K-12 School Computer Networking/Chapter 25/Distance Learning and Student Support

Introduction

The Columbia University Center for Career Education (CCE) provides career education programming to students at:

• Columbia College

• The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science

• School of General Studies

• School of Continuing Education (Master of Science Programs and Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Programs)

• Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

• School of the Arts

• Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation

As young adults make increasing use of Web 2.0 technologies in their daily lives, educators and career development professionals must keep pace with that change. Columbia University's Center for Career Education has recognized the potential to proactively use Web 2.0 technologies to not only aid in how career centers communicate with students; but to help make students more employable based on their knowledge and use of these technologies.

Creating a Coherent, Cost-Effective and Sustainable Web 2.0 Strategy to Engage Students

Case studies can be used by career services professionals to provide them with information regarding the potential of innovatively using Web 2.0 technologies in career development initiatives. These specific technologies including Facebook, Twitter, Alumwire, Drupal and other emerging technologies can demonstrate compromises and trade-offs in the establishment of student support systems in higher education. Tait states that “the increasing domination of the social by the business environment brings challenges for educational institutions to retain their role when the marketization of education means that commercial companies with to enter the field in pursuit of revenue” (Tait 2000).

Through the use of a Web 2.0 technologies the Center for Career Education has continuously evaluated and vetted shifting technologies; established their career center as a relevant resource for students and created a sustainable strategy to implement various social media solutions. Students are then able to use their experience as digital natives to navigate career options as well as network in an extremely competitive workforce.In this way, the support services for counseling are no longer relegated to face-to-face communication and various psychological testing tools such as the MBTI and/or PET analysis.

Experiential Learning and Student Support

The Center for Career Education uses a variety of experiential education opportunities for students interested in international internships, as well as careers in the arts. Additionally, Columbia Student Enterprises provides students with a unique opportunity to cultivate and develop transferable entrepreneurship and enterprise management skills through developing, managing, and working for student-run businesses. Program participants emerge as experienced entrepreneurs, with a strong foundation of service leadership, business ethics, professional responsibility and recognition of the limitless career opportunities they will gain from this experience. Unfortunately, there are no systems in place to measure whether students are actually achieving learning objectives and goals of the experiential learning programs. Furthermore, an emphasis has recently been put on critical reflection by sending student participants a series of questions via email, that they are required to respond. Although this method seems on its surface to encourage critical reflection, Web 2.0 technologies can be used to support these students while encouraging reflective learning and career development tools. For example, through use of blogs, students can write about their international work experiences. Wikis would allow students to come up with a mock proposal of how they would prepare subsequent students who would participate in an experiential learning program. Moreover, YouTube would allow students to post videos and other visuals of their experiences while sharing their learning with their peers.

Example of Experiential learning through Critical Reflection

Considering of Columbia Experience Overseas program, students/participants are sent the following via electronic mail:

Hello CEO London participants!

It was great to see you all last week at dinner and the alumni club event. I hope you had a wonderful time and are now fully settled in to your internship and accommodations. Just wanted to let you know that I’ll be sending you an email about a different topic weekly to help guide you through your internship and provide some points for reflecting on your experience abroad. I hope you will read these carefully and put some thought into these topics, as discussing and reflecting on your experiences will help you learn, do well and have fun in your internship. We want you to have a great experience out there, and I hope I can guide you in this. I will also be checking in with you guys via Skype or g-chat next week sometime. Decide with your roommate when you would like to chat with me and one of you send me the date and time that works for you both.

This week’s reflection topic is Expectations & Goal Setting. Now is a good time to think about what you expected going into your internship, as well as what you expected from moving to London for the summer.

Here are some things to consider:

Are you doing what you thought you would be doing? If not, why? Are your expectations about the internship being met? What about the organization you are working for? Are your expectations about living in London being met? Have there been any surprises? Take some time to jot down your feelings and thoughts on these questions. If there are significant differences between your expectations and your reality, why do you think this is? Discussing this with your peers, as well as writing down your own thoughts, will help you understand yourself better. Samuel Johnson’s quote above is insightful: understanding where the difference lies in what you expected and what you experience is key to finding satisfaction in what you are doing. The smaller the distance between the two, the more satisfying an experience you will have. If the distance between your expectations and your reality are quite substantial, it is time to rethink and regroup. It’s also a great time to revisit your goals.

Setting goals is a great way to actively construct an experience so that you can get the most out of it. Remember to set specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely goals. For example, if you are interested in networking, a SMART goal is “to actively network with two people per week at my organization for the next six weeks”. An example of a vague goal would be “to learn networking”. The latter goal is so vague, that the end result can take too many forms and you may not have any idea if you achieved this or not by the end of your internship.

