Category: Goals

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Contributions, 5320

The Advisor That Cares

Capstone Course

  • Fall 2023
  • Course Number: EDLD 5320
  • Course Title: Synthesis Digital Learn/Lead

Contributions to Learning and my Learning Community

The back of a yellow van is pictured travelling down a dessert roadway.

Crediting Core Group Members: Kelly Skillingberg, Shannon Bowles, and Rachel Hull.

I am giving myself a score of 99 out of 100

Wow, what a transformation from the first course in the program.

please reconsider and evaluate your work and grade with the same fairness as another student.”

March 11, 2022 paraphrased email from EDLD 5305 instructor

Here I am, emboldenly claiming 99 out of 100 for my contributions to my learning and the learning of my learning community. Who is this person I have become?

I know now what I didn’t know then. I know that my “assessment of/for/as learning” is mine to claim ownership over, too (Harapnuik, 2021). The ADL Program equipped me to take control of my learning journey, and I embraced it!

When I began the program, I didn’t understand how having a group would help me. I had always been a little better off on my own or a type A person who would prefer to do all the work to know it got completed.

This independence was also true of my professional life, now that I think about it. While I enjoyed collaborating with others at work, I would typically take the lead to ensure that none of us “got in trouble” for failing to meet expectations.

However, this program and the soul-searching reflection done throughout leave me knowing that I have given 100 percent effort toward my entire learning experience. I also have given 100 percent effort toward connecting with my learning cohort. I am not giving myself a perfect score because there is always room for improvement and more to learn.

The fantastic people in my collaboration group have shown me how much better my ideas and our experience can be if we work together.

My learning communities overlap so many periods and classes that I cannot limit my experience to a single learning community (though this one was top-notch because we have all evolved so much in our learning journey that we now “get it”) but instead try to approach each semester as my opportunity to support and guide my fellow learners in the learning journey.

I love connecting with new people, and weekly meetings are my jam! But I had to learn that they are not that for everyone. I had to adapt and learn to meet others when and where they were available. We have had so many chats and a few synchronous meetings. Still, the asynchronous ability to connect has significantly impacted my future innovation ideas.

Adding peer support is a transformative component of innovation in advising. I never imagined how learners could support one another in co-navigating a new experience. However, thanks to my experience with choice, ownership, and voice in this authentically significant learning environment (COVA + CSLE), I know firsthand that peer support and a shared experience can revolutionize a learning experience.

Key Contributions

  1. My learning community’s core group members have all done a fantastic job staying in touch throughout the semester. One evening, we were the only members of the course who attended the class call. What worked this semester was our continued commitment to learning as much as possible, improving our innovation ideas as much as possible, and getting as much as possible out of this last course in the ADL program.
  2.  Fortunately, Shannon, Kelly, and I have been in learning communities and have maintained ongoing chats over the last several semesters. Before this session began, we had an EDLD 5320 Capstone Community GroupMe started. We all did a great job sharing links to our works in progress for feedforward and periodically just checked in to see how we felt about our coursework and innovation ideas.
  3.  I completed an overwhelming number of revisions on my ePortfolio as a whole. I continually revised current coursework and previous courses/projects coursework as a part of the entire program synthesis process. It was amazing to see how much we have learned and evolved in such a short time.
  4.  I completed ALL of the course readings, videos, and supporting resources provided and actively sought additional resources to deepen my learning and improve my innovation.
  5.  I met the various course activity deadlines indicated in the calendar.

Supporting Contributions

  1. While our group maintained a well-balanced interaction, I took a leadership role by requesting and creating recurring Zoom meetings to chat about projects and our reflections throughout the course. I contributed to my classmates in class calls and discussions by answering questions and pointing to resources when applicable.
  2.  I contribute to my learning and the learning of my colleagues by participating in ALL activities.
  3.  I actively contributed to discussion posts with engaging and well-thought-out reflections.

Reference

Harapnuik, D. (2021, August 16). Assessment OF/FOR/AS learning. It’s About Learning. https://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=8900

https://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=8900

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Professional Pitch

The Advisor That Cares

Soft pitch, day two.

Once again, I’m letting parts of my heart slip and show with my colleagues, and no one is running away screaming in fear. It seems like everyone is really excited about some of my ideas.

I pitched having brief Monday morning (WIG meetings – though I didn’t call it that) to set our goals and intentions for the week. I suggested Friday afternoon review of the week’s collaborations where teams “check each others work” to help cross each other T’s and dot each other’s “i’s” so to speak.

