Engaging Freshmen with Technology

Student Engagement Technology
http://www.tltgroup.org/tlt-swg/studentengagement.html

Planning Document (Google Docs)

UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING
"Ubiquitous Computing" ….provide a laptop to every student – students pay annual fee.

ENGAGING FRESHMEN STUDENTS
Tracy Gottlieb, Dean, in Acad. Affairs:
AHA! -- terrific... series of activities ENGAGING students with SHU from shortly after receiving laptop until they actually arrive as freshmen.

• KEY ISSUE - good collaboration: Works closely with IT and student affairs; "Are you working with people who are team players? Willing to try something new? Get something done?"
• Most important step: access to SHU computer system - with username, password - as soon as admitted (or registered) to enroll? - Engage new frosh EARLY - BEFORE moving onto campus - give laptops during orientation in spring year BEFORE beginning
• "Melt has shrunk" - loss of enrollees between June and Sept has DECREASED Some students still "shopping" even when they're going to freshman orientation!!!!!!
• Retention has gone UP in last few years!
• Some of these activities do NOT really require the full laptop "ubiquitous" commitment. Giving pre-enrollment students SHU email accts, etc. is useful even without laptops; but SHU gets students accustomed to using their own accts, Blackboard experience, access to portal ... for doing REAL projects.. e.g., "The Doubloon Project" - online scavenger hunt. Made college preparatory podcasts for frosh; plus podcast by English prof related to a summer reading assignment

• Try to create freshman "learning communities" - = a group of people who take the same set of courses; At SHU lots of discussion of "building community" - and intend to do so in MANY venues, in MANY ways; also communities of learners in the same field of study
• "High school students are very compliant" !!!!???? Not so once they are frosh; they are EAGER to become part of Seton Hall community.

BENEFITS, LOGISTICS
Paul Fisher, Dir., TLT Center
• Students gain access to tech resources as soon as they make their deposit
• Distributing 1200 laptops over a few days is NOT to be committed to lightly!
• "Online tech skills course" - hybrid over summer BEFORE arriving on campus... 1.5 hours F2F 3 "hours" online!
• Students' mastery of basics with new laptops has dramatically increased; better than expected; REDUCED FACULTY FRUSTRATION AND COST OF STUDENT TECH SUPPORT!
• Summer "reading" assignment was done as CD/download...
• There is a Freshman Studies Community created where all communications take place

STUDENT TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANT PROGRAM
STA began 10 years ago!!! 10 years later, computers still aren't used all that much IN THE CLASSROOM; but are used much more IN COURSES!

PEER ADVISORS: 40 undergrad student Peer Advisors begin communicating with the freshmen from the very beginning when pre-freshmen get their online accts; now train ALL frosh Peer Advisors with same basic training as for beginning STAs!
Are these students paid? Some Peer Advisors get paid via Fed. Work Study; others get paid otherwise; Sliding pay scale - with training, experience; STAs are paid depending on the job they are applying for, experience level and skill level

ADVICE
Tracy: Reach out to the incoming students as early as possible; giving them their tech accts early; being deliberate, MEANINGFUL in communication online with these students; good use of Blackboard in PRE- enrollment

Paul: First steps - get buy in from depts./offices/areas as will be necessary for supporting such a successful program.... "getting the players around the table"..... [Steve Gilbert modestly recommends TLT Roundtable guidelines!]

STANDARDIZATION.... not innovative BUT makes some things MUCH simpler, easier, less expensive... [We'll return some day to ask about how this STANDARDIZATION fits with new Web 2.0 options!]

COMMUTER CAMPUS?
What difference would it make if your campus is a commuter campus? Seton Hall U. is 50/50. Paul: I don't think it would make any difference

COMMUNITY & BUMPER STICKER
Steve Gilbert:
• Great bumper sticker: "Limit the Melt!"
• "Blackboard community" often means little more than a place on the Internet where a group of individuals all have access to some shared info and to exchanging info/messages with each other... but a "community" in other contexts can mean much more