Introduction to Technology in Student Affairs Course Proposal Fall 2004 Prepared By: ♦ John Gregoire ♦ ♦ Brittany Henderson ♦ ♦ Karli Winters ♦ Seattle University Seattle, Washington.
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Introduction to Technology in Student Affairs Course Proposal Fall 2004 Prepared By: ♦ John Gregoire ♦ ♦ Brittany Henderson ♦ ♦ Karli Winters ♦ Seattle University Seattle, Washington Course Description/Overview Computers and technological systems dominate the world like never before. They were designed to make life simpler in our day-to-day activities. Unfamiliarity with new technology, however, can make life and important tasks more difficult than ever. This course is intended to orient the emerging student affairs professional to the capabilities of technology and its applications in the workplace. The technological needs of diverse student populations as well as the trends in technology use by students will guide the formation of project teams. Collaborative efforts among students in other academic departments and/or student staff members at the university will be a highlight of the course. Students will become familiar and comfortable with many of the technological tools available to them as they serve diverse student populations. Course Rationale Technology can enhance the Student Affairs Professional’s ability to aid students. However, it is important for the professional to be able to harness the power of the technology. One must know what is available for use, and basic techniques for implementation. Course Rationale, cont. 1) Technology has been instrumental to the success of providing higher quality student services including, but not limited to, career advice, course information, service-learning opportunities, and academic support; 2) Technology can aid student affairs professionals in enhancing much-needed assessment activities; Course Rationale, cont. 3) As students become more reliant upon technological tools and service, university faculty and staff must learn how to provide training and support; 4) As integrated student affairs technology plans are beginning to be implemented on college campuses, student affairs professionals must be prepared to engage in campus wide information technology planning and decision making; Course Rationale, cont. 5) Student affairs professionals must be ready to engage in discussions with academic affairs administrators and information technology specialists about how technology can enhance campus life and community. Without a basic understanding of Course Rationale, cont. “Technology should be used to serve the mission of the institution, and decisions about technology should reflect, not determine, institutional academic priorities…New partnerships across divisions are more critical than ever because it is no longer possible to separate academic from administrative technology; there are now important interconnections among academic technology, instructional support, and administrative system needs. Academic affairs administrators are looking to technology as a way to enliven the curriculum and pedagogy. Student affairs administrators talk about how technology can enhance campus life and community. Together, they must consider what this means in terms of academic policy, rules of student conduct, and effective use of resources.” -Hirsch & Burack, 2001 Course Instructional Methods Course will combine lecture, discussion, focused readings, in-class computer training and practical application project teams. Course Project The class itself is designed to mimic a working Student Affairs division. Project options will be gathered by the instructor prior to the start of class. Students will receive a list of project options on the first evening of class. Projects will be further discussed week six and students will have a chance to bid for projects during class. The Idea of the class is to create a work community in the school by coordinating with other programs. Students from graphic arts, business (marketing), fine arts, sociology/psychology, and all other related fields should be utilized in creating project groups. Course Project, cont. The rationale for these projects lies in practical application and the creation of a realistic working environment. Student Affairs professionals will gain experience working with a design team. Graduate Students will be challenged to lead their project group to completion of the task from a predetermined position of leadership. Undergraduate students from various programs will gain realistic work experience during this project. This offers them a chance to experience a team not unlike those they will encounter after graduation. Working with Undergraduate Students will give Graduate Students experience managing students; an experience they will require when they enter the Student Affairs field as a working professional. Course Project, cont. (Notes for the Professor) The Projects are the crux of this class design and will require networking and planning on the part of the professor. Some suggestions for project team planning are: -Coordinating class scheduling with other faculty to ensure appropriate undergraduate participation i.e. Be sure a graphic design class is being offered in the same semester. -A student fee will be required so that each project can have a budget. -Find department needs within the division of student affairs i.e. If the Multicultural Student Center needs advertising for an upcoming program or event they could supply a budget and project parameters for your student. -Assess