Technology
"Focuses on the use of digital tools, resources, and technologies for the advancement of student learning, development, and success as well as the improved performance of student affairs professionals" (ACPA & NASPA, 2015, p.15).
Level: Exemplary
Technology is a major part of today’s society. In particular, there has been an increasing presence of technology within higher education. From distance learning programs to the incorporation of digital media in the classroom, students today typically navigate their college experience with the aid of technology. Thus, it is vital that student affairs professionals develop a competency in this area. I have developed exponentially in this area during my graduate experience through working with social media, implementing technology to campus programming and using design software.
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With regard to social media, I was responsible for creating a comprehensive social media plan for the Office of Student Activities (OSA) at Willamette University. Through developing this plan, I was able to “utilize social media… to market and promote advising, programming, and other learning-focused interventions and to engage students in these activities” (ACPA & NASPA, 2015, p. 33). To begin with making this plan, I had to anticipate how to best engage students through platforms such as Facebook and Twitter for OSA, which had not utilized their social media page for over a year. Ultimately, I found that the most successful strategies were to include diverse posts (in both content and platform), to share student experiences and to post frequently. With that in mind, I included weekly posts to share a spotlight for a student leader or student organization. Additionally, I created graphics for various events occurring on campus, such as the August 2017 solar eclipse. Lastly, I incorporated important topics for students to think about via blog posts, TED talks and other digital mediums. Overall, this plan allowed for a better online presence for OSA and expanded their influence to include more students than before.
Through the creation of this social media plan and by creating various training worksheets, I was able to “provide leadership for the proactive creation, use… of technological tools and digital spaces for students” (ACPA & NASPA, 2015, p. 35). One example of this was creating vital updates to their student organization handbook. Some of the key updates I made were including graphics for some of the text-heavy sections. This made the booklet easier to navigate, especially when viewing the handbook online. Understanding that most students would refer to the electronic version, I also ensured there were hyperlinks included throughout the guide. Additionally, I used Canva, an online graphic design software, to create numerous handouts and taught my colleagues how to create their own graphics and worksheets.
In addition to my experiences at Willamette, I have been able to encourage students’ engagement with campus programming through the facilitation of numerous student organization training sessions at Bowling Green State University (BGSU). Student organizations at BGSU all use Orgsync to manage their operations. In order to use their revenue funding, get approval for travel and events and connect with students at BGSU, they have to master this platform. Thus, I have had to master it myself and facilitate training on Orgsync. This involved an interactive training session, which included a PowerPoint presentation and demonstration of various Orgsync processes. Through these trainings, I have been able to “generate a wide and varied array of digital strategies for enhancing educational interventions” (ACPA & NASPA, 2015, p. 34). Overall, my use of technology from working with social media to facilitating technology-related training sessions has been purposeful in furthering educational opportunities for students.
Whenever working with technology, there should always be an alternative plan should the technology fail. Through my work as an AmeriCorps VISTA, I planned three campus-wide days of service. For this, I used the online technology Eventbrite for registration and check in. On the day of the event, all site leaders were responsible for using the app on their phones and checking in the participants. However, knowing that this app would be used in an outside space and by many people all at once, I was able to “anticipate potential problems with software, hardware, and connectivity and prepare…alternative means of achieving learning and productivity outcomes” (ACPA & NASPA, 2015, p. 34). To ensure site leaders could still check in participants should the app not work the morning of the event, I made sure each site had a hard copy of their roster. I then asked for those rosters to be turned in prior to their departure for service. To ensure we had proper connectivity in the outdoor check in space, I met with representatives with the university’s IT department to ensure there would be sufficient Wi-Fi connections for that area.
Another example of my anticipation of potential issues with technology is my work with Bowling Green Alternative Breaks (bGAB) site leader training. Much of the training included PowerPoint presentations; however, I created interactive handouts for the site leaders to use in case of issues with technology. Additionally, these handouts and worksheets allowed students with different learning styles to retain the information better than with a presentation alone.
Overall, having a competency in technology has been vital to my ability to engage students who in large part expect new technologies to be part of their learning experiences. Additionally, I think the rise in technology within higher education has the capability of providing access to people who may not have previously been able to enter an institution of higher education. Moving forward, I think my next challenge as a student affairs professional will be to lead my colleagues in utilizing technology in the most efficient ways possible to engage students, even those who are distance-learners.
ACPA: College Student Educators International & NASPA − Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (2015). Professional competency areas for student affairs educators. Washington, DC: Authors. ​​