This week, I am excited to be in Houston for the 2018 ACPA Convention (#ACPA18) to open up the dialog and start a discussion about how we engage digitally as student affairs educators and higher education professionals.  The two sessions I am involved comes directly from our research study in progress: Networked Communities of Practice.  The first session we’re facilitating will be today, Tuesday, March 12th (10:45 am- 12:00 noon) will be to discuss case studies around digital practice and interactions online. We are honored that our 75-minute competency-based session will be sponsored by the Graduate Student & New Professional Community of Practice. Check out the other sessions they are sponsoring this conference:

We Need to Talk: Digital Practices & Ethics in Our Profession

As Student Affairs educators leverage technology for professional practice, we have failed to discuss how our digital lives intersect with our work lives. This competency-based, case study guide is designed to facilitate conversations about expectations and realities of what it means to be a professional online. To help you discuss ways to support digital-ethical professional practice in higher education, we have identified a few scenarios to discuss and develop a positive culture online. We encourage you to start an open dialogue on these issues and identify potential solutions to address unwanted interactions and inappropriate behaviors in professional online networks. Please feel free to bring these case studies back to your campus and/or graduate programs to continue the conversations. This resource is shared with the following Creative Commons license: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Goals

At the end of this competency-based session, participants will be able to:

1. Describe professional, ethical issues related to digital practices and online behavior.
2. Identify actions and responsibilities within professional online networks and digital communities.
3. Outline resources and effective strategies to support the digital professional practice.
4. List questions, issues, and concerns about digital professional practice and ethics online.

Guidelines for discussion

Let’s have a real discussion about digital practices and issues online:

• We want open conversation
• No “stupid” questions/ideas
• Candid problem-solving
• Transcribe your main points, questions, & resources
• Share suggestions for practice

#ACPA18 Convention Workshop Resources: http://bit.ly/sadigitalethics

Cite and download a copy of the workshops case studies:

Pasquini, L. A., Eaton, P. W., & Ahlquist, J. R. (2018). We need to talk: Digital practices & ethics in our profession. 2018 ACPA Convention, Houston, TX. figshare. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.5971354.v2

Student Affairs Professionals on Facebook: An Empirical Look

On Tuesday, March 13th (11:15 am-12:15 pm), we will be sharing our findings of what we have learned about the Studnet Affairs Facebook Group. We hope to share WHAT and HOW this online community of practice engages its members.

Paper Abstract:

Research on networked practices in higher education often focuses on how social and digital technologies are utilized by academics for teaching, learning, and research.  Very little attention has been given to understanding how postsecondary educators are interacting and disclosing both personal and professional experiences on social networks.  Social media platforms have been embraced by educators as a way to extend communication, share information, network, and build communities. However, there is limited empirical research examining the topics and issues disclosed by student affairs and higher education practitioners within these networked environments.  Facebook is one of the key social networking sites utilized by postsecondary professionals to mediate conversation and develop community online. This study focused on understanding how higher education staff, student affairs educators, and graduate students use one particular Facebook group – The Student Affairs Professional Facebook group.  Through descriptive and qualitative analysis of Facebook group posts, shares, comments, and interactions, this study identifies the central topics and issues discussed over a 15-month period of time. This research shows how professionals and graduate students join this Facebook group to share professional development, offer learning/training resources, and disseminate graduate education information. In addition to professional practice, this Facebook group is often used as a forum for offering/soliciting advice, individual self-help support, personal storytelling, and to share humor with colleagues.

This Research Paper session is structured to have three papers within a one-time block. This means we will only have 12 minutes to present our study findings with minimal discussion.

That being said, we know this research study needs to be discussed more broadly with the field. We want to open up the dialog with the Student Affairs Facebook Facebook Community members. We plan on hanging out after this session, and we are thinking about other ways to share our findings and open conversation online after ACPA. Let us know how we can share more with you in the comments below or send us an email: networkedcop@gmail.com

Reference:

Eaton, P. W., Pasquini, L. A., Ahlquist, J., & Gismondi, A. (2018). The student affairs professional Facebook group: An empirical look. 2018 ACPA Convention, Houston, TX.