ACPAdigital, StudentAffairs

Introducing the @ACPA Digital Task Force: Project Planning

Laura Pasquini

This year I am fortunate to be collaborating with an invested group of scholar-practitioners on the ACPA Digital Task Force to  examine how technology impacts and influences post-secondary education student development. The various teams involved will focus on how the digital realm influences our campus communities, with regards to  crisis management, communication channels, programming initiatives, learner competencies, practitioner implications, curriculum development, and research contributions.

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This year our specific team, comprise of Paul, Jason, Erik & myself, will be working on “Informed and Responsible Engagement with Social Technology.” Here is a snapshot of what our key focus area is about from the blog:

Our work is focused on educating students about their use of social and digital technologies.  To that end, our group will focus on how to effectively educate students on:

  1.     The new rules of social technology engagement.
  2.     Acting authentically, ethically and with civility in one’s online and offline life.
  3.     The opportunities and impact of social technology participation.

Although students are our main priority, we also recognize that educators need to be informed and skilled to engage students on this topic.  Therefore, our group will also focus on educating educators on these topics and how they can translate this knowledge into learning opportunities for their students.

We are interested in getting feedback, soliciting author contributions, writing educational resources, and more as the year progresses. If you are currently working on resources for informed and responsible use of social technology for campus, specifically for your learners – let us know! Do you have experience in collaborative writing, curriculum development, instructional design, and/or creating train-the-training facilitation guides? We want to hear from you!

To learn more about The ACPA Digital Task Force:

http://digitaltaskforce.myacpa.org/

Academia, Reflections

Top Ten List for Being a Better Faculty Member

Laura Pasquini

Just when I thought I was done with orientation sessions at UNT… I attended my OWN “new faculty” orientation.

welcome new faculty

{UPDATE: For those who are not aware, I finished my PhD this summer, graduated, and accepted a 9-month faculty appointment with the UNT College of Information as a Lecturer for the Department of Learning Technologies. Yay!}

During the day, information about the campus, expectations and advice was shared by a number of administrative leaders from the campus.

ten

One talk, from Dr. Warren Burggren, the Top 10 List for Being a Better Faculty Member, provided some sound advice, so I thought I would share this with you. I think it applies to new faculty, returning faculty, and others starting a new job in higher education.

10. Get to know the lay of the land. Beyond your office or workspace, get to know other locations on campus. Walk around and explore your college/university. Find out where buildings and resources are located.

9. Meet and greet in your department. Get to know fellow faculty members. Introduce yourself. Starting a new position is a great time to network and meet others in your department, on your campus, and in your discipline.

8. Know the rules… or ask about them. There are a lot of rules at every institution. Be sure to be informed, or know where to go for help or who to ask questions. Don’t be overwhelmed – just be smart.

7. Talk frequently to your chair. They are an ally and confident. Your chair will be there to support and guide your development within the department and your discipline. Set regular meetings/check-ins with your chair as their schedule allows.

6. Most of your frame of reference is still as a graduate student. Make the full transition to full time faculty. Please don’t feel like you need to socialize with your students – rather get social with your peer group. Get involved in faculty networking and social groups. Inappropriate interactions with students is something administration has to deal with, and they would prefer not to manage this.

5. Get a life. Even though you are working hard during your first faculty appointment, don’t forget to play hard as well. Take care of yourself. Find time to do things for you. #TreatYoSelf

4. Stay OR get organized. Don’t over commit. Manage your time effectively. Learn the ability to say no, and feel free to borrow the following phrase when asked to do something: “I would love to do ____ however; I don’t think I am being the best faculty member I can be.”

3. Teach and teach well. Focus on excellence in the classroom. Include solid bookends in your semester, i.e. the first and last lecture. Find something to talk to your students about during both classes. Make it experiential. Engage the students in the first lecture and final lecture. Be dynamic and encourage learners to want more.

2. Take pride in your university and community. Be part of the activities around the campus and city. There are a number of ways to be involved in the community and engage in school spirit. #GoMeanGreen.

1. Keep a sense of humor. The university is a complex hierarchical organization. You will want to take all things in stride. Be sure to laugh, and let things role off you.

Others offer advice for entering into academia here, here, here, here, and HERE. What advice would you give a to a new faculty member? Please share.

Fashioning Circuits, PhD

It’s My Graduation Day!

Laura Pasquini

Today is the day my PhD degree comes to an end – it’s UNT Commencement!

Grad RegaliaCatch up: I defended my dissertation on June 12, 2014 and I am VERY grateful for all the love and support. It has been a fun four years in the doctoral program at UNT; however I am happy to say goodbye with this ceremony today. I know this event is only the beginning of what lies ahead with my teaching, research, and service scholarship:

“There is a good reason they call these ceremonies ‘commencement exercises.’  Graduation is not the end; it’s the beginning.” ~ Orrin Hatch

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Image c/o PhD Comics

For commencement, the graduate school required a 30-word summary of my research to read out during the hooding segment of the ceremony. Could you summarize your thesis/dissertation? I dare you to try in the comments section of this post. It took me a couple tries; however my Twitter writing skills were used to condense this blurb:

Dr. Pasquini analyzed 250 higher education social media policies from 10 countries. She established a policy database, and identified 36 universal topics to best guide social media use and implementation.

For my family, friends and peers who care to tune in, I will be officially hooded and dubbed a doctor between 3-4 pm CST time TODAY (August 8, 2014). You can stream the ceremony online, if you so wish, here:  http://www.unt.edu/commencement/watch.htm

{REQUEST: For my technically savvy colleagues, let me know if you can do a screen capture  of the event – I would LOVE a quick video segment of my hooding as a keepsake. :)}

For my local friends and colleagues in Denton, TX, I hear that the libations will be served at the Mulberry Street Cantina to celebrate at 5 pm onward today. Drop in!

