College Campus Virtual Tours at OnlineUniversities.com

OnlineUniversities.com offers virtual tours of several college campuses. This site might be useful to those of you in the process of researching colleges to attend or if you are in the final stages of deciding what university name to fill in on your fall 2010 tuition check and are unable to travel.

The site also offers virtual tours of museums, famous landmarks and buildings and even has a list of Google Earth virtual collections. Check out these offering at Online Universities’ College Campus Virtual Tours page.

Guest Blogger: Ashley Noel, Campus Liaison for the University of Wisconsin at Stout

Students can use the Netter's Anatomy Flashcards iPhone App to study for an exam!

Not just a fad, iPhones are rapidly proving themselves to be a successful tool for students in the classroom. Introduced back in Summer of 2007, Apple’s new and innovative cell phone was quickly named “Invention of the Year” by Time Magazine.

In an article written by Simmi Aujla, Abilene Christian University gave an iPhone to every first-year student in 2008 to increase the quality of communication between students and professors. Students admitted to using the technology at least once a day for their school work. Executive Vice President of the University had nothing but rave reviews on the students behalf for the new program. In addition, it was acknowledged that with the given time frame of how new the program is, there is not enough conclusive data to prove that the success rate of students has risen; but that the first step of getting students enthused has been accomplished.

As a devout BlackBerry user, I had to investigate further as to what applications the iPhone offers that would benefit students such as myself. Mental Case, an interactive application that begins with a Mac computer, allows flashcards to be created and synced to your device. I can see this application being most popular, as this is a great tool to cram in the last bit of studying while riding the never-ending bus ride to school.  Record a Lecture is a fantastic way to share class lectures with your fellow absent peers; another app feature allows the recording to be sent via email. Lastly, iHomework, is an assignment calendar allows you to stay organized using your iPhone and eliminates the need to carry around the obnoxious day-planner. This application allows the user to stay on top of deadlines by sorting assignments by day, week, and specifically by course.

iPhone is currently skimming the surface with all of the opportunities to reach the student demographic and to add value to the education system.  In my opinion, Apple is off to an incredibly engaging start!  Check out more Apps for Students!

Guest Blogger: Jeff Lail is the Assistant Student Center Manager of the Brower Student Center at the College of New Jersey. His position integrates student center management as well as student activities and programming. You can read more of his work at the Student Affairs Collaborative blog as well as his personal blog.

Will Social Media be used to increase student learning outcomes?

We’ve heard a lot of discussion lately in student affairs about whether or not our departments would benefit from using technology and if we should use it to assist us in accomplishing department goals. These are all very important topics to discuss, especially when considering venturing into the scary world of social media

Web 2.0, popularly called social media, provides our students with an amazing opportunity to share themselves and what they do with literally the entire world. This can provide multiple benefits to their lives, from connecting them with other people of like interests to building their professional networks. Not to mention the intrinsic benefits of practicing their writing, building their communication skills by keeping up with old friends and new friends, or trying out a new area such as photography and sharing these attempts with the world.

Most of the education on Web 2.0 and social media taught on campus is, “Don’t post this and dont say that! Or it’ll get ya in the end!” We tell our students not to post pictures of themselves on Facebook engaging in debauchery, not to say things that are offensive and not to treat the internet as a free space to do whatever they want. But in my experience, we don’t do enough to tell our students what TO do. Technology should never be a burden but instead should be a tool to improve productivity and get the maximum worth for our efforts. If this is not the case, we are either using it wrong or the technology isn’t worth our time.

I wonder if the day is upon us when we will have learning outcomes and education for our students on how to use social media to benefit their professional life. If I were to write these outcomes they might include some things like sharing your best work, finding other people with similar interests through Twitter and pursuing your passion for photography by posting pictures on Flickr.

We are in an unprecedented time where students can impact their lives from their own home computer through social media. With any change comes significant positives and negatives, but much like OrgSync attempts, we can educate our students on how to make the most out of these new technologies instead of simply trying to scare them into not doing something wrong.

Original image of Jump on the Social Bandwagon.

In today’s society, a college education is more important than ever, and there is no shortage of institutions for students to choose from. So, how do prospective students make up their mind? What draws them to one institution over another? More than anything else, they look for a place they can call home. They consider what the University has to offer them. Student involvement in the campus community is vital to a successful college life. Prospective students don’t want to attend an institution where they will be isolated, and have nothing to do but study. While it’s true that students are looking for a good education, without a comfortable environment, learning won’t be possible.

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE Studies) shows that student success is directly linked to student involvement. NSSE measures student involvement in academic and co-curricular programs and activities, and the effect they have on students. According to NSSE, the more involved students are in an institution, the more invested they will be. The higher the student involvement level the higher their grades are and the more likely they are to re-enroll for the next semester. Highly-engaged students are more likely to re-enroll than less-engaged students. An institution that offers inviting options for student involvement is also creating free, word-of-mouth marketing. The more a student likes an institution the more likely they are to promote and recommend it to others. Among institutions that scored appropriately in the NSSE student involvement and engagement study 93 percent of students reported having a favorable image of their college.

Because student involvement is so important, it is vital for an institution to create a culture, not just a campus. When students are involved and engaged, they feel like they are a part of something. This sense of belonging fosters loyalty and pride in their institution, as well as academic achievement, and community involvement. There are five benchmarks laid out by NSSE to gauge a successful student involvement environment.

