Staying With the Times: Profs, Admin and Technology

I admit, I get a bit of a kick reading about the latest technology that has come out and then reading the comments on the article to see how many prophets of doom that have a PhD attached to their name like to come out and say that whatever the new gadget is will completely ruin education, etc etc etc.

I heard one about the Kindle, which I admit I don't know much about but if it's true that a student could just buy one of these then pay a lot less to download books onto it... well, from a students perspective that's pretty cool. (Yes I know there's the whole textbook industry to think about but at what point is it ridiculous that you can't buy a used book because the professor is using the newest edition that has 2 pages changed in it?)

Then I heard about the person who came up with (as a joke, I will add) the corrupted email attachment that students can pay $5.00 to download and send to their professors to buy a little extra time to write the paper. Again, I admit I giggled a little bit when I read that. Yes, I know it's ethically wrong to do, but if you were to ask a random sampling of students if they ever wished they had something like that I bet 75% would say that at some point in their life they wished they had thought of that. (It's that whole reality thing again!)

But that's not the point of this blog.

The point was the outrage (and rightly so, but still) of various professors and instructors in the comments section of this article. Many, many, many of them said "I never use email for anything in my class and after reading this I never ever will!" But here's where I get confused. Most of us in the business world use email on a daily basis for a lot of important communication. So why can't education hop on the same bandwagon? What is causing this horrible horrible fear that many academics have in both secondary school and post secondary education about using technology in the classroom? It's got to be more than the occasional corrupt file that a student sends to buy another day to write a paper. Why is there a seeming stubborn contingent that wants us to stay permanently in 1975? (Or earlier...) But yet we can't imagine a 16 year old driving a car now without a cell phone...

I do think that these things (email, Kindles, Blackboard and other online learning software, even social networking) are there to improve our lives and improve learning... if first we learn not to be afraid of them. (The ironic thing is as I'm writing this I'm looking at my cell phone which only calls people and can do text messages- nothing else... I intentionally bought a phone that doesn't have anything else on it, mainly because I don't need it. I'm not against it being out there and available, it's just not necessary for me at this time.) Plus, a LOT of the online software that is being used in higher education has options that prevent cheating. But if that's where kids are- on the computer and online... why not go to them instead of forcing them to conform to something out of date? Maybe we could look at adapting to them, since the 16-22 year old demographic tends to be on the cutting edge of the newest technology, and encourage them to take the technology and run with it. (Aren't we complaining about the lack of innovation and creativity in kids? I hear it quite a bit...) Who knows what might happen!

Moral of the story... adapt. Things won't ever, ever stay the same no matter how much we'd sometimes like them to, especially with the speed at which technology is evolving now. But it's not going to do anyone any good to dig your heels in and say you're not playing... so might as well join 'em if you can't beat em.

Anyway- read the article-- the issue it's about is one thing, but the response of the academics is what scares me.

Students? What do you think?
Teachers/professors? What do you think?

Congrats to our $1,000 drawing winner!

We are pleased to announce that Paulding County High School in Georgia is our newest High School Member drawing winner!

Their high school will receive $1,000 to use however the school feels is best. (Hopefully they will let us know so we can share it on here.)

Congratulations!

If you need more information about entering the drawing, please check here:
High School Member Page

Data Use and Privacy Policies

Don't tell me THAT doesn't sound like an exciting title for a blog!

While it might not be the most exciting, I do think it's a fairly important topic to address, especially with all of the college search sites and scholarships available on the web. Most sites like this will, at some point, ask you to give at the very minimum your name and email address, sometimes a zip code. This can also include address, academic interests, phone numbers, test scores... etc.

Most of these sites, both scholarship and search, have affiliated colleges who will have access to this information. And these colleges, who are actively recruiting, will probably contact you at some point, whether or not you have specifically expressed interest in them. This may be via email (most common) but a few may send you something in the mail or even call you.

If you are undecided on a school I would recommend taking a look at what they send you. Sometimes an option presented out of the blue can be a good one! If you are fairly sure of where to go but haven't committed yet I would still recommend looking at the information if only as a test of how sure you are of your college choice. If you're wavering at all figure out why and what qualities you are looking for in a college that the initial choice doesn't have. There are enough colleges in the US that I can pretty much promise you that there is an ideal school for you out there- it just might not be close to home.

But, if you are decided and committed and all of those fun things, then politely let the schools contacting you know that you are already committed somewhere else. Believe me, they'll be OK with it, wish you luck at that school, and should take you off of their lists. Otherwise, if you receive an email that you never respond to most schools will (correctly) take that as a "no". (This, in school lingo, is called a double opt-in. It's why sometimes they'll confirm it via by asking you to reply when you do request information.)

However, if you're concerned about this ALWAYS check the privacy and data use policies when you submit your information. If you're not sure then contact the company and they should tell you.

I do receive quite a few emails asking me why schools are contacting them, but our data use policy states that when you submit a scholarship application your information (nothing sensitive, just mainly contact info and academic interests) is made available to our members schools. The hard part is that once we send out the information to the school it is up to that school as to what they will do with it, and while I can pull you off of the Anycollege email list I cannot remove you from XYZ College's email list.