I pitched the concept of new year, new us. Beginning with the day after the last day to register, we are going to come up with a departmental New Years Resolution (WIG – didn’t call it that) but it really is happening.

A wonderful addition of review plus board games, team-building at the rec, adult coloring pages, board games, or whatever sounds fun to the team. I am so excited for the new year.

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Love Your Job!

The Advisor That Cares

“When we feel safe. When we feel that our leaders care more about us than a number. They care more about our lives and our confidence, and our joy and our skillset more than some short-term gain… we will respond in kind and we will offer our blood our sweat and our tears and we will make sacrifices of all kinds to see that our leader’s vision is advanced” (REDDOT X, 2018).

“Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress.

Working hard for something we love is called passion“

(REDDOT X, 2018)

References

REDDOT X. (2018, July 13). HOW TO BE a LEADER  – motivational speech by Simon Sinek [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urrYhnaKvy4

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Engaging Media

The Advisor That Cares

5317 Discussion 3

EKG - pulse rate display

In the ADL Program, we learn the importance of always focusing on learning. Technology, just for the sake of it, does not revolutionize education. We must be ready to engage in crucial conversations about our innovation ideas to be effective agents of change. To do this effectively, we must work to enact organizational change as we influence others. Acknowledging that our learners come to education from a new learning culture, we must find ways to adapt and reach our learners by creating significant learning environments. With intentional planning, we can present learners with choice, ownership, and voice within an authentic learning environment (COVA).

One of the critical components of becoming a catalyst for change is drawing others into collaborative relationships so that ideas and innovations can continue to grow and evolve with the input and perspective that others bring. Engaging media is one thing that we can employ to ensure that our message reaches those who can contribute. Speakers Mathew Luhn and Nancy Duarte discuss how effectively using media through storytelling can draw the audience into your message (Marwick Marketing, 2017; TEDx Talks, 2010). In my media project, I describe the misery that summer orientation season can bring to the advising profession. I will be the first to admit that in its current format (a long, hot day of walking all over campus and hearing people present to you), it is not an engaging experience. I cannot describe how many students and parents sleep through presentations and content. Hoping to resonate with potential readers of my article, following the advice of Nancy Duarte I paint this picture of the status quo sets the stage for my description of an alternative solution (TEDx Talks, 2010). I hope to draw readers into my article by describing “the new bliss” of what learners and advisors can experience by adding technology to expand the relationship (TEDx Talks, 2010). 

  • Set up:
    • Beginning: Problem. Explain the problem that you set out to solve.
  • Build:
    • Middle: Solution. Describe how you solved it.
  • Payoff:
    • End: Success. Get excited about the success this produced.

(Marwick Marketing, 2017)

  • What is:
    • Beginning: Establish what is, the status quo
    • Compare a drastically different vision of what could be
    • Compare and contrast the status quo and the new idea
  • What Could Be – A Compelling Solution
    • Middle: What is vs. What could be
    • What is vs. What could be
    • What is vs. What could be
  • The New Bliss
    • End: Call to Action

(TEDx Talks, 2010)

References

Marwick Marketing. (2017, May 30). Story telling in business – Pixar story teller Mathew Luhn at CIMC [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYQOW34b-0g

TEDx Talks. (2010, December 10). TEDxEast – Nancy Duarte uncovers common structure of greatest communicators 11/11/2010 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nYFpuc2Umk

Behind the Scenes

Splunking?

Swing Batter, Batter

Discussion Videos

Participate in a class discussion in which you begin by addressing the following issues/questions:

  1. Discuss ways that media can engage the audience to influence their thinking?
  2. What have others done to engage you?
  3. How will you incorporate these ideas into your media project?
  4. How would you influence reviewers to read your publication?

Free writing and brainstorming for discussion response

One of the critical components of becoming a catalyst for change is drawing others into collaborative relationships so that ideas and innovations can continue to grow and evolve with the input and perspective that others bring. This Resources for Digital Environments course asks us to create a media project to advertise our publication article. Media allows the viewer to increase or decrease the speed of content. As a learner who still takes old-fashioned pen-and-paper notes, I appreciate the ability to back up and replay. The addition of closed captioning has been instrumental in my full understanding and is especially helpful when recording quotations.

