Humanizing Relationships with Technology
Do you ever feel like a broken record or an automated robot? It can feel demoralizing to find yourself overwhelmed with procedures to follow and paperwork to complete. The demands of your schedule barely allow you to connect with your learners. You think, oops, time’s up, as you hurriedly record notes and repeat the process for the workday. Do you ever feel like there is so much more to say? Are you missing out on meaningful ways to help students transfer challenges into opportunities for growth? Do you ever find yourself at the end of a packed schedule with your email and voicemail full of even more desperate questions? Do you feel defeated when there never seems to be enough time in the day to do it all?
My article introduces a topic on the ways advisors can employ digital tools to build, extend, and fortify their advising relationships. Through blended learning (Horn & Staker, 2017), advisors can use digital tools to create a significant learning environment (Harapnuik, n.d.). By flipping advising (Steele, 2016), advisors can use innovative delivery options to reduce repetitive aspects of onboarding learners, answer frequently asked questions, and connect with advisees. Digital tools can expand advising appointments from a mandatory once or twice-per-semester interaction into an ongoing exploration and discussion. Thereby creatively supporting learners during their transformational college experience.
References
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.
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
Wire Frame Head Technology Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
The Advisor That Cares 