiences based on what their faculty are required to do.
ReplyDeleteI think it was very important in the article when Kevin Carey suggested that universities need “verification” that students are learning. I think this concept ties in with the maxim “look to the pioneers,” in that there must be an evaluation of what students are learning in order to better prepare for the future. If an instructor has an innovative idea to teach to a specific learning style, those successes must be documented in order for similar results to occur in other settings. Similarly, if new students are not responding to an older strategy, that must be taken into account as well.
"Why Teaching is Not Priority No. 1" is a complex article. In thinking about our discussion in class and what Ryan brought up in his comments, students are experiencing meaningful learning outside of the classroom. And through those practical experiences students are able to make connections with their academic course work. Can that be attributed to why students study less? Who knows, but it’s a thought.
ReplyDeleteColleges and Universities are businesses and we’ve all heard that students are the consumers. If institutions pride themselves on all participants learning and teaching then faculty members are consumers also. Even so, if faculty cannot manage their time to connect with students and do their research, then I would not select them to “teach” students. Money should not be the driving factor in education and students need to be empowered to voice their opinions about the education they are getting. Have any of your professors asked you what your expectations of them were? I think academic affairs needs to be rejuvenated, the only time students “asses” professors is at the end of the semester and depending on the type of school you attend, often times students will not see that professor again. If student affairs educators are intentionally adapting to students needs outside the classroom wouldn’t one think that adapting to needs in the classroom is just as important? I know professors created a Service learning curriculum around their research. Because of that students are able to create a partnership with an outside organization and apply course work to something tangible. Win/win situation? Ultimately, resistance to change in the classroom hinders the student, faculty, and community. There needs to be an inclusive approach in the classroom for Universities and Colleges to truly say they are upholding their missions.
Assessments usually frustrated me more so in certain subjects than others. I think certain assessments make students feel incompetent which really may not be the case at all.
The "Student Learning" Article was interesting, especially coming a week after we read about the University of Washington and other universities that are facing severe budget deficits in the upcoming year(s). When looking at the structure of any Board of Trustees for a university, it is easy to see it is similar to any other public company in the country. All are successful business men and women from their respective fields coming together to make decisions that impact the university. However, hardly any of their business experience is anywhere close to dealing with education. Even if they were to focus on academic discussions during their meetings, how effective could they actually be? Many universities are trying to improve their rank, standards of education, etc., through detailed strategic plans and learning outcomes, but with budgets decreasing cuts will have to made somewhere. I guess just like everywhere else faculty and staff are asked to do more with less and produce higher quality results.
ReplyDeleteThe Facebook article is interesting. In our office we have four computers that do not have access to Facebook (for whatever reason I do not know). Guess which computers are the least used? All of our student leaders know this and avoid these computers unless the rest are in use. The test is an interesting idea, but students, faculty, and staff will still be able to access social media through phones or wireless cards. I feel social media has a place in all of our lives and that just like anything else in life, use in moderation is healthy.
This assessment may apply almost exclusively to research universities, however, I think this is mostly where the issue discussed in the article “Why Teaching Is Not Priority No. 1” occurs. In my opinion, the lack of priority on teaching and student learning has almost everything to do with the point brought up by Ms. Kezar in the third paragraph of the article – faculty rewards have little, if anything to do with student learning. A fundamental rift exists in what these universities say they are expecting from their professors and what is actually being encouraged. Learning is not being encouraged if the rewards (promotions and continued employment) are contingent upon publishing and research success. Dr. Miller gave us an excellent example in class demonstrating how these inconsistencies are perpetuated when he told us about the faculty member who was an excellent instructor but didn’t publish enough and therefore did not receive tenure. I don’t think that teaching can be expected to be a priority for faculty if they are not being rewarded for it. This is why, Andrea, those incentives are often needed. Faculty members are sometimes being stretched in two different directions, and if giving more in the direction of research and other work means keeping his or her position, which way do you think a professor will go?
ReplyDeleteWithout being redundant to the conversation on social media, I just want to point out that I first read this article, "Social Media Blackout" before Andrea posted it here on facebok because an out of state friend shared the link on my newsfeed. My first introduction to the article was through social media and I think that says a lot.