Speakers Mathew Luhn and Nancy Duarte discuss how effectively using media through storytelling can draw the audience into your message (Marwick Marketing, 2017; TEDx Talks, 2010). Dr. Harapnuik does an exceptional job of placing questions of inquiry throughout his introduction videos. I always search for Learners Mindset Discussion podcasts on the topics we cover throughout the ADL Program. He has continually taught us about the power of storytelling and drawing your audience into your ideas through active, engaging, personalized learning. In my article, published in sources read by advisors, I reflect on the misery that summer orientation season can be for our profession. I cannot describe how many students and parents sleep through presentations and content. Improving these events through engaging media presents an opportunity to draw them into the event’s purpose, preparing their learner for the upcoming college experience. Mathew Luhn explains that you need to draw people in by creating something unusual, unexpected, or has some sort of action or conflict in the very beginning in [the] first eight seconds” (Marwick Marketing, 2017, 22:30). Nancy Duarte (2010) creates this hook by comparing “the commonplace of the status quo, [… contrasted …] with the loftiness of your idea” (TEDx Talks, 2010, 6:57-7:02). I hope to draw readers into my article by describing “the new bliss” of what learners and advisors can experience by adding technology to expand the relationship (TEDx Talks, 2010).

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Searching vs. Trying

The Advisor That Cares
Cartoon male detective wearing a green jacket and hat, holding a magnifying glass, scratching his head while examining a red question mark.

Thanks to the ADL Program, I love that I am constantly observing my learning behaviors. 

I recently rearranged and connected multiple monitors. I still laugh at how much of this program I completed working on my laptop monitor alone. In my household, there are three adult technology users. My husband and adult daughter are gamers of every variety (board, tabletop, console, PC), and I have dabbled in all of the above, frequently poorly. We have accumulated several longer-used devices.

This morning, my taskbar is not showing on the additional monitors. I am constantly rearranging the monitors due to recording requirements vs. writing requirements. I create homemade teleprompters for digital media presentations, though I still need to find a way to scroll the text while recording. I discovered how to scroll text, but since I’m clicking between windows to advance presentations during recordings, it stops and annoys me! The display setting changes likely resulted in an unintended change or a misfired keyboard shortcut. 

Image of web browser open to web address https://www.google.come with the colorful logo.
Image of red background with white text "You Tube" logo.

Into my handy dandy search engine, I type, “can I extend the menu bar across monitors,” and while executing the search, I decide to go digging through system settings to see if I can find it myself. What do you know? Right there in Personalization > Taskbar is a toggle to do precisely that. I click back over to my results and mentally applaud my learner’s mindset that knows there is a resource I can utilize when needed. Still, I am also a solution-seeking, inquisitive learner who will go tinkering about and seek support as required.

THIS! The learners’ mindset is what I want to help learners discover: their authentic learning opportunities. I want to work with a team of advisors to channel the passions that feed their strengths and abilities. I want to help humanize the relationship of advisors and of students. 

The advisors feel like robots and that what they say isn’t heard and doesn’t seem to matter to many students. TAsked to justify the behavior and decisions of students who did not follow the advising they received or failed to follow the outlined procedures. They are placed into cycles with no finish line or celebration, leading to impending dread as the subsequent avalanche falls to them to manage. 

When stressed out, people are not usually the best version of themselves. Insecurity can express themselves in hurtful and accusatory ways. Learners and their parents often need clarification on rules and regulations. Because learners have yet to learn the terminology used at the university, they will talk to multiple offices and people before getting the necessary information to make timely decisions. Understaffed and overworked humans can make mistakes, which damages relationship building. If we can help learners learn how to learn, they will also seek, verify, and understand well-planned and executed learning outcomes. 

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Leftovers

The Advisor That Cares

Media Project leftovers

Mannn, there’s so much to share. I definitely wanted to include a million quotes and clips in my media project. I will put them all here for now so I can revise and improve my thoughts, my article, and my innovation when I feel less limited by deadlines and time limits.

Quotes with YouTube clips:

This relationship has the potential to guide students through the unfamiliar landscape, and the language of higher education can also equip them with the skills needed to make informed decisions and choices in life. Jim Ott (2016) passionately echos this opportunity by saying that “significant learning comes through relationship” (TEDx Talks, 2016, 12:18-12:20). These connections allow the navigation of experiences, emotions, and the many questions that arise.

Sir Ken Robinson (2010) explains that the 21st-century educational landscape has “an unprecedented demand for innovation, for fresh thinking, fresh social systems, fresh ways of getting people to connect with themselves and have lives with purpose and meaning” (RSA, 2010, 32:37-32:40).