This week, set two or three concrete, SMART goals for yourself. What do you want to get out of this internship experience? Do you know specifically what it is you want to get and how to get it? Think about your expectations and how they have or have not been met thus far. Do you need to change your expectations? If your expectations were too high, it’s time to recalibrate. If your expectations were too low, think about what you didn’t realize before hand. Write down your thoughts and keep them for yourself. In the end of your internship, you will be able to see how much you’ve learned about yourself and how much you’ve grown.

Good luck this week and I’ll talk to you guys soon!

Beginning WEEK 4

“Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one's thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe quotes (German Playwright, Poet, Novelist and Dramatist. 1749-1832)

Hello CEO London participants!

It was nice chatting with you last week and I’m glad you are enjoying yourselves in London.

This week’s reflection topic is Mindful Working. At this point, you are all immersed in your internships and most likely have gotten comfortable with your supervisors, co-workers and surroundings. Day to day, your tasks might change but you’re most likely used to your work environment and your activities in your internship.

Now is the time to resist the urge to go into auto-pilot mode! Make sure you are thinking about the work you are doing and keeping your mind actively involved in your internship. This is not limited to your projects, but also the people around you, your supervisors, the goals of the company you are working for and larger projects that are going on that you may not be involved in.

Some reflection questions to consider:

Who are the different entities that are benefiting from you being in this role? Do you think what you do is meaningful and worthwhile? Why or why not? Would you do the same job on a permanent basis and what is the reason for your answer? Answering these questions will help you keep yourself in check as to what you are getting and giving in your role. It will also ensure that you are having a meaningful experience and learning while you are working.

Even if you are in an internship that is more unstructured than you prefer or your supervisors are not available to answer questions, it is important to think about what it is that makes you work hard, what makes you disengage and all that is in between. Working through what is murky or confusing at work will help you clarify what you need to do your job well. Remember to stay engaged and get yourself back on track when you have become distracted. Those who are most satisfied at work and most successful in their roles actively think about what they are doing each and every day. We all know the summer is distracting but learning how to motivate yourself and keep yourself actively interested in your work tasks will make your experience that much better.

Good luck this week at work and have a great time in London!

Take care,

WEEK 5

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”

George Bernard Shaw quotes (Irish literary Critic, Playwright and Essayist. 1925 Nobel Prize for Literature, 1856-1950)

Hello CEO London participants!

I hope this email finds you well and you are enjoying your internships and London.

This week’s reflection topic is Communication. Improving communication skills is something that just about everyone can do. It is an essential component of all relationships, personal and professional, and you’ll be using this skill the rest of your life.

At this point in your experience, there have likely been moments that you may have been unclear on a task or question your supervisor asked or maybe you had something to offer up to a supervisor, but didn’t feel it was your place to do so. Learning what to say and when to say it is a priceless tool. The sooner you are able to master this, the better off you’ll be in the majority of all situations (this also goes for living with people too).

Things to consider when communicating:

Why are we coming together right now? What’s the reason I am trying to communicate this? Are there any assumptions or anything implied that I want to clear up? What do I really want to communicate to this person? Have I asked enough questions to understand this person fully? It’s also important to realize that everyone processes information differently. Don’t assume that because you said something in a way that makes sense to you, that everyone you’ve communicated with understands it the same way. Make sure you verify by asking questions to make sure you’re on the same page. Don’t assume you have communicated something without working with the person you’re speaking with to make sure that what you said is what they have interpreted. It only takes an extra couple of questions to go from “I get it”, to “I totally understand”, so make sure you take that extra step.

There is another crucial component to communicating: listening. Make sure you are listening to the person you are trying to communicate with. Learn your biases, your assumptions, and your expectations before engaging with that person. Take these into account when you are listening, so you can get a gauge of whether any of those things are playing into your communication. Remember to verify what you are hearing with questions for the person speaking to you so that you can interpret it the way they intend. Listening is half of the trick in communication, so be sure to be all ears when someone is trying to communicate with you.

I hope this helps you out and I’m looking forward to hearing from you soon about your internships.

Take care,

WEEK 6

Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” - John Dewey (American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer)

“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.”

- John Dewey (American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer)

Hi guys,

I hope you had a nice weekend and are enjoying yourselves as you enter the last stretch of your internships.

This week’s reflection topic is Formal vs. informal education. Your education is a mix of both formal and informal learning. As Columbia students, you are getting arguably the best education out there. But remember, what you are getting in the classroom is just one way in which you are learning. Everything that you are doing day to day, all of the interactions you have had with other students, alumni and co-workers as well as all of the exploration you have done in the city is your informal education. Getting a Columbia education doesn’t just mean the rigorous academic work you’ve done; it includes all of the opportunities, connections, people and places that it has allowed you to incorporate into your life.

For this week, consider how your formal education has informed or influenced what you are learning in your internships this summer.

