TECHNOLOGY CENTER
Today’s Technology: Accessible, Affordable,
and Engaging
BY BRITTNEY ROETZEL AND MATT FULMER
You Tube. Twitter. Facebook. Most of us are familiar with these social media outlets, although we may not have con- sidered how such tools can be fully utilized in engaging undergraduate students. Virtual interactions can comple- ment face-to-face discussions in efforts to heighten student learning and engagement. While there are often many
concerns associated with the use of new technology, most of these myths are easily addressed.
Myth #1: New Technology is Difficult to Learn
Identifying your technological allies is vital. Because we work
with millennial students most frequently, we consistently
have hundreds of technology natives in our midsts. While they
are less equipped to identify appropriate learning outcomes or
gaps in a program, students are often qualified to help brainstorm
how to reach prescribed outcomes in technologically savvy ways.
Charged with meeting a once-lofty learning outcome on
self awareness in first-year students, a residential advisor
in Washington University’s Brookings Residential College
recently conceived the Brookings Believes project. Students
use free technologies to create multimedia expressions of
their beliefs, which increases engagement and helps students
reflect and grow. Students developed videos, wrote poetry, and
even composed original music, all of which were uploaded
to a central online forum hosted by the Residential College.
Students could “gather” on their own time at the online forum
to explore their own beliefs as well as those of peers in their
living community. This forum primed students for future
face-to-face conversations that became more comfortable and
less risky than students imagined.
Myth #2: Using Technology is Expensive
While technology can be expensive, there are many low-cost
approaches to reaching residents in new ways. After realizing
that a minority of residents were reading e-mail messages from
their residential advisors and residential college directors, the
concept of weekly video messages was devised. With less than
$150 invested in an easy-to-use digital video camera and the
creation of a college “YouTube” account, a new way of reaching residents was born. Suddenly, instead of telling residents
about an upcoming in-house lecture by a faculty member,
they can meet the professor “face-to-face” in an exciting way.
Videos are edited primarily using iMovie, which easily allows
users to add captions and transitions between clips. Links are
added to relevant websites, school calendars, and forums.
Once videos are uploaded to the appropriate website,
Google Analytics can be used to assess their efficacy. With
the help of this free and easily navigated website analysis tool,
administrators can track website usage in real time to learn
how many students are visiting sites and viewing videos, how
long they are spending on each page, and where they choose to
“click” when they navigate away from the page.
Myth #3: Technology Will Replace
In-Person Learning
Because today’s technology is often flashy
and fun, the need to consistently align its
use with well-defined learning outcomes has
never been greater. In Washington University’s
on-campus apartments, students are so heavily
invested in their academics and co-curricular
pursuits, it poses a formidable challenge to
meet as a group at one time. The ability to
physically bring a group together has made
complex learning outcomes, such as those
associated with vocation and calling, unat-
tainable in many cases. In response to this
challenge, the “Digging Deeper Series” was
devised. Designed to explore life’s big ques-
tions, the series primarily uses collaborative
online environments to promote reflection
