Recent class discussions have revolved around the critical issues and challenges facing higher education. The arrival of digital natives, along with their enhanced and increased use of the internet and technology has transformed the way institutions of higher learning have integrated educational technology into their curriculum. Current literature has focused on the changing role of faculty in instructional design, but little has been written about how Student Affairs staff can utilize this same technology to enhance community and engage students in their learning process.
Campus life is about learning how to learn and digital learners learn differently. The advent of the web has transformed learning from a one-way model where information is transmitted and absorbed by the learning to one that is “discovery based (John Brown 2002). In his work “Growing up Digital”, John Brown describes a shift in cognitive learning to also include social learning “where understandings are socially constructed and shared” and learning becomes a “part of action and knowledge creation.” He further states that we know more than we know by our active participation in learning communities.
Rovai (2002) defines community as “a feeling of belonging, acceptance and trust.” In addition, Brown (2001) in her work with adult learners lists three stages of community as including “making friends, conferment and camaraderie.” In her study of Adult Learners and on-line learning, she revealed that there was a greater degree of engagement with each increasing level of community. Lear, et. al. (2010) echoes these finding. Their research showed that there was a relationship between students’ level of interaction and their sense of belonging/building trust (community) and between their participation/interaction and their grades. They concluded that there was a correlation between a sense of community and the student engagement and that engaged students are good learners.
In 1984, Alexander Astin proposed a developmental theory for college students that focused on the concept of involvement, which he later renamed engagement. According to Pasccarella & Terenzini (2005) and Kuh (2009), engagement encompasses various factors including investment in the academic experience of college, interactions with faculty and staff, involvement in co-curricular activities and interaction with peers. Kuh (2009) emphasized that student success is dependent on both academic engagement and “out-of-class engagements in educationally relevant co-curricular activities.”
Chickering and Gamson (1987) identified seven principles of good practices for learning in Higher Education and later gave examples of how technology can be used to implement these principles. Pascarella & Terenzini (2005) and Kuh (2009) concluded that “academic and co-curricular engagement are powerful forces both in students’ psychosocial development and in their academic success.” They noted an improvement in grades and persistence to graduation across a variety of populations (minority students, low-income, first generation and underprepared students) with increased engagement.
There is a wide range of social media technologies available to facilitate social interaction on-line and thus enhance student engagement. Social media is a “collection of websites, services and practices that support collaboration, community building, participation and sharing.” (Junco, Heibergert & Loken 2011). There has been a growing interest by institutions to integrate various social media tools (blogs, microblogs, video-sharing sites and social networking) into the learning process. Gunawardena et. al (2009) defines social networking as the “practice of expanding knowledge by making connection with individuals of similar interests.” It includes such things as Facebook and Twitter, and is a considered a major category of social media.
The Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) study (2007) demonstrated there was a positive correlation between social networking and student engagement and “social network users participated more in and spent more time in campus organizations.” Junco, Heibergert & Loken (2011) took this study one step further and discovered that micoblogging (in the form of Twittering) also enhanced student engagement.
Traditionally, the division of Student Affairs was responsible for the psychosocial development of students and learning that occurred outside of the classroom. They were slow to embrace technology because they feared that it would result in students “cocooning,” that is, using the internet to isolate themselves from the campus community. Early studies by Jan Lloyd et. al. (2009) demonstrated that those students who used technology for entertainment and who also used Facebook and instant messaging at a higher rate, were less academically involved, had poor peer relations and were more likely to become addicted to the internet. However, these studies were done in 2005, one year after the roll out of Facebook.
During that time, using Facebook required a computer. Smart phones have changed all that. Now, students can log in to report where they are and check Facebook while standing on line. For students, this can include “checking in” where they are on campus and could be used to induce instant gatherings at particular locations on campus. The combination of social media and smart phones, changes the entire picture, especially for Student Affairs.
Successful institutions are those with an increased in retention rates. Students who are engaged are more likely to persist and graduate. Students are more motivated and perceive a higher educational value when they connect with other students and the instructors and these connections are vital to the building a sense of community. Student Affairs has always been instrumental in building community. To be successful in the 21st century learning environment they must face the reality that social media and social networking are tools of today’s learners and design programs and activities that embraces technology that impact student engagement.
REFERENCES
Astin A. (1984) Student involvement: a developmental theory for higher education. Journal of College Student Personnel 25, 297–308.
Brown, John (February 2002) Growing up Digital: How the Web changes the Work, Education and the Ways People Learn.” USDL Journal, vol 16: no. 2. February 2002. http://www.usdla.org/html/journal/FEB02_Issue/article01.html
Brown, R. E. (September 2001). The process of community-building in distance learning classes. Journal for Asynchronous Learning Networks, 5(2). 18-35. http://sloanc.org/publications/jaln/v5n2/pdf/v5n2_brown.pdf
Chickering A.W. & Ehrmann S.C. (1996) Implementing the seven principles: technology as a lever. AAHE Bulletin October, 3–6.
Chickering A.W. & Gamson Z.F. (1987) Seven principles forgood practice in undergraduate education. AAHE Bulletin March, 3–7.
Gunawardena, C.N., M.B. Hermans, D. Sanchez, C. Richmond, M. Bohley, and R. Tuttle. 2009. A theoretical framework for building online communities of practice with social networking tools. Educational Media International 46, no. 1: 3_16.
Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) (2007) College freshmen and online social networking sites.
http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/PDFs/pubs/briefs/brief-091107-SocialNetworking.pdf
Junco,R.,Heiberger, G., & Loken, E., (2010) “The Effect of Twitter on College Student Engagement and Grades” The Journal of Computer Assisted Learning; v27 n2 p119-132 Apr 2011.
http://blog.reyjunco.com/pdf/JuncoHeibergerLokenTwitterEngagementGrades.pdf
Kuh G.D. (2009) What student affairs professionals need to know about student engagement. Journal of College Student Development 50, 683–706.
Lear, Janet., Ansorge, Charles & Steckelberg, “Interactivity/Community A Process Model for the Online Education Environment”, MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching. Vol.6, No.1, March 2010. http://jolt.merlot.org/vol6no1/lear_0310.htm
Lloyd, Jan, Dean, Laura & Cooper, Diane, (2009) “Students’ Technology Use and Its Effects on Peer Relationships, Academic Involvement, and Healthy Lifestyles” NASPA Journal, Vol. 46, no. 4. 2009.
Pascarella E.T. & Terenzini P.T. (2005) How College Affects Students: A Third Decade of Research. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.
Rovai, A. P. (2002). “Development of an instrument to measure classroom community.” Internet and Higher Education, 5, 197-211.
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