survey – techKNOWtools

Love it or hate it, social media is a part of our daily lives. It’s not a trend or fad that is going away. Social media is deeply embedded into our every day activities, how we communicate, how many find news and information, and it supports our relationships near and far. Almost everyone, young and old, are now active in various social media platforms due to the tethering there is to portable smart devices (phones, tablets, watches, and more) and increased access and availability to the Internet (WiFi, 4G, etc.). After listening to the recent @mozilla IRL Podcast episode “Kids These Days” with Veronica Belmont, Manoush Zomorodi, and Alexandra Samuel, I was concerned about if the “kids” were alright — that is the teens AND adults who have report daily social media.

The two 2018 reports from the US are interesting to compare how we are thinking about our #SocialMediaLife whether we are young or old:

Social Media, Social Life: Teens Reveal Their Experiences (2018)via @CommonSense Media (n=1,141)

89% of teens with a smartphone (ages 13-17)
70% of teens who use social media multiple times a day
Snapchat (41%), Instagram (22%), and Facebook (15%) are the social media sites these teens use the most
72% of teens believe that tech companies manipulate users to spend more time on their devices

Social Media Use in 2018 Report* via @PewResearch (n=2,002)

YouTube (73%), Facebook (68%), Instagram (35%), Pinterest (29%), Snapchat (27%), LinkedIn (25%), Twitter (24%), and Whatsapp (22%) of US adults say they use social media online or on their cellphone
A majority of adults visit Facebook (51%), Snapchat (49%), Instagram (38%), Twitter (26%), and YouTube (29%) on a daily basis

*That being said, I’m curious what the future report of adult social media use will be after learning about Facebook data scraping at congressional hearings, recent visits to congress by Twitter and Facebook, and questions if we should break up with these social media platform monopolies (e.g. Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp). I suspect much has changed since this report was released in March 2018.

Much of the recent #SocialMediaLife of Teens shared in the recent Common Sense study is reflecting what I am learning about adults on these platforms as well. As Veronica said, “Teens. They’re just like us!” There is a growing concern about behaviors, practices, and social interactions among my peers who need role models and mentoring just as much as the youth. There are similar patterns and concerns about #SocialMediaLife I am learning about from higher ed professionals (faculty and staff), my adult learners (online and face-to-face students) and among my peers (friends, family, colleagues, etc.). There is no shortage of emotions, thoughts, reflections, and reactions to how we are now thinking about social media in our lives. Let’s unpack this recent report about teens to see how much different we actually feel about these social platforms in our day-to-day life. Join me for the open, online conversation, won’t you?

#HEdigID CHAT TOPIC: #SocialMediaLife These Days

The next Higher Ed Digital Identity SLOW chat will be on Twitter with the hashtag: #HEdigID and #SocialMediaLife paired with this OPEN Google doc of questions: http://bit.ly/hedigid8

Learn more about the #HEdigID Chat and review the QUESTIONS in that will be posted on Twitter and in the Google doc the discussion ALL DAY on FRIDAY, September 14, 2018:

What is your preferences for communication with family/friends? VOTE NOW HERE: Twitter Poll
Related to #HEdigID Q1: Has using #socialmedia and your devices changed the way you communicate with friends, family, colleagues, etc.? Please share how your #SocialMediaLife or how technology has shaped the ways you interact and communicate with others.
The @PewResearch report from March 2018 found that a majority of adults visit Facebook (51%), Snapchat (49%), Instagram (38%), Twitter (26%), and YouTube (29%) on a daily basis. Is this true for YOUR own practice? Please share your thoughts/use on these platforms now.
- VOTE: Identify the ONE social media platform you use the MOST on a daily basis {Twitter Poll to be added}
In looking at the @CommonSense #SocialMediaLife of Teens Study 2018 [https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/social-media-social-life-2018], was there anything that stood out in this report that YOU want to talk about today? [Developing questions and prompts for the #HEdigID chat for later].
“72% of teens believe that tech companies manipulate users to spend more time on their devices” @CommonSense What is your perspective on how your devices and these #socialmedia platforms strive to get your attention? How do you deal with this distraction? #socialmedialife
“Teens are much more likely to say #socialmedia has a positive rather than a negative effect on how they feel (e.g. less lonely, depressed, anxious and more confidence, popular, etc.)” @CommonSense Does this resonate with YOUR feelings about your #SocialMediaLife? Please share.
#HEdigID QUESTIONS & OPEN CHAT: To be determined (see question no. 4 and respond!)…

Join the discussion on #SocialMediaLife today:

Tweeting your response with the hashtag: #HEdigID
Answer IN this Google Doc: http://bit.ly/hedigid8
Use these questions to draft your own reflection OR response (e.g. blog, video, audio, drawing or discussion)

Update: Transcript from this #HEdigID chat can be found HERE

Higher Education, MOOC

The State of #OnlineLearning in the US [REPORT]

January 19, 2014January 19, 2014 Laura Pasquini

The 11th annual survey and report of online learning in U.S. higher education was recently released:

“Grade Change: Tracking Online Education in the United States”*

=> DOWNLOAD A FREE COPY HERE

Background: From previous studies and reports of online learning in the US, there is a strong belief that online education is a critical component of post-secondary education institutions’ long-term strategy. In surveying a number of higher education entities, it is apparent that the development in online learning has shown a small but steady increases over the past decade. This report also teases out how PSE institutions are providing online education – blended, hybrid, and others as they experiment with different models of online learning pedagogy.

