BreakDrink, CTCX

The Summer #CTCX Highlights

Laura Pasquini

I can’t believe that the summer is coming to a close. Time flies when you’re doing a whole lot of podcasting with the BreakDrink Campus Tech Connection (#CTCX). The #CTCX Crew think that Billy Madison says it best for this time of year…


The Campus Tech Connection (#CTCX) show is taking a break tonight in the midst of semester start fun. The #CTCX posse went strong this summer and produced a whole bunch of shows with great talks, topics & guests. Check out the blog posts, notes & recorded podcasts below while we take a break this week to recharge and kick off the Fall semester right:

We will be back LIVE on August 29th as @lukelibrarian joins #CTCX as a guest co-host to discuss how Student Affairs & Librarians can team up to support student success, engagement and community development on campus.  The #CTCX crew would love to hear your thoughts, questions & ideas:

  • Listen to the show LIVE & join the conversation in the chat room.
  • Tweet your thoughts using the hashtag #CTCX 
  • Call or Skype during the show: (646) 652-2342 or breakdrink
Do you have a tech topic or interest to share on an upcoming #CTCX show? Tell us about it => Campus Tech Connection (#CTCX) Podcast Contribution http://bit.ly/rcu9pw 
This post is cross-posted at BreakDrink.com
eduMOOC, Higher Education, Learning Community, Learning Technologies

Digital Education: Disruption, Improvements and What Lies Ahead

Laura Pasquini

In this  Knewton infographic,  The State of Digital Education, statistics share what is going on with digital education, online learning and blended classroom environments. The internet and online environments have posed some disruption to learning; however this is not necessarily a bad thing.

Educators and educational institutions who effectively embrace this digital evolution have see learning environments flourish by implementing online, social tools for engagement. Through increased digital content, mass distribution and personalized learning, the classroom is morphing into a virtual learning lab to support peer collaboration and foster life-long learning skills.  Both higher education and K-12 will see more action in the cloud as the push for personal learning environments (PLEs), mobile learning, and open content helps to design instructional curriculum.

I, for one, am very excited to see increased game-based learning and study the impacts of learning analytics in these environments. That’s just one #EdTech gals opinion. What do you think?

Created by Knewton and Column Five Media

 

CTCX, Professional Development, SAchat

Emerging #SAtech Jobs in the Field of Student Affairs – Skills to Pay The Bills on #CTCX

Laura Pasquini

Join us tonight on the Campus Tech Connection (#CTCX) show LIVE 7-8 pm CST as we discuss skills and opportunities in the growing field of #SAtech with our guest co-host Brad Popiolek. We will be discussing the variety of #SAtech Jobs in the field of Student Affairs and considering the following questions on the podcast:

  • How can SA professionals can gain practical skills and abilities and transfer them into any job?
  • What sort of experiences new #SAtech positions encounter – challenges & benefits
  • How can you position yourself for an #SAtech or technology job beyond student affairs?

The #CTCX posse would love to hear your thoughts, questions & ideas:

  • Listen to the show LIVE & join the conversation in the chat room.
  • Tweet your thoughts using the hashtag #CTCX 
  • Call or Skype during the show: (646) 652-2342 or breakdrink
This blog post is cross-posted at BreakDrink.com
BreakDrink, Collaboration, CTCX, Higher Education

Collaboration Required: #CTCX Discuss How Tech Can Support the Evolution of #HigherEd

Laura Pasquini

In a recent broadcast on NPR, Don Tapscott shared his ideas on Rethinking How We Teach the ‘Net Generation’. Education models in higher education to meet the needs of today’s learner. A chapter in his latest book, Macrowikinomics, is dedicated to how higher education institutions need to change, specifically with regards to learning pedagogy and content creation. 

Flickr photo c/o kjiersten

In thinking about how the future of higher education will evolve beyond the classroom, I was wondering how Student Affairs and other Higher Education professionals can best support today’s learner. Higher education has been recently challenged with economic crisis, accountability questions and increased demands the employment market. It is important that higher education professionals consider the new dimensions and requirements to support our students, distribute information and organize services on campus. In a recent BreakDrink Snackable Session, @suebecks presented an idea on collaborating on a global level to swap ideas, share resources, answer questions and engage in a broad conversation that needs to occur in #HigherEd:

Two Heads Are Better Than One

After this mini presentation, there was a thoughtful online dialogue with participants who shared their thoughts and perspectives on the issue. Many agreed that higher education could be better supported and improve through a global network for collaboration. There are many easy and accessible tools to drive this momentum and manage knowledge. After this session BreakDrink created a wiki to continue the conversation and collaboration of ideas:

HE Wiki 

“With such a networked approach to work and leisure time, traditional university classroom is starting to feel less appropriate.” ~Don Tapscott

  • What does this mean for #StudentAffairs & #HigherEd professionals who support student development?
  • How can SA & HE consider a collaborative approach for student development & student services?
  • Is it the evolution of the #StudentAffairs or #HigherEd professional or the student that needs to change for effective campus engagement?
  • Are there any examples of institutions and campus environments who best support students online or digitally?

