Comments on Technology needs to be more than a "thread"

• Technology and Student Affairs
• Posted by Brian C. Steinberg , Faculty, Cultural Diversity at The University of Phoenix on July 29, 2010 at 7:00am EDT

• The lack of technology competency in Student Affairs challenged and frustrated me and eventually was one of the main factors that lead me to leave Student Affairs and move to Academic Affairs and teaching online.

• Couldn't agree more
• Posted by Glen Weppler , Director, Student Community Life at Ryerson University on July 29, 2010 at 8:15am EDT

• Students Affairs, so far, has missed the opportunity to truly leverage technology and digital media. Responsibilities in this area have been nothing more than an add-on to existing roles. Professional development opportunities have remained at the "101" level. And, as Eric identifies, standards have not been adjusted. Meanwhile, others in PSE, like faculty or library services, have organized conferences to learn together and exchange knowledge about technology. Great article Eric.

  At my school (Ryerson University), we have introduced a new position, called Digital Community Facilitator, to help focus our efforts. Its described in greater detail here: http://wepps.blogspot.com/2010/06/digital-community-facilitator-new-role.html

• Increase Tech, Decrease Human Resources
• Posted by Mike Nielsen , Associate Director, Adm Services, Div of Student Affairs at La Salle University on July 29, 2010 at 9:30am EDT

• I work in student affairs, which professionals are very adept at leveraging human resources to serve students. But I see a lot of wasted time and effort (that could be better focused on student needed) because of a lack of knowledge, ability comfort using technology resources to do our jobs. Simple things, like using an appointment invite in Outlook instead of sending a billion emails to find out people's availability for meeting. The struggle is finding time for and/or helping higher ed professionals attend technology related trainings and tutorials. Many fail to realize that by attending a 1/2 training session may save them hours and hours throughout the year. They may sometimes just see it as an unnecessary distraction in their otherwise very busy schedules. The other thing I hear sometimes is that a technology solution is needed, but they don’t know what it is. Or even worse, when they do, funds are allocated due to budget constraints. Funny how it is hard to see how spending several thousand dollars, for example, is somehow more expensive than hiring someone. Somehow, for some tasks where technology can better serve us so that we can better serve students, we still think it is better to have a human do it. Anywhere from reporting, process management, etc. Time we stopped being afraid of technology resources taking over people, but being a foundation that will allow us to rise higher in our potential to serve students. As is, student need and expectations are at the point where we can no longer afford to ignore technology as a key, fundamental and essential part of any practitioners skill set. Most undergraduate programs require some kind of fundamental technology courses for their students. Why not more for the graduate level?

• Technology in a Grad Program...
• Posted by Otis Mamed , Director, Student Center Operations at Central CT State University on July 29, 2010 at 11:15am EDT

• I've been the tech geek at CCSU almost since day one. We have incorporated a level of technology in our grad intern program, but not near as much as I would like to see. We dabble in social media, manage our own web, do much of our work on in-house developed databases, and server client based wares, but not with a great effort. We're still ahead of others. If we want to communicate and keep up with our students, we all need to be more technologically savvy.

• Teaching what I don't know
• Posted by Newbie , CSP faculty at Comprehensive State U on July 29, 2010 at 12:00pm EDT

• As a new faculty member, I have felt overwhelmed by the explosion of potential uses of technology in my teaching. I work to find interesting (and not frivolous) uses of technology. I also make an effort to demonstrate -- and explain the benefits of -- interesting approaches to my students. (For example, I demo'ed Prezi in class last week and have also showed them how to use SearchCube.)

  Yet, I struggle with the more practical aspects of technology. I know nothing about technology applications for school counselors (one of several tracks in our degree program), nor scheduling programs for Student Unions, SEVIS for international student immigration matters, or a wide variety of other specifics. I certainly can't know all of this, but I can strive to develop assignments that help students learn this information. Although I fear I must accept that I will never know "enough" about technology, I can keep trying!

• Communication Mindset
• Posted by Jeff Jackson , Assoc Dir of Student Life at San Antonio College on July 29, 2010 at 12:30pm EDT

• Does this sound familiar "Why don't student read their email?" As professionals we anticipate and times demand students communicate with us on our terms, and we do not adapt to new methods of communicating with students.