The respondents from more than 2,800 post-secondary education institutions in the US, attempted to answer the following overarching questions about online learning in higher ed:

Is Online Learning Strategic?
Are Learning Outcomes in Online Comparable to Face-to-Face Learning?
How Many Students are Learning Online?
How are Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) faring?

Key findings and highlights from the report:

Around 5.5 ~~(NOT~~ ~~7.1)~~ million higher education students are taking at least 1 online course (Read more: HERE and HERE)
The % of academic leaders rating the learning outcomes in online education as the same or superior to those as in face-to-face instruction, grew from 57% in 2003 to 74% in 2013
The 6.1 % growth rate represents over 400,000 additional students taking at least 1 online course
The number of students taking at least 1 online course continued to grow at a rate far in excess of overall enrollments, but the rate was the lowest in a decade
90% of academic leaders believe that it is likely or very likely that a majority of all higher education students will be taking at least one online course in 5 year’s time
Only 5 % of higher education institutions currently offer a MOOC, another 9.3 % report MOOCs are in the planning stages
Less than one-quarter of academic leaders believe that MOOCs represent a sustainable method for offering online courses

For more on the study design, survey administration, analysis, and report production, check out The BABSON Survey Research Group: http://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/

*The survey is designed, administered and analyzed by the BABSON Survey Research Group, with data collection conducted in partnership with the College Board, and is sponsored in part by Pearson and the Sloan Consortium.

Update – 1/19/14 @ 6:45 pm:

It appears the BABSON survey numbers seem to be off from the IPEDS data for students who have completed online courses – 7.1 vs. 5.5 million. Thanks for the update, Kevin. Here’s a useful article to read.

AcAdv

Implications for Use of Technology in Advising @NACADA 2011 National Survey

February 24, 2013February 24, 2013 Laura Pasquini

In Fall 2011, I was asked to review data collected from a national survey sponsored by The Global Community of Academic Advising (NACADA) and contribute to the chapter on advising technology. The survey posed a few questions about technology in advising, such as assessment of institutional advising types (e.g. online, on-campus, and blended), communication with advisees, and student information management practices. The entire 2011 NACADA National Survey results and chapters can be found in the NACADA Clearinghouse; and my chapter, “Implications for use of technology in advising 2011 National Survey” are available to read online.

One final sentiment I shared in the conclusion, was to push higher education administration to consider how they assess technology in advising as holistic process connected to other campus divisions:

“When assessing technology usage, postsecondary leadership must also consider future significant challenges such as economic pressures and new modes of scholarship (Johnson et al., 2012). Through researching these technological trends and challenges, conducting campus-wide assessments, and establishing strategic plans, advising stakeholders can effectively integrate technology in advising practices that support both advising units and institutional goals” (Pasquini, 2013).

I did include a few recommendations and guiding questions to consider when considering and evaluating technology for advising:

“Many students bring expectations about using technology to campus, and therefore, many institutions participate in community advising approaches in which technological solutions provide seamless support and communication for academic planning and progression. When advising units address the use of technologies for both managing student information and communicating with students, they may impact student support and retention initiatives on campus. Higher education institutions, who deploy technologies for communication and information management, benefit from having both the data and ability to effectively connect to their student populations” (Pasquini, 2013).

What was key from this data analysis, was that the advising and a number of student service providers lack specific information about the WHY, WHAT, and HOW technology is being used in the advising profession. With the 2011 NACADA survey and encouragement from the NACADA Executive Office, development of the 2013 Technology in Advising Use in Higher Education Survey (which is still OPEN FOR RESPONSES until March 4, 2013 at 11:55 pm CDT) was initiated. I hope that this instrument helps us critically evaluate HOW the field of advising IS using technology at colleges and universities around the globe.

In developing this instrument, our working group discovered that, overall, any assessment of technology in advising was lacking. The last time information about advising and technology was collected was circa 2002, and a number of the instrument items are already obsolete (e.g. overhead projectors, Netscape web browser, and Palm Pilots). Needless to say, information about where the advising community and technology stood was missing, and the overarching idea about use, perceptions, and the current state for technology in advising.