ReplyDeleteThe article "Why Teaching is Not Priority No. 1" was very interesting. I was thinking about the incentives in the article like Caitlin mentioned above. I agree with Caitlin that the lack of incentive for student learning only promotes this same focus that hurts student learning, but I also think we need to be careful what is created to be an incentive. The article mentioned merit pay for an increased focus on student learning but I don't think that is a good solution either. That type of incentive is a extrinsic and not a pure motivation that will last in the classroom. Like Dr. Miller was talking about this week, people should be intrisically motivated, they truly believe in what they are doing. Students can tell the difference of why one professor puts his heart and soul into teaching and one who goes through the motions. Like Monica mentioned, Academic affairs should be more dynamic and open to change. When reading this article, I thought of the "Learning Reconsidered" article from last week that called for student affairs and academic affairs to be a united front and be open to changing their ways if it benefits student learning. Like Monica, I agree that student affairs professionals are more open to developing themselves and trying new things but overall faculty can be stagnant and stubborn in their ways. Even at Bridgewater, a teaching focused school, a large number of faculty still taught lecture style without diversifying instruction styles - something our education classes called for. The only way an institution will make a change to make teaching and student learning the number 1 priority is if they keep that in mind during the hiring process. Although some of this can be learned, I do think being open to change and being intrisically are more personality traits than somehting people can learn.
The article that caught my attention the most was the "Social Media Blackout." It had me from the first sentences. Seeing a 16-year-old girl on a cell phone, let alone an Iphone, multi-tasking with the internet and talking on the phone. This sad to say is becoming a popular image to many parents today.
ReplyDeleteI commend Darr for making this an experiment, not just for the students, but adding faculty and staff as well. I think it was a good idea to have everyone take a break from technology and focus on other things. I'm sure like the article said some faculty and even more students would be upset, but in the long run this only works to help them communicate better with the people right in front of them and not the people in different states they are less likely to meet.
I would be very interested to read the comments student and faculty made about this experiment. I am very curious to see how their day to day routines changed without social media.
I used to be like the daughter described in the "Social Media Blackout" article. However, after a certain point I just could not keep up! The social media that is presented to us today is great in a lot of ways, but for every thing used for positive, there are people who will abuse and use it for negative unfortunately. Then there is the whole fad aspect of the social network.
ReplyDeleteI continue to use the social network facebook, but juggling facebook, twitter, myspace, etc. I wont do. For college students the social media is often where we explore and test things to broaden our horizons help benefit our future career goals. All and all , I think the social media will continue to grow to new lengths and we will be blown away!
I found the "Social Media Blackout" very interesting. Like Angela mentioned above it is fine in moderation. I feel that social media can be a helpful tool to reach out to college students. For example the USF page often posts upcoming event to get students involved and even the Career Center has a Twitter page and blog. It is about reaching the students where they often look. In addition I know that when I worked at Disney we posted ad's for our internship position in Facebook and this brought in a high volume of applicants. So I feel like so many do, social media is fine in moderation and is a new and exciting way to reach out to our students.
ReplyDeleteHey all!
ReplyDeleteThe "Social Media Blackout" article was fascinating. I believe many of you would agree that the majority of young adults have become dependent on Facebook and other social media sites, as well as other technological forms of communication such as skype, text messaging, etc. I do believe that such an experiment would be very interesting and I would actually like to try it. At the same time, it becomes difficult because, as Lisa mentioned, being out of state I find facebook and skype to be the best way to keep in touch with friends and family on a daily basis. I would almost feel disconnected from them if I didn't have social networking. I also agree with Julie. Because students update and check facebook on a regular basis, it becomes a great way to communicate information as well as events on campus.
In regards to the "Social Media Blackout" article. It was a cool idea, but I'm sure that experiment was not effective if it was done this year. Removing social networking from campus computers would only cause students to access them elsewhere on just on their phones. I don't see this experiment accomplishing anything. It's an interesting concept though.
ReplyDeleteI was amused by the Harrisburg experiment. It has been said that if you give a person two weeks, they can learn or break a die-hard habit. Granted, this is only a week long, they’d be half-way there! There will no doubt be withdrawal symptoms depicted in their data. My freshmen year, all the social networking consumed my time to the point that I had to go cold turkey just to be sure that I made time for my schoolwork. Needless to say, according to my friends and family, I apparently “dropped from the face of the earth,” simply because I chose to spend more of my time ON earth, rather than in cyberspace. I’m on facebook, sure, but not on any measure of a regular basis. Anyone else go through something similar? Are people still as active on social networking sites as they were when the sites first came out and generated high new membership volumes? I’m just curious…
ReplyDeleteThe “Social Media Blackout” article was a very interesting read. At first I was imagining that the provost was going to ban social media web sites out right. Understandably, I did not quite agree with this idea. Then I realized that it was just an experiment for a week. This is a rather interesting concept to illustrate just how addicting—and necessary—technology is in today’s interconnected world.
