Staying Connected with Your Students Improving Communication between You and Your Students Using Current Technology Shelly Crider and John Carpenter Indiana Business College

This Time Last Year…  Opryland Hotel  Conference Session  Left with nagging concerns over how we convey what we know to students when we refuse to incorporate their communication methods into our classrooms and assignments.

Who REALLY needs the teaching?

Digital Analog Schools

This Is Where Your Students Live…

Where are you?

What if…  Instead of assigning your students a paper, you asked them to make new contacts with five industry professionals using MySpace, Facebook, or LinkedIn, and gather five different opinions on how to use technology to further their career goals?  You awarded bonus points for contacting professionals outside the U.S.?

Perhaps the problem is not…  Too many students using cell phones, laptops, and PDAs in class…  Too many students being on MySpace, Facebook, or LinkedIn during “our” class time…  Too many students playing on IMs or texting in class…

Perhaps the real problem is Too many of us struggling to retain control instead of reaching out to meet the students where they live.

How many of us…  Give at least one assignment requiring a text message during a term?  Require students to form professional network contacts?  Send out reminders or give assignments using a tool other than or a whiteboard?

So what can I do in my classroom? A.Absolutely Nothing. They’ll learn it my way or else… B.Let another educator experiment. I’ll just watch and wait… C.Do something uncomfortable. I’ll take a risk and implement something using some new technology.

Five Simple Suggestions  Give a question in class that requires the answer (and relevant sources) to be found by using ChaCha.  Conduct a group interview with an advisory board member using Skype.  Require your students to create a profile on Facebook, LinkedIn, or MySpace and join an existing professional group.

Five Simple Suggestions  Ask your students to make a class presentation using a YouTube video.  Communicate assignments and reminders to absentee students using a social networking app.

OPEN DISCUSSION

Stay where you are, or get connected