What Technologies Are They Using?

Another TLT session I wanted to mention briefly was one presented by Karen Smith-Gratto, Barbra Mosley, and Alecia Jones of North Carolina A & T. They were reporting on a study that asked students about what technologies (hardware and Web-based applications) they actually use. They were interested in finding out whether A&T students' technology use is similar to that described in national studies of college students' technology use or whether there are significant differences. (Unfortunately, I came in just late enough to miss the citation for the national study.) Among their findings were these:

• About 40% of A&T students (as opposed to 20% in the national study) use instant messaging.


• Whereas Boomers almost never use text messaging, the current generation uses it daily in overwhelming numbers. (Gen X also uses it.) You can tell I'm a Boomer--I'm sitting here wondering whether text messaging and IMing are the same thing!


• Students didn't report much use of social networking sites, but the investigators suspect that they didn't understand what the question was asking about.


• Overall, students may be less advanced and use fewer technologies than we think--but it is also possible that they are using some technolgies socially and do not want us invading their space! This reminded me of the looks of alarm I see on my students' faces when I mention that I have a Facebook page.

This struck me as a study it would be very interesting to replicate here. It would be particularly useful to know whether our students are really as technologically sophisticated as we sometimes think they are, and it would also be useful to have a clearer idea of how much their knowledge of technology varies. I suspect it varies a great deal--even some of the young students seem unfamiliar with word processing, while every class seems to include (thank goodness) at least one student who can help us get our technological tools to work.

Effective classroom interaction: Learning from the Teaching Professor Conference, 2008

I attended the Teaching Professor Conference in Kissimee,FL. To say that this conference was outstanding, is an understatement! I learned so many different tools and strategies that I can use in the classroom. Being a new teacher of higher learning, I must admit that I kind of felt intimidated being amongst so many seasoned professionals. The conference didn't make me feel like I was a neophyte in the world of higher education, instead I felt amongst individuals who though had been teaching for years, were learning and listening for ideas, as though frustrated with the modern way of teaching. For once, I felt like I belong to a secret society of educators who were planning to take control of this world that we called higher learning. It felt so exhilarating and awesome. I had all of the confidence in the world take on the "politics" of standardized teaching. Everything about this conference was amazing! The hotel, the city and the true southern hospitality that I received. I would certainly like to thank CETL at Winston-Salem State University for providing me with opportunity to advance my teaching and learning skills.

This conference was just a confirmation for me that I belong in this career. I can't wait to take what I have learned and apply it to my curriculum for the fall. I especially liked the workshop that talked about incorporating YouTube and Facebook into the Curriculum (Katherine Yamashita). I thought that it was a great idea to get students excited about learning in their language. I am a visual learner like most of my students therefore this method of teaching would be very effective. I also felt like the "Pick a Card any Card: Using Card-Sort Activities to Combine Critical Thinking and Cooperative Learning " workshop (John Huss) was very informative. There are a couple of group activities in that workshop that I would like to use as well.

Overall, I would recommend to anyone to attend this conference. If a person really values teaching and really cares about their students, then this conference is perfect for them.

Thank you for the experience,

Niesha Douglas