ReplyDeleteWhile the students will have to forgo Facebook for a week at school, they’ll be able to access it once they leave. I’m not sure how effective the experiment will be if all the students have to do is leave. On the other hand, students are known to check Facebook quite frequently, and this might throw a wrench into their normal routines.
I believe that technology is neither a good or bad thing. The people that use it determine its moral purpose.
I feel like the first two article are each leaning in the same direction. The direction of the university comes from the top down. When the focus of the Board and the administration shifts to focus on the quality of the education in the classroom we will see substantial change. I am not surprised that the professors are hesitant to embrace classroom changes. They have certainly seen new ideas come and go and cannot get caught up in the prevailing winds that are likely to quickly breeze past their schools. Research and publication seem to have been the driving force in higher education for years. When tenure and pay are dependent on teaching, instead of other areas, teaching will become more of a priority. As a previously paying university customer, I wish I had done a better job identifying the priorities of the schools I attended. It would be interesting to see what reaction would be for some of these research schools if students started basing their school decisions on what happens in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI focused on the article "Many College Boards Are at Sea in Assessing Student Learning, Survey Finds." The article describes the disconnect associated with decision making board members and the academic progress of universities.
ReplyDeleteI found this interesting due to an experience that occurred this last year. I was given the opportunity to observe a board of trustees meeting for the University of South Florida in which I found myself wondering what role academics and student affairs played in the board of trustees. It is interesting to think that the group that decides the future of the institution does not have their hands in what the university is currently doing towards that future. This model of higher education more closely resembles a factory than a learning centered environment. It places value on efficiency rather than growth or meaningful work.
I found one section particularly disheartening, "the most commonly received information by boards was college-ranking data, which three-quarters of respondents said were very important or somewhat important in monitoring educational quality." The board members are evaluating our educational standards by looking at them through the lens of a ranking and not finding out the educational value of the institution in which they govern. To me this states that they are no more equipped to make decisions regarding the academic goals of the university than the students that are applying to different schools. Without any knowledge of the real problems at hand how can the board correctly address these issues? and if the institution does fall behind by academic standards how does the board judge what steps to take to correct the direction?
"Why Teaching is Not Priority No.1" really resonated with me. The issues, like Monica noted, are complex though. In one respect, I'd say that more focus on student learning should be integrated into campuses nationwide. Not to say that research, publications etc...aren't necessary and important aspects of those colleges and universities for whom that is their primary concern (research universities); however, I know firsthand that student DO often get the short end of the stick in those classes/colleges/institutions where the professor is more concerned with his deadlines than the students and their educational goals. Conversely, I do not think a universal shift to measuring/requiring explicit student outcomes would be beneficial. Such a universal push would stifle the freedom, variety, and open learning that makes the college learning experience uniquely what it is. It is incumbent upon the institution to, through whatever criteria they use, ensure that they are hiring educators who are teaching the students what they need to know. The professor in the article at the school in Maryland noted that "everybody will get something different" out of her psychology course. While this could be problematic for foundational/gen-ed courses (everyone needs to be getting the same thing out of Pre-calc and Composition 101), this is the beauty of a true learning process!
ReplyDeleteOh and I thought the social media blackout idea was stupid, mostly for the reasons his colleagues noted in the article. A week really isn't enough time to get a clear picture of what it would be like to live without social media. I asked myself, "What happens when the students go home?" Or is it just the lack of the media at school/on campus that he wants to observe. Further, what is the point? The advent of social media and its implications for education have been positive. He was born in the 50s/60s, he knows what it was like. It sucked! Seems to me an idea born out of nostalgia. Maybe he should find some of his old high school buddies on facebook and get together and reminisce about the "good old days" when they used slide-rules in math, the Pony Express was how you sent a message, and the only computer was the ENIAC rather than imposing a blackout on the whole campus.