Reflections

I’m Back… and #HowISpentMySummer [30-Day Photo Challenge]

Laura Pasquini

You may remember me from blogging back in June. Well based on a certain (EPIC!) summer road trip I was rarely at my computer or connected over the last few weeks… and it was DELIGHTFUL. I enjoyed being able to take a proper holiday & just enjoying the great outdoors.

I would blog about it, but too much fun and adventure has happened in the last 5 weeks to contain in just one blog post. Based on a photo challenge idea prompted byJennifer Joslin (a.k.a. @jenniferejoslin), I’ll be sharing what I was up to over the summer with my #highered & #edtech community using the hashtag, #HowISpentMySummer:

#HowISpentMySummer Photo Challenge 2014

Join us in sharing ONE (1) photo a day to let us know how YOU spent your summer  (feel free to play catch up from Day 1-4):

More about the #HowISpentMySummer 30-day photo challenge:

When?: July 29-August 25th

What?: One photo each day to share #HowISpentMySummer on your favourite social media platform (Instagram or Twitter preferred, to Storify each topic each day) – see challenges for each date below!
Day 1 (July 29): Take a road trip
Day 4(July 30): Watch a play, a concert, or a movie outdoors
Day 3 (July 31): Take a hike, go bird-watching, or climb a mountain
Day 5 (August 1): Swim in the ocean or walk barefoot on a beach
Day 6 (August 2): Your choice — Post a picture or video about your summer!
Day 7 (August 3): Eat something from a roadside stand
Day 8 (August 4): Make a bonfire or campfire (singing optional)
Day 9 (August 5): Play frisbee, softball, or soccer in a park
Day 10 (August 6): Jump in a lake, do a cannonball Into a pool, or swim in the ocean
Day 11 (August 7): Your choice — Post a picture or video about your summer!
Day 12 (August 8): Visit with family or attend a family reunion
Day 13 (August 9): Tackle a DIY project at your apartment or house
Day 14 (August 10): Dance under the stars with someone/something you love
Day 15 (August 11): Eat homemade ice cream, gelato, or frozen yoghurt
Day 16 (August 12): Your choice — Post a picture or video about your summer!
Day 17 (August 13): Attend a fair, festival, or farmer’s market
Day 18 (August 14): Get married or attend a wedding; or take a class or graduate!
Day 19 (August 15): Read a book just for fun
Day 20 (August 16): Post a picture of a curiosity, statue, or sign from a trip
Day 21 (August 17): Your choice — Post a picture or video about your summer!
Day 22 (August 18): Spend an evening at an outdoor cafe
Day 23 (August 19): Sit on a porch or stoop and visit with your neighbors
Day 24 (August 20): Ride a ride at a fair or amusement park
Day 25 (August 21): Your choice — Post a picture or video about your summer!
Day 26 (August 22): Go on a picnic or fall asleep in a hammock
Day 27 (August 23): Wash a car with a garden hose or pick a wildflower bouquet
Day 29 (August 24): Pitch a tent, post a nature picture, or paddle on a river
Day 30 (August 25): Your choice — Post a picture or video about your summer!
Why?: To share with the #HigherEd & #EdTech community about your summer. These photos can be from this past summer, a #TBT summer memory, OR you can just make it something you wished to do this summer.

More about the challenge here: http://howispentmysummer.tumblr.com/ Thanks for the fun ideas and prompts, JJ! Looking forward to seeing how YOU spent your summer! 

Impact Factor, Job Search

What’s Your Research Impact? #ImpactFactor

Laura Pasquini

For those of you who track on me in social spaces, you know that I just completed my tenure as an academic advisor and counselor as of TODAY! This does not mean I will drop off from the advising world entirely, as I serving my term on the NACADA Council, I am a fan of the #AcAdv Chat community, and I involuntarily advise a number of students, colleagues, friends, and family, about academic and career matters on a regular basis. 🙂

syllabus Job Update: I’m Off the Market

I accepted a full-time faculty position with the UNT College of Information, as a Lecturer for the Department of Learning Technologies. YAY! My teaching responsibilities start in mid-August, so I will be sure to share more about this down the road. I will say that my work in both student affairs and academic advising helped contribute to my hire. {Remind me to post about the job search, interview, etc. process later.} All that I have learned about student development and support will DEFINITELY be applied to the online classes I’m instructing this Fall. Thanks #AcAdv & #SAchat!

 

So what am I doing  this summer?

Taking a hiatus from 8-5 office life on campus, to work on a few projects. One of these projects is an EPIC road trip adventure and… RESEARCH! I am contributing to a grant with @drjeffallen to compile a comprehensive literature review, platform information, metric indexes, social spaces, and general research on scholarly impact in the digital age. So far, I have been collaborating with a few researchers to assess and review individual research impact, specifically with regards to open and online scholarship, citation indexing, and alt-metrics.

impactstory

Personally, I have been interested in learning more about this topic as an early career researcher who is a fan of digital scholarship and identity. I was recently added to the Impactstory advisor posse, so now I have some swag to give to fellow research collaborators, who share a similar research impact philosophy. See – I’m still an advisor!

Are you interested in research impact? Do you want to talk about how digital scholarship can influence research, writing, and publication? Let me know. Let’s chat! Follow along this blog, as I am sure to share some ideas, findings, and insights, and I will be tweeting using  #ImpactFactor as my hashtag of choice.