On-line communities and our students

On-line communities and our students A presentation for Dr. J. A. Stewart, Dean of Students, and the Division of Student Affairs Prepared by Michael McKeon, Veronica Wilson, and Tiffani Ziemann Diversity State University An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

On-line communities and our students • What are on-line communities? • Web sites offering people a place to create personal profiles, meet new people, and share their lives • Popular on-line communities include: Facebook.com, MySpace.com, Friendster.com • Students also use online journals and instant messaging to establish communities • The use of these communities often begins in junior high or high school and is oftentimes a primary source of communicating An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

On-line communities and our students • Capabilities of on-line communities • Create personal profiles • Create and join common interest groups • Post pictures • Send and receive messages • Post on-line journals • Connect with fellow students • Post class schedule • Create on-line forums An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

On-line communities and our students • Why is this approach necessary? • After recent events on campus and the widespread use of Web sites like Facebook.com, it is critical that we take a proactive approach • Students are using online forums to develop new communities and we must educate them about positive on-line communities • Approximately 73% of our students have at least one on-line account An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

On-line communities and our students • Small group discussions led by orientation leaders (OLs) will take place following the community living standards presentation • Learning is more effective in small groups (Strange & Banning, 2001) • Students are most impacted by their peers (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005) An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

On-line communities and our students • Discussion will be a continuation of community standards presentation • Students are accustomed to being a part of on-line communities • As administrators, we can use these types of communities to strengthen the connection students feel to the university • Increased connection to the university increases the likelihood students will persist (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005) An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

On-line communities and our students • The content of the small group discussions • Positives of on-line communities • Encourage positive on-line behavior • Negatives of on-line communities • Many of the risks and potential dangers • Personal stories • Responsibilities of being a part of an on-line community and making informed choices • Residence Life and IT policies • Laws and the First Amendment • Possible consequences • All forms of on-line communities will be discussed • To avoid sponsoring one Web site, because students have a number of options, and new websites can come out at any time An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

On-line communities and our students • Small group discussions will last approximately 25 minutes • Following discussions all students will take an online exam with questions about community standards • On-line communities will comprise approximately 25% of the exam • University and residential policies will comprise the other 75% of the exam • This presents material as less segmented and ensures students are aware of all policies • Students must answer 80% of the questions correctly to pass the exam • Students can repeat the exam until receiving a score of 80% • Until students pass the exam they will not gain access to their online accounts for course registration, scheduled for Day 2 of the orientation An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

On-line communities and our students • Community Standards Exam: • Question 1: What is a positive aspect of on-line communities? • A Establish a network of friends B Let everyone see your phone number • C Others can access your account D Learn about people without meeting them • Question 2: Which policies govern on-line use? • A IT policies B Web site terms of use • C The law D All of the above • Question 3: What is the first step in reporting an on-line violation? • A Go to the Campus Police B Save all documentation • C Delete all evidence D Do not tell anyone • Question 4: Who should ensure the responsible use of on-line communities? • A The University B Your parents • C You D Campus Police • The remaining questions for the exam will be written in collaboration with other departments on campus An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

On-line communities and our students • Student surveys and focus groups, literature, conferences, and professional development to keep material relevant • Assessment to see if material and format are effective • Surveys (fall- OLs and first semester freshmen) • Focus groups (fall- OLs and first semester freshmen) • Student Discipline records/ incidents of harassment (spring) An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

On-line communities and our students • Working with faculty and staff • Utilization for positive outcomes • Floor communities • Orientation groups • Study groups • Announcements • Faculty and staff communication An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

On-line communities and our students • Working with faculty and staff • Creating partnerships • Work closely with Political Science and Law School faculty and the general counsel to stay abreast of case law on the matter • Professional development opportunities offered through the Division of Student Affairs to help create a common language and operational knowledge in technology • Utilize Marketing and Communication Office to disseminate relevant articles and research, such as “In Your Facebook.com” An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

On-line communities and our students • What we learned • There are many positives to on-line communities • This is still a developing area of the law • We need to keep up with research and case law • To be truly effective, we must be very proactive rather than reactive with these issues • Collaboration with our faculty, staff, and students will be the best way to ensure that on-line communities support the educational mission and shared vision of the institution (Boyer, 1987) An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

