Category: Growth

Advising, Goals, Growth, Professional

Reading emails, a thing of the past?

The Advisor That Cares
On a background of a global map is a graphic of a laptop. There is a cell phone pictured to the right of the laptop. Both devices have black screens with lines to represent illegible text. Across the map are multiple yellow envelopes represent incoming email messages with an open envelope on top of the laptop screen.

Doesn’t anyone read emails anymore?

I am going to have to find a way to relay information to my students so that they actual take the time to read and absorb what they need to know. I am amazed by the number of students who enter graduate school without researching the requirements of their chosen program. I think that we all get so busy in our day to day lives that we take for granted the information that the recruiter gives to us when they are enticing us to begin a given program.

Since I can be quite long-winded in my emails, I would like to utilize my e-portfolio as a place to outline all of the requirements of which students need to be aware. Ideally, this information will be made more relevant or accessible through digital storytelling or other multimedia formats, since I’m really starting to feel that reading and attention to detail is becoming a thing of the past.

To help improve myself as a communicator, I decided to do a quick internet search for ways to get through to my students. Forbes writes in Why No One Reads Your Email And How To Fix That recommends that I make my email scannable by:

  1. Write two to three sentences that introduces the topic and what’s in it for the recipient to read the email.
  2. Chunk information into bulleted categories, ideally no more than three categories. You can always put sub bullets in each category.
  3. Close out the email with a sentence or two clearly requesting the action you want the participant to take next.

MacArthur, H. V. (2019, July 9). Why no one reads your emails and how to fix that. Forbes. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/hvmacarthur/2019/07/08/why-no-one-reads-your-emails-and-how-to-fix-that/

ADL Program, Evolution, Goals, Growth

What can I get from the ADL program…

The Advisor That Cares

The best way to succeed in the ADL program is to trust the process. I think that we all must accept that we will feel lost and confused for much of the program because that is where we will find the most learning and growth. I find it very helpful that we have been allowed to review the program map to try to grasp how our initial innovation proposal fits into the program as a whole. We will learn the most when presented with projects that are important to us. Our innovation proposal provided us with an authentic learning opportunity. Implementing it allows us to practice all the skills we will need to continue to be change agents within our organizations. Through our own uncomfortable experiences, we will better relate to and understand our learner’s experiences. The goal of our evolution will be to make better learning opportunities and experiences for our students.

ADL Program, Contributions, Growth, Learning, Learning Community, Reflecting

Contributions, 5305

The Advisor That Cares

Innovation Course

  • Spring 2022
  • Course Number: EDLD 5305
  • Course Title: Disruptive Innovation in Technology

Contributions to learning and learning community.

I am giving myself a score of 45 out of 50

Crediting Group Members: Deena B., Lorena R., and , Jose V.

Key and Supporting Contributions

Reflecting on my first course in the Applied Digital Learning program makes me realize how far I have come since those first painful weeks. I sincerely hate to admit it, but the painful process of learning how to do new things is indeed working. I cannot accurately describe how many times I would start a new assignment and think there is no way. I have figured out to do so many new things (like the Innovation Proposal, Literature Review, Implementation Outline, and Digital Story). I learned so much by fighting my way through it. Reading and watching YouTube videos on how to use a new technology or write in a new way paid off.

I do not generally submit assignments against a deadline for fear of technology failure or other interruptions. I posted all of my discussions and feed-forward projects by their posted deadlines to allow enough time for group mates and classmates to respond so that I could make revisions and edits in time for the final deadline. Through this opportunity for reflection, I realized that I tended only to share where there are required feedback obligations. Still, if I was less insecure about feeling lost, I may have had earlier opportunities for clarity.

I wish the discussion thread were instead a group chat to share our ideas and understandings in a single location verse trying to scroll through posts repeatedly. Most of the discussions seem to remain somewhat surface level when I know there is more depth we would find through the back and forth more real-time conversations. 

I completed every course reading, video, and supportive resource throughout the semester. Often I wondered exactly how far down the rabbit trail I could fall following links. Sometimes I wondered if that was the real test to see how far and deep we would travel. I have attempted to absorb and synthesize every piece of information provided to help alleviate my insecurity with these new topics and tasks. I return to previous sources and discover a new meaning or more profound understanding each time I rewatch/review them. I have found new content, followed new links and information, and re-watched so much content throughout the semester. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to watch until I finally understood. The whole concept of flipped learning has become an interest of mine to provide solutions to my advising unit, colleagues, and, most importantly, to my advisees due to my own experience learning by doing.   

I was a late bloomer, finally having an epiphany moment with how everything ties together and how the all the revisions along the way provided the foundation for learning and growth. There were so many revisions of the components that led to this innovation proposal compilation. Undoubtedly, there will be more revisions as I learn more and accumulate more skills to create more dynamic and engaging content. 

While I was not citing APA correctly in my initial discussion posts, I have learned so much about proper citations since. I am sure that I still make citation errors, but I have learned so much through the weekly posts and the assignments throughout this initial course. When classmates had questions, I made additional supportive postings in the student lounge and student/faculty lounge.

Learning Community Key and Supporting Contributions

I participated in all activities this semester. I would have attended more because every meeting provided clarity and community. I took a leadership role and sent multiple email correspondences to potential group members on time, delivery, and frequency of group meetings and attended every online or phone meeting scheduled to provide feedback on projects as updated throughout the semester. I sent emails to classmates whose “Introduce Yourself” posts resonated with me.

