Don’t mistake a tool for the goal
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Essential Reading for Technology in Student Affairs
Last week, a colleague asked me what I would recommend as essential reading for understanding technology in student affairs. Others may also be interested in this topic so this is what I told him (with a few minor edits): If we limit the list of essential student affairs technology articles to those written by student…
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The Faculty Development Metagame
One of the things I most enjoy about faculty development – consulting with faculty about their teaching and professional development – is what I have begun to think of as the “faculty development metagame.” It’s not really a game but it’s so enjoyable that I’m reluctant to give up the word for one that is,…
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Self-regulated Learning and Age in a Hybrid Course
Earlier this spring, I worked with a wonderful faculty member to conduct research into a new hybrid version of an introductory Spanish course at our university. He changed some sections of a 4-credit course that typically meets four days each week to so that they only met two days each week with a substantial increase…
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Student Engagement Infographic
Last week, my colleagues and I presented the final UD First Friday Roundtable on Teaching of this semester. We focused on “student engagement,” specifically naming the session “What Does an Engaged UD Student Look Like?” It was a good session with lots of great discussion but right now I want to narrowly and briefly focus…
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Are High Impact Practices Available Online?
I am still wrestling with my unease with MOOCs and I think I’ve finally figured out why: High impact educational practices, as we understand them today, are unlikely at best and impossible at worst in MOOCs and other similar online environments. First, it’s helpful to understand that “high impact practice” (HIP) is a term of…
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Advantages and Challenges of Tech Skills in a Non-Tech Job
When I was on the job market last year, I was not interested in a job in IT. Although I’m a little bit rusty in some areas after spending five years in a PhD program, I have the skills and background to work in IT as I’ve done in previous jobs. But I was interested…
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Data Analysis MOOC Week 3: I’m a Dropout
Despite my best intentions, I have become another MOOC dropout. Why am I not continuing to participate in this free course? The format isn’t compelling. The course is primarily built around four components: video lectures and notes, weekly quizzes, a discussion board, and two peer-graded assignments. The lectures are alright and although there are many…
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Data Analysis MOOC Week 2: Muddling Through Frustration
I have watched the online videos and successfully completed the quiz for week 2 of the data analysis MOOC in which I am enrolled. I struggled quite a bit with some of the R syntax and that made the quiz a very frustrating experience. I have two observations to share about what I learned this…
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Students Believe Their Computer Skills Are Below Average
Our colleagues at the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA have publicly released some information from their annual survey of first-year students. There are already several media reports on the topic and we can expect many more to come out over the next few days. What caught my eye is that they shared some…
Got any book recommendations?