Jon Stolk (2015) says, “choice, trust, acceptance, encouragement, dialogue, care; when students feel these things, there are extremely strong positive correlations to a bunch of the stuff we we say we care about. So things like peer learning and active help seeking this is engaging with others in the learning process. Learners finding more value in what they do. Self-efficacy, the sense that you can be successful. Intrinsic motivation. Creativity. Very high level cognitive engagement, metacognition, thinking about your own thinking process” (TEDx Talks, 2015, 15:17-15:50).

Jim Ott (2016) passionately explains, “so if we are truly interested in the future of our children we must give them significant learning. We must give them a sense that they matter. We must invest in the emotions of now because everything about what we care about, their future, depends on them developing a foundation of believing in themselves. That they have value that they have purpose. That they matter. That is significant learning” (TEDx Talks, 2016, 14:56-15:27)

Craig Mertler (2019) challenges us all “to think about some aspect of your life, that you would like to change. No matter how big or how small. It doesn’t matter if it is personal, professional, academic. It doesn’t matter because you own it. It’s about you and your life. Find a different way of doing this thing and try it out. Gather some evidence of how well it worked for you and then make a plan for where you go next. Is this the solution or do I need to keep looking. Do I need to keep finding better ways to improve?” (TEDx Talks, 2019, 9:43-10:17)

Sir Ken Robinson (2010) “people do their best when they do the thing they love. When they are in their Element” (RSA, 2010, 26:45-26:51).

Sir Ken Robinson (2010) “evidence is persuasive when people get to connect to this powerful sense of talent in themselves, discover what it is they can do, they become somebody else. And that […] me is the premise of building a new education system” (RSA, 2010, 27:03-27:15).

Through discussions and reflections, advisors guide learners through encouraging questions. Working with students to help them understand their why (TEDx Talks, 2019), connect with their goals, and reignite the inquisitive mind. Sugata Mitra (2013) poses that “encouragement seems to be the key […] simply saying wow, saluting learning” (TED, 2013, 13:58-14:10).

Harapnuik, D. (n.d.). CSLE. It’s About Learning. https://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=849

Horn, M. B., & Staker, H. (2017). Blended: Using disruptive innovation to improve schools. John Wiley & Sons.

Khan, S. (2011, March). Let’s use video to reinvent education [Video]. TED Talks. https://www.ted.com/talks/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education?language=en#t-149503

RSA. (2010, February 4). Sir Ken Robinson – changing paradigms [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCbdS4hSa0s

Steele, G. E. (2016). Creating a flipped advising approach. NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources. Retrieved from https://nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Clearinghouse/View-Articles/Creating-a-Flipped-Advising-Approach.aspx

TEDx Talks. (2009, September 29). Start with why — how great leaders inspire action | Simon Sinek | TEDxPugetSound [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA

TEDx Talks. (2016, March 14). Significant learning | Jim Ott | TEDxBellevueHighSchool [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zos6lhaehfo

TEDx Talks. (2019, March 20). Personal empowerment through reflection and learning | Dr. Craig Mertler | TEDxLakelandUniversity [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzDsT-25w14

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What to Write

The Advisor That Cares

Going through Dr. Harapnuik’s content and nearing the end of the ADL program makes many connections between the strategies and learning accomplished throughout this authentic learning environment.

I cannot help but reflect on my personal why (TEDx Talks, 2009). My passion is caring about other people. My goal is to make a difference and to try and make things better for those around me. Caring about others drives me to make a difference for frustrated students and advisors.

Advisors have an opportunity to embrace innovation in the ways that we approach our advising relationships. Think about ways to turn the repetitive parts of your job (the unrewarding information transfer topics and system onboarding done with students) into question-based searchable resources. What if posing questions and teaching students where and how to find information is far more valuable than trying to be the holder of all knowledge, policy, and departmental preferences.

My vision is that advisors and students will collaborate to create resources and communities that support and encourage one another as advisors step into mentorship roles and learners find peer support and guidance. Guiding learners to explore their goals and questioning what challenges or obstacles might hold them back allows learners and advisors to discuss and problem-solve unique concerns and considerations at individualized levels. Advisors serve as guides or coaches while students research advising resources, university websites, and support services relevant to their issues and concerns. Learners embrace ever-increasing efficacy over their learning experience through reflection blogs, cohort discussions, and peer meet-up opportunities (in person and virtual).

