Hot Topics in Technology

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Hot Topics in Technology

• for
• Dummies

• Presented by
• Michael George Dixon, Jr.
• Elaina Biffle
• Jes Berndt
• Brad Dupay
• Grand Valley
• State University

A Reference for Student Affairs
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Topics at a Glance

• Blogs
• Institutional Spam
• Social Networks
• Instant Communication
• Podcasting

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Blogs

• Sunday, February 18, 2007
• Why is this topic important?
• According to a 2004 study, 51.5 of blogs were
  created by people aged 13-19 39.6 were created
  by those age 20-29
• In another 2004 study, 62 of adult Americans had
  no idea what a blog was
• Remarks made by Senator Trent Lott in reference
  to Strom Thurmond in 2002 set off a frenzy of
  responses via political blogs, eventually helping
  to contribute to Lotts resignation. This event
  displayed the power and influence that blogs
  could have as a method of disseminating news and
  opinions.
• As of 2005, it was reported that 25 of internet
  users were blog readers
• It is expected that in 2007 the number of people
  who maintain a personal website will reach 100
  million

Posted by Brad at 344 PM 9 Comments
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Blogs

• Sunday, February 18, 2007
• Describe the topic
• A blog is a user-generated website where entries
  are made in journal style and displayed in a
  reverse chronological order
• Blogs may contain text entries, pictures, links
  to other websites, or multimedia content such as
  music and movies
• The term blog is a shortened version of the word
  weblog, and is now used as both a noun to
  describe a personal webpage, as well as the act
  of maintaining and updating it (blogging)
• The word blog was officially added to Websters
  dictionary in 1999
• Blogging began to gain popularity in 1999 with
  the creation of hosting sites such as Blogger,
  LiveJounral, and Xanga

Posted by Brad at 351 PM 5 Comments
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Blogs

• Sunday, February 18, 2007
• Outline the benefits of the campus embracing this
  topic
• Blogs can replace confusing and unorganized
  e-mail lists and other discussion forums with a
  more streamlined form of online campus community
• Blogs offer faculty an opportunity to publish in
  a quicker and more dynamic format to be shared
  among their colleagues around the world
• Instructors can use blogs to deliver content to
  students and use them as a way to encourage
  discussion of course materials
• University presidents who maintain blogs become
  more available and accessible to student concerns

Posted by Brad at 355 PM 8 Comments
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Blogs

• Sunday, February 18, 2007
• Discuss the problems/issues surrounding this
  topic
• Students and faculty have used blogs as a
  grassroots effort to anonymously criticize,
  attack, and even remove presidents and other
  administrators (case in point Gallaudet
  University)
• Students and tenure-track professors have been
  denied jobs and other positions based on content
  contained on their personal blogs
• Professors and other scholars who use blogs as a
  form of publication are criticized by their peers
  for blogs lack of review and credibility

Posted by Brad at 357 PM 14 Comments
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Institutional Spam

• Why this is topic important?
• Spam (unsolicited bulk messages)
• Currently, institutions of higher education may
  not have institutional spam policies

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Institutional Spam

• Describe the topic
• Institutional spam exists when a university uses
  mass e-mail capabilities to convey a message to
  anyone who has an university sponsored e-mail
  address.

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Institutional Spam

• Outline benefits of campus embracing this topic
• Students would be more likely to utilize
  university e-mail if they know their mailbox wont
  be full of spam
• If students receive a large amount of
  institutional spam, they may be less likely to
  read mail when something important needs their
  attention.
• Limiting incoming spam limits the possibility of
  viruses, spyware, and other threats to the campus
  network.
• Proper utilization of institutional e-mail lists
  can help keep students better informed and
  connected to campus.

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Institutional Spam

• Discuss the problems/issues surrounding this
  topic
• Many institutions/organizations have a difficult
  time defining exactly what constitutes spam
• There would need to be a balance between the
  need for campus network security and the need for
  access to information.
• The process of deciding which parties have access
  to the e-mail list may be political and/or
  subjective

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• Online communities like Facebook and MySpace
  have grown increasingly popular in recent years.
  It is unusual to meet a college student who does
  not have an account on at least one of these
  sites (if not both).
• These online communities provide opportunities
  for positive interaction but have also created a
  number of specific issues not previously
  addressed in higher education.
• Colleges and universities across the country
  are developing ways to address the use of these
  online services at their campuses.

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• There are a number of online communities
  available to internet users, but the two most
  popular sites at Facebook and MySpace. Lets take
  a look at each of these sites individually.
• Description of Facebook
• Facebook is a social networking site developed by
  former university students. Membership was
  originally limited to individuals with a campus
  e-mail address but was recently extended to high
  school students as well.
• Users create a unique profile based on website
  prompts, including contact information, class
  schedules, and personal interests like favorite
  songs and books.
• While users may opt out from any of the
  identifying information, many students choose to
  post specifics about personal address and phone
  numbers, as well post pictures of family and
  friends.
• Facebook profiles can be viewed by people in the
  network, which is determined by the users
  institution or geographical area.
• Users can choose to limit the visibility of their
  profile to confirmed friends.
• Facebook also provides an option to create and
  join groups, many of which have controversial
  titles.
• Examples Got Some Captain In You? (Alcohol)
• Im a Conference Whore (Student Involvement)

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• Description of MySpace
• MySpace is similar to Facebook because users
  create a profile and can network with others as
  friends.
• MySpace is open to any internet user with an
  e-mail address and does not separate users into
  groups by institution or geographical area.
• This site has the added component of a blog, or
  journal option. Some users write journal entries,
  post poetry, or other forms of expression.