  Lets do some math: 2010 -18 = 1992. This years freshman were born in 1992. Go ahead and take some time to feel old.......... Ok think how they are about the same age as the internet. They have always had technology, rarely use paper forms, and accustom to efficient processes.

  SA pros need to be more open to change in the technology area, and it absolutely need to be an area of competency.

• Competencies
• Posted by Cindy Kane , Director, Student Involvement & Leadership at Bridgewater State University on July 31, 2010 at 5:45pm EDT

• I think I (and maybe even ACPA/NASPA Leadership too) might have some difficulty figuring out how to measure tech competency across the board. I could be really proficient in running sound and lights in our Auditorium but really not have ability to develop a database or use social media to build community. All three are relevant to jobs in my department but not calling someone "tech competent" who has this range of skills wouldn't be fair.

  As a thread, it might be able to be applied more specifically in each of the areas. For example, I could assess someone's skills as applied to the "Advising and Helping" competency by looking at how they use tech to communicate with students, etc.

  I'm going to look at it as a way to make this more versatile in its application to all of the competencies rather than isolating it to a standalone.

• Response from Joint Task Force Co-Chairs
• Posted by Dwayne Todd , Associate VP and Dean of Students at Columbus College of Art and Design on August 2, 2010 at 5:30am EDT

• As Co-Chairs of the ACPA/NASPA Joint Task Force on Professional Competencies and Standards, we value and encourage dialogue about the newly adopted ACPA/NASPA Professional Competency Areas document. As background information, the thirteen members of this task force represent extremely bright scholars and practitioners in the field of student affairs. The group spent well over a year conceptualizing and authoring these competency areas and conducted an extensive vetting process at both the NASPA conference and the ACPA convention, through an online blog advertised to all members, and through email conversations with various constituents. The final document was enthusiastically accepted and endorsed by both association's boards during their July meetings. The task force agreed upon ten competency areas that describe the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed of every professional in the U.S. working in the area of college student development. Each competency area is further divided into three levels: basic, intermediate, and advanced. These competency areas are necessarily broad, complex, and foundational in nature. Three topics chosen by the task force (sustainability, technology, and globalism) were designated as "threads" not because they are any less important than the ten competency areas, but because they were determined to have important connections with virtually all of the competency areas and therefore the task force wanted to show those intersecting aspects in the document. We believe we speak for the entire task force when we say that we agree with the premise that all student affairs practitioners should have essential technology competencies, and believe that a careful reading of the competency document will illustrate that the effective usage of technology is essential throughout the practice of a competent professional. The decision to make technology a "thread" demonstrates that it touches all domains of our practice (in advising students and groups, in conducting our basic work functions, in promoting our programs and services, in teaching and learning, in expanding our professional knowledge, etc.). So, we're right with you on the importance of using technology adeptly as student affairs practitioners! We simply chose to illustrate that importance in a different fashion than naming it as a distinct competency area. Dwayne Todd, ACPA Co-ChairMarilee Bresciani, NASPA Co-ChairJoint Task Force on Professional Competencies and Standards

• Librarians leading the way
• Posted by Laurie , Librarian at Oregon State University on August 2, 2010 at 12:30pm EDT

• This is an interesting conversation because one of the reasons I left student affairs to become a university librarian is because libraries are very much leading the way when it comes to technology and its integration with student life. To remain relevant in a rapidly changing information landscape, librarians have embedded themselves into online classrooms, online subject research guides, chat widgets, text-a-librarian services, twitter, and facebook. If we are not online with the students, we will become quickly irrelevant.

• A competency, a thread, and a way of thinking
• Posted by Tim Flood , Senior Technology Consultant at Stanford University on August 2, 2010 at 3:00pm EDT

• Eric, I like your post very much. Technology should not only be a thread and a competency, it must become a way of thinking about delivering services to this generation. Technology has to become a constant way to conceptualize and deliver the services we deliver.