Some questions to reflect upon:

1. What did you learn about the field you are in, compared to what you studied in class?

2. Was there a specific class or teacher that helped you understand something about your field that you got to see in person while you were working?

3. What classes, specific assignments, papers or labs have you done that you’re glad you did before your internship?

Take some time this week to reflect on these questions. What are your thoughts on your formal and informal educational experiences? It’s critical to analyze what you’re learning in school and how it can play out in the real world. Many times there won’t be a direct connection from book to real life, which is, simultaneously, the challenge and the beauty of a liberal arts education. It’s up to you to use your critical thinking skills to synthesize what you’ve learned in class with the world around you to make the most of your experiences.

Hope all else is well!

WEEK 7

“Really great people make you feel that you, too, can become great.” ~ Mark Twain quotes

“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” ~Ryunosuke Satoro, Japanese poet 

Hi guys,

This will sadly be my second to the last reflection e-mail as you’ll be ending your internships in about a week and a half! I know the summer has flown for you and I hope you are enjoying the last bits of your London experience. *Tear*…anyway…

This week’s reflection topic is Interpersonal Skills. What are interpersonal skills? They are the skill set you need to interact with all types of people in different situations. This isn’t strictly communication, but how you actually relate to people. The core of interpersonal skills is the person, which brings me to the most important part: the people you have been involved with throughout your internship.

People are the driving force behind everything. It might seem like a very obvious statement (and it is), but it’s often something that can be overlooked or forgotten completely. It’s easy to put our heads down, type away all day at the computer or research all day long and forget that there are people all around you. Remember that everything you are doing is affecting more than one person. Don’t forget this! You’re making an impact on someone, directly or indirectly, with the work you are doing. Additionally, whatever you are doing or working on is because of a person, not an entity. Entities, committees, organizations and companies don’t generate ideas and solve problems- people do, collectively and individually. Once you are a professional in the working world, you may be part of a larger group like a company, but you, the person, is who will be hired, not your degree or your credentials. That might get you the interview, but ultimately what you can say about yourself as a person is what will convince others to continue their interaction with you.

All of the interactions you have had thus far throughout your London experience should tell you more about yourself, as well as the diversity of perspectives that exist in the world around you.  People are very different and it’s very likely that you’ll work with people who do not share your beliefs, viewpoints or methods of communication.  It’s imperative that you make a concerted effort to learn as much as you can from your interactions about others and about yourself. 

Also, don’t forget to stay connected. The connections you’ve made can end up being lifelong relationships and great things can come of it. Thank the people that are around you and make sure they understand what kind of impact they have had on you. It’s not only a great thing to do for someone else, but it can be very empowering to make those around you aware of their influence on you. They, in turn, may share your impact on them. This can be very powerful for you personally and professionally.

Some questions to reflect upon for this week:

If you had to choose, what would be your top three interactions you had this summer?

What feedback from roommates, co-workers, supervisors and friends did you receive that you would like to remember? What has resonated with you? 

What have you shared with others that you thought was helpful to them? What can you say about your interpersonal skills? How were they at the beginning of your summer and how are they now? Feel free to reflect on these questions as you approach your final week in London. Have a great weekend and I’ll talk to you guys very soon!

Take care,

Observations

Although the phrasing of the questions encourage reflection, there are other means in which we could use distance learning tools. For example, would it be feasible to TWEET some of the quotes? Could these questions be posted on a wiki and then multiple students can respond and support each other? Would something similar to Blackboard or Courseweb be sufficient in tracking the experiential learning of the students.

Email is adequate, but does it really cater to the mindset of the millennial or digital native?

Final Thoughts

Tait states that the primary functions of student support are proposed as being threefold:

1. Cognitive: Support and developing learning through the mediation of the standard and uniform elements of course materials and learning resources for individual students.

2. Affective: Providing an environment which supports students, creates commitment and enhances self-esteem;

3. Systemic: Establishing administrative processes and information management systems which are effective, transparent and overall student friendly.

I think distance learning, when defined as "a formalized teaching and learning system specifically designed to be carried out remotely by using electronic communication" can and should be used in student support services and career development. However, this does require an instructor who is comfortable using a variety of technologies such as iTunes, podcasts, YouTube video and other emerging technologies.

Students self-esteem would increase, as students would be using tools that encourage creativity and reflection on their part.

Finally, these tools invoke a sense of familiarity to millennials, thus instructors will need to become more savvy at using these tools and understanding the administrative processes and not only assuring that the technologies are student-friendly, but allow for adequate educator flexibility.

References

Reference:

1. Tait A (2000) Planning Student Support for Open and Distance Learning.

2. Tait A (1999) Face to face and at a distance: the mediation of guidance and counseling through the new technologies, in British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 27:1, pp113-122