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• What happens outside the classroom also affects
  what happens in the classroom. Our relationships
  with students do not exist in a vacuum.
• More and more students use these services we
  can relate to them if we are familiar with
  current trends
• We will be better equipped to handle related
  problems appropriately.

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• Privacy and Personal Information
• Students may believe they are completely safe,
  but the personal information posted may make
  internet stalking more plausible or intrusive.
• University officials may receive information
  about hate speech or harassment online, which can
  be difficult to address.
• Employers and educators are increasingly aware of
  these programs and may use them in hiring
  decisions.
• Judicial Concerns
• Some users post incriminating information, like
  photos of underage drinking. Institutions must
  decide how to address these behaviors, believing
  that there are not consequences.
• The institution would be best served by
  developing a policy that outlines plans to
  address online behavior.
• Student conduct codes may require revision to
  reflect behaviors that happen in cyberspace.
• Educational Concerns
• Students spend increasing amounts of time on
  Facebook, MySpace, and other sites, which may
  potentially limit academic commitment.

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Texting (Text Messaging)

• 6163315000
• Feb 17, 2007 93842 PM
• Texting has been very popular w/ younger kids
• 6163957000
• Feb 17, 2007 93950 PM
• Did u no dat it use 2 B called SMS
• 6163315000
• Feb 17, 2007 94059 PM
• No, I didnt wat did u use b4 cell phones
• 6163957000
• Feb 17, 2007 94206 PM
• I use 2 call people

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Blackberry and other PDAs(Personal Data
Assistants)
Research in Motion is my manufacturer http//www.b
lackberry.com
I also carry the capability of accessing e-mail
without synchronizing to a computer
We use a QWERTY-style keyboard to input messages
faster than a regular cell phone would.
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Sample Conversation in America Onlines Instant
Messenger (AIM)
Defaultuser did u know dat AIM started in
1997? FirsIimer no I didnt no dat this is cool
2 use Defaultuser it can really distract from
work I have 2 turn it off
Defaultuser did u know dat AIM started in
1997? FirsIimer no I didnt no dat this is cool
2 use Defaultuser it can really distract from
work I have 2 turn it off
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How Electronic Mail (e-mail) has revolutionized
the way we communicate
First you had to compose the letter
then you had to walk it to the mailbox
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then you had to wait a couple of days for the
letter to arrive and then the response
Now
lt 5 seconds
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Importance of Topic

• This topic is important because young people are
  choosing more and more to use this type of
  technology as a default means of communication. 
  Individuals are opting to have a cellular
  telephone as their own means of communication by
  phone than the standard landline telephone
  (http//media.www.californiaaggie.com/media/storag
  e/paper981/news/2006/05/23/CityNews/New-Statistics
  .Show.Increase.In.Cell.PhoneOnly.Use-2013146.shtml
  ). In this article, they highlight that their
  survey results might be bias and could be missing
  out on young people, people renting and single
  (not married) individuals. 
• Other anecdotal evidence are stories of roommates
  sitting in the room together, refusing to talk
  about their problems with words verbally.  They
  could be sitting side-by-side in a room, venting
  their frustrations using AIM.  Stories like this
  are reiterating a phenomenon happening in U.S.
  American society which is indicating that young
  people are having a harder type communicating
  verbally and are using non-confrontational ways
  to handle their problems. 

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Why should we talk about it?

• Issues of cheating in class are a topic of
  conversation when individuals can use instant
  messaging capabilities (texting) to relay
  answers back and forth real time.  Students could
  also text others not in the class but who have
  access to answers, thus receiving unauthorized
  aid on exams. 
• Communication has changed over the last
  10years.  Individuals are choosing to use
  non-confrontation means (texting, instant
  message, e-mail) to communicate concerns, issues
  and problems instead of using more interpersonal
  methods such as conversation.