TEDx Talks. (2009, September 29). Start with why — how great leaders inspire action | Simon Sinek | TEDxPugetSound [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA

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Perusing and sharing Publications

The Advisor That Cares

5317 Discussion 1 (2 of 2)

The ADL program has opened my eyes to exactly how much the landscape of learning has changed and how little the landscape of education has changed. Learners today are digitally connected, and education needs to evolve to include transformative learning opportunities in every environment.

Currently, advisors are tasked with almost every initiative faced by incoming students. This creates a prescriptive advising full of information transfer topics that often leave advisors feeling unfulfilled. Additionally, the environment does not encourage the transformative opportunity found through intentional advisor-advisee relationships. Through an innovation of advising, advisors will have a consistent message to share with their advisees, relieving them of their role’s repetitive and transactional aspects. Digital resources that allow departments to ensure the message and information shared with their students align with their policies and beliefs increase confidence in information accuracy. Collaboration with campus stakeholders ensures that other departments can introduce themselves and their services in a non-anxiety-inducing way.

Most importantly, a blended learning approach to advising can increase learners’ curiosity (Musallam, 2013) about their learning experience while simultaneously increasing advisors’ creativity (RSA, 2010) by creating content, refining the message, clarifying the intentions, and assessing the effectiveness of advising as a learning opportunity. The most challenging part of my innovation idea to resolve and convey is my belief that an effective learning environment allows more profound, more meaningful relationships like those described by developmental and intrusive advising. Adding to this is the concept of connectivity and collaboration. The benefits of forming a learning collective among students that supports the advising relationship and initiatives (Thomas & Brown, 2011, p. 52). How much more will a high school student listen to a college student than a university representative at orientation to campus? How can an innovation to advising support the feeling of belonging that students and staff feel at the institution?

Consider how the learning environment is changing and how you can share the changes you are making in your learning environment.

  1. Briefly share one or two possible topic areas that are of interest to you that you can write about. Remember that you do not need to be an expert in the field to have a voice. Please visit http://tilisathibodeaux.com/wordpress/?page_id=841 for ideas from past students.
    • I could write about the collaboration and connection aspect of advising and how a blended learning environment could extend and expand the advising relations well beyond the twice-annual mandatory advising requirement for registration/enrollment.
    • Another topic to write about is how a blended learning environment could relieve advisors of the sage on the stage soul resource for information. I want to help empower advisors to equip learners with the skills and motivation to seek and verify information for themselves.
  2. Identify and share 2-3 online publications of interest in your field. Publications can include online magazines, newsletters, state technology publications/articles. Hyperlink your selections so that others may easily access your selections.
  3. Which digital environments allow the opportunity to collaborate with others as you write and think through your ideas? What is currently well established? What needs improvement?
    • Discussion boards, chat apps, blogs, digital classrooms, and file-sharing tools are all digital tools that have allowed an endless variety of digital environments where thoughts, innovations, and hunches collide at just the right time and place to evolve into a perfect solution to a problem (RiverheadBooks, 2010).

Changing Educational Paradigms

I found this talk so interesting I went to see the full discussion, Changing Paradigms

3 Rules to Spark Learning

Where Good Ideas Come From

References

Musallam, R. (2013, April). 3 rules to spark learning [Video]. TED Talks. https://www.ted.com/talks/ramsey_musallam_3_rules_to_spark_learning

RiverheadBooks. (2010, September 17). WHERE GOOD IDEAS COME FROM by Steven Johnson [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NugRZGDbPFU

RSA. (2010, February 4). Sir Ken Robinson – Changing Paradigms [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCbdS4hSa0s

Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change (1st ed.). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

ADL Program, Advising, Collective, ePortfolios, Goals, Innovation Plan, Online Learning, Publication

Digital Tools in Digital Environments

The Advisor That Cares

5317 Discussion 1 (1 of 2)

Technology can certainly enhance learning, as we have discovered throughout our ADL learning journey. The fact that I can connect with learners from various industries and worldwide illustrates how much technology can be employed to strengthen learning and collaboration. The program pushes me to seek out information and re-engage a curiosity about learning and topics related to digital learning. As part of that inquisitive process, I perform online searches through search engines and video streaming to obtain a big-picture perspective on current trends and topics. I further refine source information through detailed reviews of literature and additional writings and research found with my professional organizations, related journals, and other article sources. Professional journals from NACADA are my primary resource for finding emerging trends within advising. EDUCAUSE Review is another excellent resource for identifying technology trends and issues within education. 