Group members completed discussions using conference calling and GroupMe chat. The group faced challenges throughout the semester as group members stopped responding. Thankfully a core group made feed-forward helpful. I made sure that my submissions were made by each posted deadline so that my group-mates would have time to review drafts. I provided feedback to my classmates through discussions and my group mates through meet-ups. We utilized the screen sharing capability of meet.goto.com. I received feedback from my group-mates through those same discussions and screen sharing means. I valued the input from both classmates and instructor to help me improve upon my ideas and think more creatively as they evolved. Additionally, I cannot express how helpful the instructor’s video feedback was for each assignment. I often hit submit, hoping that I understood the assignment/goal correctly and submitted the intended document.

While I contributed to every classmate’s experience, after reviewing each discussion post, I found two discussions in which I did not engage with my classmates. I now see that there is room for improvement to find a system to go back and review threads for new posts.

Originally posted March 11, 2022

ADL Program, Growth, Innovation Plan, Personal, Professional, Reflecting

Communicating Vision

The Advisor That Cares

I think as a personality trait, I have always had a touch of an innovative spirit. I have often described myself as a bit of an efficiency expert. I always try to tweak systems and processes to be better, clearer, simpler, and more effective in every role I have held. I hope to become an innovative “educator” through my role as an academic advisor. I can confirm that my influence currently does not include meaningful or authentic learning opportunities. Often general information is sent out to students. However, the messaging is the same old, templated messages with very little valuable information.

My innovation proposal seeks to make the information more meaningful for students than generic copy/paste notifications. I also aim to provide a resource that will allow students ownership over locating the information they will need along their academic journey. The programs I advise for have specific paths to program completion, course offerings, and more. However, I believe students often go along with the flow and do not stop to ask essential questions until a substantial investment of time, money, and energy has been spent (or worse, wasted) if they are not on the path they intended. 

Regarding under communication, I agree that because we live in the planning, preparing, researching, meeting, and are party to endless discussions of our innovation/implementation plans, we can make faulty assumptions about how much communication has been shared with our constituents.

The above video makes a good point when it pointed out that we need to remember that sometimes the people we hope to influence are a few steps down the hierarchy. We have to remember that they may not be aware of all the information that has been shared in the prior planning stages. The video made an excellent point that we should all try to keep in mind when communicating about our innovation plan and implementation strategy. We must remember that we are competing with the day-to-day business in their workday. We must constantly send out updates and find other ways to communicate excitement and a sense of urgency about our plan. 

ADL Program, Growth, Reflecting

I am Change

The Advisor That Cares

In the above video, we see a person panhandling with a sign that reads, “I’m blind, please help” Power of Words (2010). We see a few passersby drop some change here and there. Then a woman comes by who creates a shift in perspective by updating the sign to ready “It’s a beautiful day, and I can’t see it,” and suddenly, everyone is dropping change for the gentleman Power of Words (2010). By the end of the video, our level of compassion changes, although nothing about the man’s situation has changed. The fact of a man who is begging on the street stays the same. The fact of a man who is blind remains the same. However, a simple change in presenting the facts resulted in more donations for the gentleman. 

I did find the fact that the video contained minimal dialog impactful. I am not sure about the focus of my video creation as I do not have a clear understanding of the project yet, but I would like my video creation to have a similar impact on the viewer.

I appreciated the point made by this second video when we learned that slamming our viewers/audience with more information is not the way to win them over to our cause. The Behavioral Science Guys propose that instead, we approach our audience with “influential questions” Crucial Learning (2015). They explain that this shift allows the audience to leave a place of defensiveness so that they can approach your topic with more receptivity.

I want to affect the heart of my audience by sharing my heart for people and my desire to make a difference. 

I am currently attempting to wrap my mind around the concept of digital storytelling. However, I hope to incorporate Nancy Duarte’s advice on using rising and falling within the storytelling to draw the audience into my innovation proposal TEDx Talks (2010). I love the way she recommends comparing what is against what could be and the beautiful utopian vision she recommends as the final call to action TEDx Talks (2010). Similarly, I would love to utilize the “angel cocktail” described by David JP Phillips (TEDx Talks, 2017). However, I feel that practice makes perfect, and my first attempt may lack the ability to create a sense of expectation, gain sympathy, and create a sense of amusement TEDx Talks (2017). However, I see the benefit of these disarming and engaging techniques. I especially connected with Tom Asacker’s identity point as this is what has driven me to this program, my innovation proposal, and ultimately my profession TEDx Talks (2014). 

My video will attempt to create a sense of urgency by appealing to my audience’s heart instead of their head. 

References

Crucial Learning. (2015, January 5). How to Change People Who Don’t Want to Change | The Behavioral Science Guys [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ACi-D5DI6A

Power of Words. (2010, February 20). The Power of Words [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzgzim5m7oU

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&t=594s

TEDx Talks. (2014, June 30). Why TED Talks don’t change people’s behaviors: Tom Asacker at TEDxCambridge 2014 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0jTZ-GP0N4&t=1s

TEDx Talks. (2017, March 16). The magical science of storytelling | David JP Phillips | TEDxStockholm [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj-hdQMa3uA&t=862s