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Podcasting Why did we chose this topic? ?
Millennial students are accustomed to instant
access when it comes to technology. ? A large
number of students already own iPods, and for
those who dont, its a relatively inexpensive
cost for the university. ? Universities should
always look to advance learning by embracing
technology. ? Podcasting benefits more than just
students. University personnel and faculty can
utilize podcasting for continual study and
professional development.
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Podcasting Describe what podcasting is ?
Podcasting, in its basic form, is creating audio
files (most commonly in MP3 format) and making
them available online in a way that allows users
to automatically download the files for listening
at their convenience ? Podcasting allows anyone
with a microphone and an Internet connection to
create audio files that others can download
automatically to their iPods or similar
digital-audio players. ? Listeners can download
the files one at a time, or they can subscribe to
a podcast and have a series of recordings
transferred to their players whenever they hook
the devices up to their computers. ? Podcasts
allow students to go over passages and/or
lectures while, for example, working out at the
gym or jogging to lunch.
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• Podcasting
• Benefits of campus embracing this topic
• Makes the technology ideal for students who
  fall behind in class or
• those for whom English is a second language.
• If lectures are available as podcasts, students
  can re-listen to troublesome passages, and it's
  easy for them to slow things down.
• It gives students without backgrounds in
  certain topics a chance to catch up with more
  experienced peers (because of the instant access
  to review)
• Students can listen to podcasts before class,
  this way, class experience would be less about
  lecture, and more intellectual discussion
• Gives students who may miss a class an
  opportunity to review exactly what they missed,
  or if a student needs to review material, it
  would be readily available.

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• Podcasting
• Benefits of campus embracing this topic
• Students may not want to sit at a computer and
  listen to course recordings
• Podcasting takes no extra work on behalf of
  professors. All they have to do is wear a small
  microphone to record the podcast.
• Technology companies are already beginning to
  provide podcasts to students from select
  professors.
• Its cheap. Podcasting requires no more
  hardware or software than a typical computer user
  has.
• Universities could contract with scholars or
  specialized personnel to provide a number of
  podcasts on a particular issue. Questions could
  be submitted in advance by university personnel,
  and then after a particular podcast, clarifying
  questions or responses could be submitted for a
  reaction.
• Alternatively, university personnel could be
  part of the podcast sessions. The big advantage
  to universities is that the staff dont have to
  be tied to a meeting or in-service workshop. They
  can listen to the podcasts when they are ready at
  their leisure.

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• Podcasting
• Problems/issues surrounding this topic
• May lead to empty classrooms or serve as a
  crutch for late-sleeping students, and some worry
  about podcasting's intellectual property
  implications.
• Technology, computers, and the Internet seem to
  have become a ubiquitous component of life in the
  United States, yet there still exists a digital
  divide among the haves and the have nots.
  High speed Internet connections, computers, MP3
  players, microphones, etc. do cost money which
  may prevent the economically disadvantaged from
  benefiting from this promising emerging
  technology.
• No research/studies have been done on the
  effectiveness of using podcasts for scholarly
  purposes.

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References

• Blog. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2007, from
  http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog.
• Carnevale, D. (2006). E-Mail is for old people
  As students ignore their campus accounts,
  colleges try new ways of communicating. The
  Chronicle of Higher Education, 53 (7), A27.
• Farrell, H. (2005). The blogosphere as a carnival
  of ideas. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 52
  (7), B14.
• General Information from Facebook Mainpage.
  Retrieved February 16, 2007 from
  www.facebook.com.
• General Information from MySpace Help Page.
  Retrieved February 16, 2007 from
  www.myspace.com.
• Hargis, J. and Wilson, D. (2005). Fishing for
  Learning with a Podcast Net. Retrieved February
  14, 2007, from http//www.unf.edu/dept/cirt/tech/
  podcast/HargisPodcastArticle.pdf
• Hirschland, J. (2004). Facebook leads to student
  drug bust. Retrieved February 16, 2007 from
  http//studentaffairs.com/vcs/2006entries/Florida
  InternationalUniversity.ppt 290,41,References.
• Krause, S. D. (2005). Blogs as a tool for
  teaching. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 51
  (42), B33.
• Lopez, C. (2006). Podcasting An emerging
  technology with potential. Retrieved February
  14, 2007, from http//dmc.umn.edu/spotlight/podcas
  ting.shtml

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References

• McGann, R. (2004, November 22). The blogosphere
  by the numbers. Traffic Patterns. Retrieved
  February 13, 2007 from http//www.clickz.com/show
  Page.html?page3438891.
• McGann, R. (2005, January 3). Blog readership
  surged 58 percent in 2004. Traffic Patterns.
  Retrieved February 13, 2007 from
  http//www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page3453431.
  
• New data on blogs and blogging. (May 2, 2005).
  Retrieved February 13, 2007, from
  http//www.pewinternet.org/press_release.asp?r104
  .
• Read, B. (2005). Lectures on the go. The
  Chronicle of Higher Education, 52 (10), A9.
• Read, B. (2006). Attack of the blog When
  disenchanted faculty members take to the Web,
  presidents should worry. The Chronicle of Higher
  Education, 53 (4), A35.
• Read, B. (2006). Technology and influential blogs
  helped galvanize protests at Gallaudet. The
  Chronicle of Higher Education, 53 (12), A40.
• Reynolds, G. (2006). Can blogging derail your
  career The politics of academic appointments.
  The Chronicle of Higher Education, 52 (47), B6.
• Salkowe, B. (2006, February 23). Students tap in
  to campus blogs. The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved
  February 13, 2007 from http//www.thecrimson.com/
  article.aspx?ref511537.
• Valesky, T. Sabella, R. (2005, October).
  Podcasting in educational leadership and
  counseling. Paper presented at the conference of
  the Southern Regional Council on Educational
  Administration, Atlanta GA.