These benchmarks are:
1. Sufficient level of academic challenge
2. Favorable amount of active and collaborative learning options
3. Quality faculty and student interaction
4. Abundant amount of enriching community interaction
5. Existence of a supportive campus environment.

Students who are involved devote more time and energy to academics, spend more time on campus, while participating actively in student organizations, and having more positive interactions with faculty and staff. All of this leads to a more productive educational environment that benefits every part of the institution. On the other hand, uninvolved students neglect their studies, abstain from extracurricular activities, spend little time on campus, and rarely contact faculty and staff. This lack of interest leads to a lack-luster college experience.

Students are not the only ones to benefit from an engaged environment. Student involvement is often the catalyst for other institutional and community improvements. Faculty, staff, and the surrounding community all benefit from student involvement. From volunteering, to relaxed and free flowing conversation, the benefits are endless. But, meaningful and worthwhile student involvement does not just happen overnight, it’s an investment process that takes time, effort, and money. But this is an investment that has been proven to be worth the effort. Student involvement on campus is one of the quickest ways for students to become part of an institution’s community and create a personalized college experience.

Kate Klingensmith

Today’s guest blogger, Kate Klingensmith, is Director of Research for Inigral, a San Francisco-based education startup company.  With a degree in Cognitive Science and four years experience with teaching high school biology and physics, Kate has a strong interest in college matriculation, technology integration in the classroom, and student engagement.  Her blog, Once a Teacher, is a record of her quest to research and collaborate with others to find ways of incorporating web 2.0 tools into both education and administration.

What is a PLN?

If I had to define what a ‘Personal Learning Network’ is, I would keep it simple and broad:

n. – the entire collection of people with whom you engage and exchange information, usually online.

Personal Learning Networks, or PLNs, have been around forever. Originally, they were your family and friends, maybe people you worked with, but as the internet and web 2.0 tools have become nearly ubiquitous, PLNs can include tons of different communities – social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, social bookmarking tools, LinkedIn, and so many more. Basically, anyone that you interact with is apart of your PLN, whether they are social contacts, professional peers, or experts in their field. Most of the ‘learning’ takes place on-line now, because it is simple to find and connect with others with similar interests from around the world.

PLNs have immense value!

So, why bother thinking about your PLN? Whether you’re a full-time mom, a full-time administrator, or a full-time student, your PLN can be extremely interesting and helpful. The beauty of people communicating online is the ease of finding and sharing information and – if you ask for it – the group feedback that you get on ideas and projects.

Here are some ways that people are using their PLNs:
- Professional development – learn from experts in your field
- Locate free resources, such as websites and software
- Get event and marketing ideas
- Learn about new technology and how to integrate it into your role
- Find collaborative solutions
- Find interesting links to higher ed news

When you have a large group of people combing through vast amounts of information and collectively identifying the most useful, entertaining, or valuable parts, it makes a lot of sense to tap into this collective knowledge!

Build Your Own PLN

If you’re interested in expanding your PLN, here’s a directory of some of the best web 2.0 tools:

What to Expect – Stages of PLN Adoption

There are certain stages that most people seem to go through when building their PLN before settling into a comfortable niche. It may take a little time, but you’ll eventually find that a rich PLN can elevate both your personal and professional life to new heights.

If you’d like to connect with me, click here.

The landscape at the University of Alabama is a testament to the concept of “integrative learning,” and the University’s Quad exhibits this quality.  Whereas one half of the area is open, the other half is tree-filled and covered with shade and benches. This is the formula for the perfect student experience, in which, the tree-covered area can be seen as the student’s academic life, and the open side as their extra-curricular endeavors.

Integrative learning is an interdisciplinary process involving student activity both in and outside the classroom. In an academic setting, students are required to attend classes ranging from forty people to over four hundred people; all of whom are watching a powerpoint presentation or listening to an impersonal lecture. However, there must be a manner in which to convey knowledge that is captivating and stimulating to a student that compels them to engage their studies in a fun and informative manner- enter OrgSync.

OrgSync is a new and revolutionary online tool for the total management of student organizations and their members.  OrgSync incorporates integrative learning techniques to continue what academia begins, but further helps student organizations effectively communicate, and especially in the campus residence halls.

As an example, take the Blount Undergraduate Initiative at the University of Alabama,which is a living-learning community that houses its scholars.  Blount is not just a residence hall, it is also an academic building with classrooms on the first floor where Blount scholars go for their foundational courses.  One professor, and all of the Teaching Assistants/Graduate students involved in those classes live in Blount, so at any point in the day, students can go to their instructors and ask questions. Not only are students afforded the ability to have open and personal dialogue with their professors, but the students are also encouraged to socialize and foster discussion among themselves for a fully integrated approach.  Academic or recreational topics are welcome in a large open forum known as the “Lobby,” and this peer-to-peer learning can be observed on a daily basis.

Having an area where everyone in the community can come together and collaborate allows for the furthering of knowledge in an otherwise social setting. Alex Wilson, a resident of Blount, said, “Living in Blount—a living-learning community—has deepened my understanding and furthered my studies of all things academic; in turn, I am made aware of world events, politics, and other activities that exist outside the classroom. This knowledge makes me a better-rounded student.”

Implementing the organizational measures of OrgSync for student interest groups on the campus of UA furthers the communication between these groups and the faculty.   Open communication increases the effectiveness of organizations such as the Blount program, and facilitates an integrative learning experience.