Join us on Monday (7/18) at 7 pm CT as the BreakDrink Campus Tech Connection (#CTCX) talks LIVE about collaboration in higher education & how tech tools can support this evolution. We will also welcome @KMcCarthy8185 onto the show to discuss her #52in52 project for our NEW show segment called, The 15 Minute #SAtech Share.

Join the #CTCX gang with your thoughts, questions & ideas:

  • Listen to the show LIVE 
  • Tweet your thoughts using the hashtag #CTCX 
  • Call or Skype during the show: (646) 652-2342 or breakdrink
This post is cross-posted at BreakDrink.com
eduMOOC, Learning Community

#eduMOOC2 – What The Research Tells Us #eduMOOC

Laura Pasquini

I’m just catching up with the #eduMOOC course modules this weekend, as my own local scholastic/work deadlines got the best of me over the last couple of weeks. During the second week, #eduMOOC2 – What The Research Tells Us was the topic for the #eduMOOC panelists: Dr. Karen Swan from the University of Illinois, Dr. Phil Ice from the American Public University System and Dr. Ben Arbaugh from the University of of Wisconsin.

The panel’s #eduMOOC 2 conversation focus for online learning research were guided by the following questions:

  1. What do we know?: 
    What are the most important findings to date coming out of online learning research?
  2. How do we know it?:
    What methodologies have been most commonly used in online learning research and what promising methodologies are emerging?
  3. What do we still need to know?:
    What are the most pressing questions that still remain unanswered?  Where is online learning research headed in the near term?

As a student, I currently participate in course work through a variety of models: in-class, online and blended learning environments. Many of my online Management classes for my minor, are online,”in a can” course format that are typically asynchronous, i.e. discussion board questions/replies, multiple choice exams, online submissions and team project assignments. This mode of learning works well for full-time professionals who work 40-60 hours/week while in graudate school. In thinking about my learning preferences, my engagement increases when course materials are interesting and require collaboration/synchronous participation (Skype conference calls, group planning in Wiigo, team writing projects in Google Docs). As an adult learner and busy professional, I can also appreciate the autonomy and self-direction an asynchronous course format provides during the semester.

Learner needs and effectiveness can be impacted with the implementation of emerging technologies. There is the Clark vs. Kozma debate between the media and the message as instructors test the waters with social web and open educational resources for learning environments. Social engagement and social presence can lend to greater online learning retention – depending on the course content and the intended learner audience. From my experiences with online learning/instruction, it has been great to see learner-driven course participation and the growth of peer-to-peer learning networks to support communities of inquiry for learning.

The measurement of social presence in online learning environments could be further reviewed to help educators prepare for the future of elearning. There is definitely a need to create greater educational research repositories to further validate online learning and online course assessment. Data mining and content analysis models are just a few suggested ways that educational institutions can utilize business models for measuring course design and development.
The panel also suggested a need to increase the pool of educational scholars who are researching online learning and teaching. I was surprised to learn that learning analytics and data-driven academic positions are not being filled. As a PhD student in an integrated program ATPI (learning technology, organizational management, educational psychology/research), I am often exposed to a variety of disciplines, researchers, publications and ideas that span across the fields. As a professional in higher education, I have held a variety of positions within student and academic affairs (residence life, career services, academic advising, first year programs, instruction) I get a different cross-pollination of ideas and resources.
 
More scholars need to consider collaborative efforts and cross-disciplinary research to move online learning investigation and development forward specifically in the suggested future research area listed by this #eduMOOC2 panel:
  • Repositories of institutional/educational research
  • Federation of large data sets for educational research
  • Quantitative assessment & measurement
  • Increased research in online learning
  • Globalization & cultures in online
  • Quality of learning
  • Linking outcomes to specific courses/institutional goals
  • Open Education Resources (OER) role in online learning