As far as I can tell right now, that is how most sites function that are similar... so if you sign up for anything on a website that has anything to do with colleges, be prepared to hear from colleges!

Please let me know what questions you have on this topic... it seems to be a pressing one now that quite a few of the Class of '09 has selected their schools but are still on the mailing lists of many colleges and universities.

Getting the Word Out

As I'm sure you've guessed from the last blog post, we're trying to get the word out about our website right now to a lot of high school counselors.

Currently we're adding some new features and over the next few weeks will be doing some major updates to the website so we're trying to get as many future college students and the people that work with them to check it out as possible.

What's in store, you ask? Well, among the many things, immediately noticeable will be a new page devoted only to videos where you can scroll through the various college videos that schools have uploaded. It will look a little like Youtube, but be devoted only to colleges.

Sorry for the brief blog post, trying to keep up with the programmer! Check out the website in the next few weeks and watch for changes!

What would your high school do with $1,000?

That's the question of the day!

Fix the copier? Take all the teachers and staff out for a picnic? Create a new scholarship? Bring a performing arts group to the school? Replace some desks and tables? Buy a sports team some new equipment? Have the most rockingest post-prom party EVER?

Do you have a few ideas for your high school? Good!

Now, high school counselors, teachers and other staff... have you signed up for the Anycollege.com High School Member Drawing? It's free to enter, there are some other perks (i.e. get some swag for your office) AND if you win the drawing you win $1,000 for your high school! There are two drawings per year, and once you're entered you're in on all of them! (We have occasionally drawn a counselor who totally forgot they signed up... oops!)

Students- tell your high school teachers and counselors about this! Do you have something you think your school could use the money for? Tell them!

How do you sign up?
Just go here: www.anycollege.com/hsmembers and you can learn all about the contest as well as the information on becoming a Free High School Member!

Good luck! Next drawing is May 15th!

Questions? Email us at mail@anycollege.com!

Social Networking Counselors

Have you updated your Twitter yet?
What was your last blog about?
What is your status on Facebook?

These might seem like odd questions to be asking a high school counselor, but more and more schools are looking into the possible integration of some of these social networks into their schools to help improve the educational experience of their students.

There are varied responses to this. While some schools ban all of these sites outright, many are starting to acknowledge that it is a viable way to reach their students. A 2008 Survey conducted by College board shows 89% actively use Social Networking Sites, visiting these sites one or more times a day and spending an average of 32 minutes per visit. What may be surprising is that of these high school students using Social Networking Sites (SNS), 61% are using it to contact classmates for class notes, help with homework assignments, and other academic purposes. (Collegeboard, 2009)

One school uses Myspace to collaborate with another classroom two states away through comments, messages and blogs for various projects. Another uses it to engage the students in discussions about race and segregation. (Smith, 2007). At the Science Leadership Academy they firmly believe in using this new technology to help shape their students. “When I hear people say it's our job to create the twenty-first-century workforce, it scares the hell out of me," says their founding principal, Chris Lehmann. "Our job is to create twenty-first-century citizens. We need workers, yes, but we also need scholars, activists, parents -- compassionate, engaged people. We're not reinventing schools to create a new version of a trade school. We're reinventing schools to help kids be adaptable in a world that is changing at a blinding rate." (Smith, 2007)

Some schools are using it to bring up web safety and responsibility. Rather than ignoring the issue or allowing it to be someone else’s problem teachers and counselors are tackling it head on by posing questions and discussions to their students such as “what does it mean to be a fifteen year old calling him/her self nineteen and posting racy pictures?” Or “What are some possible outcomes from employers or colleagues who see your inappropriate collegiate spring break pictures?” (Smith, 2007) By engaging the students in direct conversation about these topics the faculty at these high schools hope to encourage safer net usage as well as encourage the students to connect with each other via the web.

While many schools are utilizing these online websites, the staff promoting it and who monitor the accounts usually draw a clear line between what is academic and personal. “I’ve no personal connection to my own Facebook account; and happily connect to anyone, including my students, within Facebook. Yet my twitter network is extremely personal to me; it’s my personal space, I don’t want to interact with family or students in twitter.” Writes Sue Waters of Edublogs.org. (2008) This allows a safer connection for these professionals to their students without divulging too much personal information but allowing them to still engage their students in a way that is more meaningful to the student. The use of blogs has also been more popular with various staff and faculty at high schools, allowing them to blog about their classroom experiences and strategies, which in turn provides a wonderful resource for other teachers and staff to draw from or connect to.

The whole idea of “Web 2.0” as it is being called may be a new concept to some folks working at the high schools, but it certainly is nothing new to the students attending. It is this constant moving forward of technology which can be difficult at times to keep up with, but is imperative if we are to stay connected to students and remain relevant in their world. There are also many opportunities to connect with people all over the world to share experiences- it just requires a little non-traditional thinking!