a higher student fee to pay student employees for the class in the event that there are no available programs at your university. Course Project, cont. (Notes for the Professor) Students will be given contact information for project members and will act as project director. Students within the class will be broken into groups of four, to be labeled “Project Committees” with each student representing the division they are working for. During class meetings they will discuss project plans and hear feedback from students. Students will be encouraged to collaborate and share experiences and resources at these meetings. Project committees are expected to act as a division. The should share information and resources (i.e. if one has a proficient web-designer, she could trade the hours with someone who has an excellent poster maker). Student projects must be completed by week twelve. Course Project Rationale David Kolb (1981) presented a model of learning in which the process of learning consists of a four-stage cycle. A classroom environment that incorporates and requires the mastery of all four components will produce balanced and competent students. Course Project Rationale, cont. The proposed project for this course takes into account Kolb’s cycle of learning. Students will formulate ideas through classroom discussion and assignments (Abstract Conceptualization). They will incorporate the new ideas into strategic plans of action for their project proposals (Active Experimentation). Students will have full involvement in learning experiences through the implementation of their projects (Concrete Experience). They will be given the opportunity to reflect on their experiences and share in the experiences of others (Reflective Observation). Course Project Rationale, cont. The course project itself will implement all discussed technology in the class. For example, 1)management of project budget, require Microsoft Excel; 2) Implementing Photoshop, Publisher, Illustrator, and/or directing students to implement them in creating print media; 3) Utilizing discussed techniques for improved web design, Students will also face numerous challenges in interacting with a group of diverse people. Anticipated Learning Outcomes 1) Students will understand and use the terminology associated with specific technologies; 2) Students will understand the capabilities of existing technologies and be able to discern practical applications for student affairs; 3)Students will gain valuable experience in heading a team of designers in implementing a project for use in student affairs or academic departments; 4) Students will understand ethical and legal implications associated with using technology; 5) Students will learn to address the needs of diverse student populations in implementing technology; 6) Students will emerge from the course capable of implementing technology to the benefit of a wide array of student support services. Course Schedule Introduction/Overview Student trends in technology use. Focus on what types of technologies are used in the Student Affairs profession. Week One Assignments Students will be asked to seek out different student affairs programs websites and assess usability. They should prepare a sheet of pros and cons for class discussion and should bring a list of site addresses so they can be shared in group activity in class. As we discuss why some websites are better students will be expected to offer arguments and demonstrations and will need to show the class by visiting the site. Week One Assignments Assigned Reading: • Hirsch, D. & Burack, C. (2001). Finding points of contact for collaborative work. New Directions for Higher Education, 116, 53-62. • Harms, J.Y. (2001). Identifying the needs of student affairs professionals using a web-based survey. • Barratt, W. (2001). Managing information technology in Student Affairs: A report on policies, practices, staffing, and technology. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (Seattle, WA, March 17-21, 2001). • Preece, J., Rogers, Y. & Sharp, H. (c. 2001). Interactions design: Beyond human-computer interaction. Wiley Textbooks: Hoboken, NJ. 544 p. Web Design & Technique This portion of the class will focus on introducing students to the capabilities of the web, rather than on teaching explicit HTML design. The expected learning outcome will be for students to gain an understanding of what makes a website usable. Week Two Assignments Students should sketch out a web design showing pages and purpose. This is how they will need to plan pages with a web designer. Artistic ability is not graded, rather flow and format of the site. Students should not plan a complex site but should incorporate some basics, such as: A home page A links page with at least three links A form An information page An open forum or message board Week Two Assignments Preece, J., Rogers, Y. & Sharp, H. (2002). Interactions design: Beyond human-computer interaction. Wiley Textbooks: Hoboken, NJ. 544 p. Illustrator and Photoshop The purpose of this class it to give students a basic knowledge of Photoshop and Illustrator capabilities. The session will take place in a computer lab, and students will participate in a 45 minute activity that requires them to create “Mr. Potatohead” in Photoshop. By the end of the session, students should have attained all of the skills necessary for basic publications and publicity campaigns. Week Three Assignments Use your Mr. Potatohead picture and add him to a background scene and create an advertisement for Potatohead vacations. Your