On-line communities and our students • The following slides were developed to train orientation leaders to facilitate the small group discussions about on-line communities An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

Talking with students about on-line communities • This discussion will take place on Day 1 after large group session on community living and policies • Utilize the time to talk with your students about experiences with on-line issues • Positive and negative impact • Important things to remember • Policies and laws • Anything else? An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

Talking with students about on-line communities • Why do we need to do this? • On-line communities (Facebook.com, MySpace.com, Friendster.com, etc) bring new issues and problems to campus • Educating students of both the positives and negatives will help them make informed choices for responsible use • It is important that students understand the expectations of being a part of the University community An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

Talking with students about on-line communities • Why do students join on-line communities? • To pre-establish a network of friends • To more easily maintain contact with people • To experiment with different identities- students can create a specific profile of themselves and see how people perceive it, sometimes before taking on those identities in their real lives • To form relationships without the pressure of face-to-face interaction • Other reasons you joined an on-line community? • Are there reasons you chose not to join? An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

Talking with students about on-line communities • Positives of on-line communities • Meet new people • Stay connected to high school friends • Send messages • Post comments • Advertise events • Keep track of birthdays • Find study buddies • Keep an on-line journal An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

Talking with students about on-line communities • Potential drawbacks • Revealing too much personal information on-line: phone number, address, etc. • Cannot be sure who is seeing your profile • Information may be misunderstood so people get a poor impression of you • Violation of privacy: someone else getting your password, changing your profile, posting comments from your profile that you would not post An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

Talking with students about on-line communities • More potential drawbacks • Postings could violate Information Technology’s Network Use Policy • Faculty/staff/employers may have access to your profile • Pictures or information you post could potentially get you into trouble: posting pictures of yourself breaking residence hall policy or the law An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

Talking with students about on-line communities • How to be on-line responsibly • Protect your password-be sure you are the only person who knows your log-in information • Think before you post-know that your profile may be the first or only impression someone has of you • Remember the “newspaper test”- how would you feel if this information was on the front page of the newspaper? An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

Talking with students about on-line communities • Responsible use • Know IT policies • Network user agreement • Logging onto the network with another user’s information • Is all speech protected? • No. Speech that is obscene, libelous, and defamatory is not protected by the Constitution • Web site terms of use • “…you agree not to use the Web site to … intimidate of harass another” (http://www.facebook.com/terms.php) • Make sure you are familiar with the Student Handbook policies An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

Talking with students about on-line communities • What to do if your rights have been violated • Save all documentation • File a report with either Campus Police or the Office of Student Discipline • Provide printed or electronic copies of the alleged violation, i.e. comments, wall posts, instant messenger conversations, etc. • Do not retaliate An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

Talking with students about on-line communities • Things to remember • Students will have different levels of familiarity and experience with various on-line communities • The purpose of these discussions is to educate and inform students about on-line communities, not to persuade them to join or not join a particular site An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

Talking with students about on-line communities • Things you can do as an OL • Model responsible on-line behavior • Begin building community with your students before they arrive in the fall • Share your personal experiences, good and bad, with on-line communities and encourage your students to do the same • Remind students that this information will be included in the Community Standards Exam An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

Talking with students about on-line communities • After the small-group discussions • Students will complete the Community Standards Exam in either the commuter computer lab or the Business Building computer labs • The exam will cover material from the large and small group sessions on community living • Students must score at least 80% on the exam to pass and be eligible to register for classes on Day 2 • Students who score below 80% may retake the exam until they receive a passing score An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

References • Boyer, E. L. (1987). College: The undergraduate experience in America. New York: The Carnegie Foundation. • Hass, N. (8 January, 2006). “In your Facebook.com”. The New York Times. Retrieved online: February 19, 2006. • Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students: A third decade of research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. • Strange, C. C., & Banning, J. H. (2001). Educating by design. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. • http://www.facebook.com/terms.php An innovative and practical approach to educating students and building communities of learners

On-line communities and our students