Academia Group, (2008) High School Students Tell All. http://www.academiagroup.com/ Accessed on 1/29/2009 http://www.academicagroup.com/node/5337

Collegeboard, (2009) Social Networking Sites and College Bound Students. www.collegeboard.com , Accessed on 1/29/2009, http://professionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-research/trends/studentpoll/social-networking

Smith, F. (2007), My School, Meet Myspace: Social Networking At School, Accessed on 1/29/09 http://www.edutopia.org/how-use-social-networking-technology

Waters, S. (2008), Educational Networking and Staying Out of My Face, Accessed on 1/29/09 http://aquaculturepda.edublogs.org/2008/01/31/educational-networking-and-staying-out-of-my-face/

Education and Web Technology

We've finally caved and joined Twitter.

After hearing and hearing and hearing about it we finally decided that we should join the bandwagon, create and account and start "tweeting" (hey, all the cool kids are doing it!). What surprised me the most though was the creative ways that teachers and professors in both k-12 and higher ed are using the various services.

Some classes are using it to collaborate with students across the country, professors use them to facilitate online discussion for projects or answer student questions... it goes on and on. This is fantastic- and I think so incredibly useful. The best part of it is that it doesn't cost the schools anything to use, other than the upfront cost of the computer and whatever the internet service costs are- both of which I'm fairly sure the schools have anyway.

I've also seen some college admissions departments use it to broadcast open houses, deadlines, etc which I think is absoultely brilliant. What an easy way for students to keep up with the college and feel connected to it. I know it's not in person, but any more it seems that more and more socializing is taking place on the web (how many kids spend hours and hours and hours on Facebook, or XBox Live?) so why not connect to students that way with a continual feed of information? It seems pretty logical at this point.

Are you using any of these tools in a creative way? Is your school utilizing any of these websites to connect to students, or is a particular teacher/professor? I would love to hear about more ways that these sites are being used!

Surveys Results Are Never What You Expect

People amaze me.

I often like to think that I've got a pretty good handle on people and what they think about things that relate to me. However, I'm learning that every time I think that I should survey them for their actual thoughts and bring myself down a peg or two.

These are two surveys we recently placed into our newsletters that we send out, one to high school students around the country and another to high school counselors around the country. I would have thought that the results would have come in about the same, but that wasn't so! The top poll is from the students and the bottom poll is the same poll taken of counselors.

What does this say about the perception high school students have about college? I wonder if being in the "real world", as the counselors are, they have a more pragmatic view of higher education than students do, leading them to feel less education is necessary to be competitive in today's workforce? Or is it an "at least" kind of thing, where the counselors feel that students need "at least" two years of higher education to be competitive (and of course more doesn't hurt either)? Add on top of that my answer would have been "none of the above" as I'm a huge

advocate for graduate school! (Of course it's not for everyone but I've enjoyed my graduate school experience so much more than my undergraduate coursework.)

This is where the simple answers get tough because we can only conjecture the reasoning behind it, but I am absolutely blown away at the significant difference of students feeling the need for a four year degree.

I would actually like to see the poll results of one more group- current college students. But then, I wonder if the response would again be significantly different between students attending a two year or four year school, or even public or private school. And I wonder how many of the students who are attending a two year school had counselors who answered two years to the question.

Unfortunately for me, as what usually happens, is this survey created more questions for me than it answered!

Any thoughts on these results?

Moving Along With Technology

We recently sent out a survey to about 4,800 high school counselors asking them about our website and their web usage when helping kids find colleges.

What truly, truly surprised me was the amount of responses I received (huge thank you to all of the counselors who took the two minutes to fill it out!) and how many of those responses said that they do not use the web to help students find a college. My gut instinct was to say "no way!" but after I thought about it I wondered how many of the counselors just aren't comfortable with it was an information medium. This article about a Freshman English prof also made me think more about this.

However, glaring in the face of this is the amount of kids who don't know the world B.G. (before Google) and to whom the web is the first place to turn when learning about anything. Last week I made the mistake (I think) of asking the middle and high school kids I coach if anyone knew what the weather was supposed to be the next day. Before I could blink almost every kid had a cell phone in hand and was pulling up the weather channel on the web. Whoa! I was just curious if anyone had listened to the radio or seen it on the news the night before... silly outdated me. But the kids seemed to only accept the latest most up to date information which they would find on the web.

I think it works this way with colleges too. Beyond sites like we have at Anycollege, the actual college websites themselves provide a wealth of up to date information from the classes being offered the next semester, the latest scores from the football team or what the upcoming season is for the Theatre department. These are as important to know, I think, as what majors the college offers or simply what sports it is known for.

Adapting to new technologies and/or strategies to reach students isn't always the easiest but it can be effective. A large reason for my personal Facebook page was to be accessible on the social network to my students when working at the college. I didn't have a lot of faith in it, but sure enough I would get 2 AM questions on things I don't think they were OK sending me at my "official" email address. (Nothing inappropriate, in fact often they were pleas for help with personal issues such as housing, etc.) However it gave the students another way in which to connect to me that was more comfortable to them. I think it might be something like this with web searches too. If counselors can take advantage of all of the info that is out there on colleges it might help the student make a truly good decision by choosing the college with the best overall fit rather than one that just offers the major/sport he/she wants to play.

Students... Any thoughts? Parents? Counselors? Recruiters?? Anyone???