  Technology is not an add-on -- it's only that in the minds of most student affairs people I meet. Technology is a way of being for the students we serve -- and increasingly, I believe, for their parents as well. In Student Affairs, we focus a lot on the students we serve but we deliver services in the way we are most comfortable -- i.e., how we might have liked them delivered to us in our day. Or I might rephrase it this way: we too often deliver services in a way that is the least uncomfortable to us. I believe it is less relevant what I think good service is and far more relevant what the constituencies I serve think.

• Threads allow lack of accountability
• Posted by Julie , Academic Advisor at Large State School on August 3, 2010 at 12:15pm EDT

• I worry that making technology a "thread" through all SA practices gives us room to be less accountable for our learning around new technologies. As Cindy mentioned above, tech competency can be defined in many ways, and each of those (running a light board, building databases, etc) have a place in the work we do. Also, like the co-chairs said above, technology is important in all areas of our work. However, without naming technology as a professional competency, we shirk responsibility. Running a twitter account for a student union can be seen as threading technology into the position. Using an e-learning site for a class can be seen as a thread. What these miss, is the assessment of our practice, critical review of our interactions, and the encouragement to have conversations with students about the methods we use.

  It has been documented that access to technology varies greatly among students of differing SES and racial backgrounds/locations. Choosing to "thread" technology means that we take the risk of using technology to create an even bigger gap between the university and our students who identify as part of these subordinated groups. Threading technology does not equal increased access or communication with students. This takes effort, review, a continued look at practices. Threading allows safety, security, and an validates us staying on the surface of these efforts.

• all or nothing?
• Posted by Jackie Dana , Senior Academic Advisor at UT Austin on October 15, 2010 at 12:31pm EDT
• When it comes to technology (either new desktop computers/software or online technology and social media), it seems that my advising colleagues either embrace new advances with open arms (and sometimes race to be the first adopter!) or fear change and innovation in any form.
  
  I'm not really sure why it is. Is it a lack of training, a misperception that technology makes more work for us, a lack of time and resources to pursue new innovations, or maybe something else?
  
  For example, at NACADA I noticed that a lot of advisors were excited to learn about using social media, but just as many of them view it with trepidation. Most of the ones who don't trust it or want to use it have made those decisions without really understanding social media or how people actually use it. So I wonder if more training and exposure to technology is the answer, or if there's something else at play.
  
  What I do know is that the generational argument is pretty much bogus. A lot of people who are successfully using desktop and online technologies are over 40 and did not grow up with it, nor did we even have much to use when we started our careers (I was an advisor before I ever saw the web, for example).
  
  It's an interesting discussion, though, and one that I'd love to continue with others. In that vein, in case anyone's interested, after NACADA I documented some of my take-aways on advising and social media on my personal blog, http://jackiedana.com/social-media-academic-advising/

• Tech as Competency
• Posted by Valery , Graduate Assistant/Career Services at University of Utah on March 22, 2011 at 1:30pm EDT
• I agree that technology needs to be a competency. While I understand the ideal of having technology as a thread, in that mastery of technology should be integrated in all competency areas, currently there is a lack of accountability. As Jeff said, we do not adapt to new methods of communicating, and, going further, many practitioners don't understand the social expectations and norms of technology, ie how many emails to send before spamming. While my office embraces new technology, we have the iPad, several netbooks and dual monitors, our office hasn't been trained to use them so the learning gap continues to grow. Holding offices accountable and increasing workshops and webinars for staff will only improve our communication and interactions with students.

• Strategic Plan?
• Posted by Jennifer Keegin , Assoc. Director, Campus Activities at Binghamton University on March 22, 2011 at 1:45pm EDT
• I know we're talking about NASPA/ACPA, but I wanted to say that I appreciate how ACUI placed online tech as a Goal under their Strategic Plan for 2011-1015.
  
  The hard part with a possible consolidation of the two organizations - managing to cover all areas and giving them enough facetime to make everyone happy.
  
  I can see that creating a competency area regarding technology may require a specific listing of the tech that we're talking about- and that list would always be changing and would mean different things to different areas. Hard nut to crack - but great discussion! Really enjoyed reading the comments.