advertisement should include text as well as pictures. Microsoft Office Suite This session will focus on Office products other than Word. We will examine the capabilities of Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. The focus will be on alternative uses for the programs, such as using PowerPoint for creating handouts, and mathematical functions of Excel. We will also discuss some of the email etiquette involved in sending out mass emails, such as using the BCC field. Microsoft Publisher Publisher is able to incorporate all of the previous techniques and can be introduced in a way that students can teach themselves how to work through a minor assignment. The project should be based on personal ability and challenge. In other words students will have different abilities... grading should be based on personal challenge. Week Five Assignments Create a pamphlet from scratch (do not use Publisher Templates). The pamphlet should advertise an upcoming workshop, real or madeup. Grades will be based on incorporation of techniques from previous class sessions. Introduction of Projects (Week open for make-up work if the class is behind the designed syllabus). Project structure and expectations will be discussed in detail leaving time for questions. The class’s understanding and full participation is required for a successful partnership. Therefore a large portion of class time should be used to explain the project and evaluate expectations. Project options will be offered in this class with a description of each available team and work structure (will the student will be with a team of undergrads, or with paid professionals, or if they will he or she be with a combination of both?). Students will use this class to bid for a specific project and will be assigned by the professor. Students will be expected to have familiarity with their personal projects and the abilities of the people with whom they are working by their first group meeting. Time is limited so students will need to make the most of every group meeting. Week Six Assignments Prepare strategic plan to be presented at first in-class committee meeting during week eight. Contact work team to establish schedules and an appropriate meeting time. Database Technology Classes from here on will begin with an open discussion where students can present valuable outside material they have found during their project planning and production... for example a student may learn about a good site to download fun fonts, or find a good source for artwork. They may have read articles on technological trends and applications. From here on the class will become more of a working classroom. Students will be producing and discussing their projects every class period. They will need to rely on each other for progress as well as the team they are assigned. Database Technology, cont. This session will also include a mid-term evaluation, in which the professor can gain feedback as to how the class is progressing. The main topic of discussion for this class will be the benefits and uses of database software, including tracking student involvement, creating a library system or ticket sales counter. Week Seven Assignments Kazmer, M. (2002). Distance education students speak to the libarary: Here’s how you can help even more. The Electronic Library, 20(5), 395-400. Choy, S., McNickle, C. & Clayton, B. (2002). Learner expectations and experiences: An examination of student views of support in online learning. National Center for Vocational Education Research, Leabrook, Australia, 106 p. Reminder that first in-class committee meeting will be during week eight. Students should be prepared with materials for the first meeting. Diverse Populations This class will be a discussion around diverse populations, such as distance learners and students with disabilities. Issues such as webpage design for the blind will be discussed. Students will meet with their project teams. Week Eight Assignments Project development. You should have met with your team at least once, and actual production should be commencing. Ethical and Legal Implications This session will focus on ethical and legal issues in technology. For instance, if two students meet in your open forum, and one begins stalking the other, are you liable? What information is acceptable for publication on your school’s website? For what types of information do you need prior approval from a person? When is it okay to publish personal addresses, etc. Week Nine Assignments Keep working on projects! You should be prepared with some rough draft materials for next class. Project Work This session will allow for in-class work with project committee. No major changes in projects after this point. You should have materials by this point. i.e. you should have printouts of pamphlets, webpages, etc. for editing. Week Ten Assignments Prepare final project for presentation. Personality Types Keeping personality types in mind to create effective technological communications Fun open forum discussion of potential pit-falls in working with different personalities on technological projects. Week Eleven Assignments Finalize projects. Group Presentations Half of the groups will present. Group Presentations Second half of groups to present. Synthesis Individual project committee members will be expected to turn in a one page evaluation for each member of their group. The evaluations will need to be justified using course material and outside sources as they may apply to the class. Student evaluations will be used to assist the professor in grading.