ReplyDeleteThe article conerning the boards at Colleges and Universities raises valid questions. But what I think is lost in the whole discussion is how subjective the "learning process" is and how immeasurable outcomes can be sometimes. As a USF recruiter it made me shudder when students asked questions about rankings or percentages, especially for things such as "what perecent of biology majors end up at UF medical school". This is an extreme example but it is not far off from what we were asked. I agree that Boards may not be suited to accurately assess the academic progress of a school, but I also think schools need a more universal measuring stick. GPA of grads, # of grads from specific programs etc. could be helpful stats for prospective students. If you notice a lot of outcomes were measured from Alumni surveys. In my experience we had limited data concerning Graduate school placement, jobs etc. for graduates. Because the data is entirely self reported, if Alumni were not responding we had no data. This is why it is difficult to give appropriate info regarding these matters.
ReplyDeleteSocial Media..........oh boy. I had to laugh at Justins comment about having facebook minimized on peoples' computers because I am positive it happens in the workplace. Ryan also makes a good point of social media being a "time waster" type of site. Now I dont know if 1 week of banning social media will really make a significant impact but it's an interesting idea.
After reading the article "Social Media Blackout" I thought...they're in for a rough week. Pulling the plug on big social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, will probably get harsh feedback. It's crazy though to think and realize how these sites have become such a big part of our lives. Facebook has become a social network that has sky rocketed past it's original use for college students. It's being used in classrooms and businesses are using Facebook for advertisements. It will be really interesting how the campus copes without being able to use these huge social networks. I think feedback from not only the students will be intriguing but the professors as well.
ReplyDeleteI read the "Social Media Blackout" article as many have and I find it courageous to take away the very thing that is revolutionary for college campuses right now. Even with a short term experiment, Harrisburg will absolutely face resistance. Today's students have grown up with information available at their fingertips, with the ability to know everyone's personal and professional lives with the click of a button. I have been without a social network at my immediate disposal and I found it frustrated and disconnected at first, but then I realized I was not concerned with it and I payed attention to other things. I was forced to talk with and interact face to face with people, which is one characteristic or skill that many students need help with. I enjoyed the part of the article where is was stated that “And I think that the beauty of this is it forces us to ask, ‘Why are we doing all this in the first place?". This is a great summary as to why the experiment is taking place, what is the point of creating a social network that you are so engrossed in. It is a great tool but with many challenges.
ReplyDelete1 and 2) I found this first article to be really interesting. Assessing whether or not faculty teaching is really conducive to the learning process has really lagged behind. At USF for example, professors who receive high marks from their students at the end of the year receive higher bonuses (or something like that). The problem is, the assessments the students take don’t drive professors to change and the questions ask are confusing and students just don’t take them seriously. I recently helped facilitate the student success forum and in every single group, students pointed out that USF seems to focus on research and the focus on teaching has disappeared. I disagree with the article that students don’t focus on teaching because over and over again I heard that students are tired of being taught by TA’s, GA’s, and adjunct professors and want real quality instruction, not student-mills whose focus is on turning out graduates. Students recognize this; the assessments just don’t ask the right questions. Universities need to focus more on student education and less on research, unless that research is being used to educate (something I personally think USF does do well by its embrace of undergraduate research).
ReplyDelete3) I found this completely ridiculous! This experiment seems pretty pointless in achieving its goals. First and foremost, it almost feels like they’re trying to reinvent the wheel. If you asked any sane person whether social networking has been engraved and woven into our culture, they would of course say yes. Why prove what has already been proven? And it really feels like they’re kidding themselves by attempting to block these networking sites. If any student is deprived of these sites, they’ll just whip out their phones and tweet and update their Facebook status on their mobile device. That should show that social networking is an integral part of our culture. Think about it, who doesn’t have a Facebook (at the very least) these days? And if they don’t, do we not try to figure out what is wrong with them or how they communicate with the outside world?
I actually heard about the Social Media Blackout trial before I read this article and already had some ideas forming about it. I remember at my undergrad, University of Louisville, my first year facebook, myspace, and all the other social networking websites were banned from every single computer on campus. Finally after many protest and discussion with administration the ban was lifted. It was found that the social networking sites weren't hindering student success but actually enhancing it. Students were able to easily connect with class project groups, people in their same hall, and any other student they met just once. The administration came to realize that students were doing more than just utilizing the social part of the sites they were actually utilizing the networking aspect. I do believe that the amount of use of the websites has become a little more than drastic, and find this experiment to be very interesting.
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