The digital tools currently utilized within the advising relationships seek to manage student information, notes, and referrals. The institution employs a student information system to onboard and guide students from admission to enrollment. Then, the advising and support units use a different system to invite students to appointments, request progress report updates from faculty, record interaction notes on services utilized, answer questions, and make support recommendations. Another system tracks degree plan requirements and progress. Students take the information from the degree system and then use another system to register for classes. In addition to the disjointed nature of the different technologies and systems used within the advising profession, most of these tools are not currently student-facing. However, an innovation to advising would help change this by utilizing blended learning concepts to flip advising from short-burst information transfer sessions (overwhelming) to ongoing dialogues and collaborations that expand the relationship and further assist students in navigating and understanding their learning opportunities. Through the lens of a COVA approach to learning that incorporates how educational technology encourages student choice, ownership, and voice while presenting authentic learning opportunities, technology and digital learning tools must contribute to creating significant learning environments (CSLE) instead of technology for technology’s sake. 

A personally curated advising resource (ePortfolio) is my favorite technology tool at this time, simply because of the unlimited accessibility of combining and translating information across the higher education landscape. This resource could help learners and their families navigate the frustratingly confusing process of learning policy, procedure, and an unlimited number of requirements faced by college students. I am intrigued by the tools enabling a blended learning model that incorporates micro-lectures, cloud computing, and online collaboration within learning collectives. Google Classroom provides an exciting opportunity for connecting learners while also providing opportunities for assessment.

In this discussion, consider the required readings and view the following videos then participate in a discussion with your colleagues where you will explore the variety of ways technology can enhance learning.

Readings

Articles

Discussion Videos

Digital Tools in Digital Environments

Podcast/Interview

Discussion 1 of 2 – Digital Tools in Digital Environments

  1. How do you evaluate current and future trends and tools in educational technology for educational impact?
    • I evaluate current and future trends by performing online searches through search engines and video streaming while further refining source information through detailed reviews of literature and research found with my professional organizations, related journals, and other article sources. Through the lens of a COVA approach to learning that incorporates how educational technology encourages student choice, ownership, and voice while presenting authentic learning opportunities. Technology and digital learning tools must contribute to creating significant learning environments (CSLE) instead of technology for technology’s sake.
  2. Which resources do you look to find emerging trends and issues in the field?
    • Professional journals from NACADA are my primary resource for finding emerging trends within advising. EDUCAUSE Review is another excellent resource for identifying technology trends and issues within education.
  3. What digital tools have you used to support learning in your current work setting?
    • The digital tools utilized within the advising relationship manage student information, notes, and referrals. The institution employs a student information system to onboard and guide students from admission to enrollment. Then, the advising and support units use another system to invite students to appointments, request progress report updates from faculty, record interaction notes on services utilized, questions answered, and support recommended. Another system tracks degree plan requirements and progress. Students take the information from the degree system and then use another system to register for classes. Most technology tools are not student-facing, but an innovation to advising would help change this by utilizing blended learning concepts to flip advising from short burst information transfer sessions to ongoing dialogues and collaborations that expand the relationship and further assist students in navigating and understanding their learning opportunity.
  4. Which tools are your favorite and why?
    • Currently, a personally curated advising resource is my favorite simply because of the unlimited accessibility of combining and translating information across the higher education landscape. This resource could help learners and families navigate the confusing process of learning policy, procedure, and requirements faced by college students. Google Classroom provides an exciting opportunity for connecting learners while also providing opportunities for assessment. I am intrigued by the tools enabling a blended learning model that incorporates micro-lectures, cloud computing, and online collaboration within learning collectives.

References

Denton, D. W. (2012). Enhancing instruction through Constructivism, Cooperative Learning, and Cloud Computing. TechTrends, 56(4), 34–41. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-012-0585-1

Liao, J., Wang, M., Ran, W., & Yang, S. J. H. (2013). Collaborative cloud: a new model for e-learning. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 51(3), 338–351. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2013.791554

Noah, T. (2023). Enhancing flipped learning with microlectures. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/flipped-learning-with-microlectures

Nordic Business Forum. (2015, September 8). Sir Ken Robinson – How finding your passion changes everything: Part 2 | Nordic Business Forum 2014 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6E8y-9TzpI

ProjectHappyWay. (2015, March 27). Best Ted Talks 2015 – Draw your future – Take control of your life [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vl6wCiUZYc

Publishing: Can I really do that? (n.d.). Learner’s Mindset. https://tilisathibodeaux.com/wordpress/?page_id=841

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