Here are the objectives for the 2013 Technology in Advising Use in Higher Education survey:

Establish what the current use of technology in advising among the advising profession – student management, regular use, applications, software, etc.
Understand how technology in advising is being used for communication purposes with students, professionals and faculty
Identify the relevance of technology for advising on a global scale for the advising profession
Understand the current perspectives and perceptions of how technology in advising is being utilized in the profession today

So far we have 523 responses to the survey. The data collected will help to better inform the advising profession beyond anecdotal assessment, and critically evaluate how technological solutions effectively support our advising practice. Without any real assessment for technology use in advising, how can we determine what direction we should move forward? I hope that survey responses and data analysis can provide some of these answers. More to come…

Reference:

Pasquini, L. A. (2013). Implications for use of technology in advising 2011 National Survey. NACADA Clearinghouse. Retrieved from http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Clearinghouse/View-Articles/Implications-for-use-of-technology-in-advising-2011-National-Survey.aspx

Higher Education, Social Media

Guiding Social Media at Our Institutions [ARTICLE]

February 20, 2013August 11, 2019 Laura Pasquini

Remember last fall when Tanya Joosten (@tjoosten), Lindsey Harness (@LindseyHarness) and I asked for your input on how your institution guides social media? No? Too long ago to remember? 🙂 Well regardless, we appreciated those who could respond as it helped us gather information on what we are (or are not) doing to direct social media use in higher education.

The results from the research are in, and published! Here is the recently published, peer-reviewed article for the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP).

Access the article in PDF form here.

This article expands on Chapter 6 from Social Media for Educators to understand how higher education is guiding social media use. Through our open-ended questions, we learned more about how institutions are supporting and guiding social media. Often we see social media used a broadcast medium and there has also been a shift to designate new roles or responsibilities to support its use on campus.

Thanks to the SCUP Change-Disruption Mojo for featuring some of the findings as this week’s topic, specifically to Alexandria Stankovich (@thinkstank) for sharing both sides of the issue:

Concerns: monitoring online behavior, identity thief, privacy, FERPA/FIPPA, maintaining university image, control, ownership, required trainings
Benefits: interaction and engagement beyond the formal learning environment

Want to learn more about the research and/or article findings?

Key takeaways:

Social media is often used as a “broadcast channel”
We should engage and develop a culture through the use of social media tools
Institutions need fluid access to information regardless of the technology
Simplicity principle to build capacity for the social web
We need to develop models of effective practice for LEARNING!
Trust the faculty you hire – they have some great ideas
Recognize that learners are MORE than sponges
Match technology with task & building digital literacy opportunities
Is social media in your strategic plan? Is social media or technologies part of your learning outcomes on campus? THIS is where your efforts need to be
Institutional encouragement is needed for collaboration ON YOUR CAMPUS to identify how to best guide social media models & effective practices

“The pedagogical benefit of social media use beyond its application as a motivational technique continues to be unaddressed by many universities.”

This study was just the tip of the iceberg. There is definitely more research on learning, social media use, and higher education to be done. Time to get at it! Back to the dissertation proposal grind…

Reference:

Joosten, T., Pasquini, L. A., & Harness, L. (2013). Guiding social media at our institutions. Society for College and University Planners – Integrated Planning for Higher Education, 41(2), 1-11.

AcAdv

2013 Technology in Advising (#AcAdv) Use in #HigherEd [SURVEY]

February 18, 2013February 17, 2013 Laura Pasquini

Dear Academic Advising Professionals, Faculty & Administrators in Higher Education,

The division of Undergraduate Studies at the University of North Texas (UNT) is hosting the 2013 Technology in Advising Use in Higher Education survey to assess how technology in academic advising is being utilized in colleges and universities around the globe. The NACADA Technology in Advising Commission sponsored study is designed to examine the current use and perception of technology in advising among academic advising professionals, faculty advisors, and advising administrators in higher education.

If you agree to participate, you will be asked to respond to a 20-question survey, which will take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. The questions will ask for your opinion of technology in advising use at your college and/or university institution, and your own perception about how technology is supporting the field of academic advising as a whole. Your responses are completely confidential and no individual participant will ever be identified with his/her answers.

SURVEY: 2013 Technology in Advising Use in Higher Education or cut and paste the following URL link into a web browser: http://bit.ly/AdvTechSurvey2013

This survey will close on Monday, March 4^th at 11:55 pm CST.

If you have any questions or comments, please free to contact me. On behalf of the Global Community for Academic Advising (NACADA) and the advising profession, I would like to thank you for your time and input. Please pass this survey along to other advising faculty, professionals, and administrators at your college and/or university.

Thank you,

Laura Pasquini (@laurapasquini)

NACADA Technology in Advising Commission Chair 2011-2013

Academic Counselor, Office for Exploring Majors – Undergraduate Studies, UNT

This blog post is cross-posted at The Official NACADA Blog.