OOTelnet College
OOThe Technology Committee

THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON STUDENTS

Academic Integrity

• There is an assumption among students that anything found on the World Wide Web is reputable.
  - The web provides access for anyone to post anything, whether it is scholarly research or not.
• There is an assumption that information gained from the Internet is public knowledge and is therefore not always cited in scholarly work.
• The use of language translation programs on-line diminishes the education found within the process.
  - Students are using foreign-language translation programs, such as Dictionary.com, in lieu of writing and thinking in the foreign language themselves.
  - Students submit writing using complex grammatical structures that they have not learned before. While these submissions may be correct, students are depriving themselves of learning how the language works.
  - Students tend to not understand that this is a compromise of academic integrity, and do not see the ethical reasoning behind why submission of work from a translation program is not considered to be authentic reproduction of the language.
• The purchase of “notes” or full academic papers on-line has become an issue for many students.
• The ability to “cut-and-paste” may lead to paper-swapping between roommates in differing sections of the same class.
  

E-mail and Instant Messaging Affect on Social Development

• On a positive note, in “cyber space” groups such as the GLBT community may find “safe space” which may be an environment that fosters further identity development.
  - D ’Augelli (as cited in Evans et al, 1998) stated that GLBT students work towards developing a lesbian/gay/bisexual social identity. This means they strive to create a network of supportive people who know and accept their own sexual orientation. Cass (as cited in Evans et al, 1998) noted that once individuals acknowledge they are gay/lesbian/bisexual, they being to seek out other gay and lesbian people to reduce their feelings of isolation.
  - Since GLBT students tend to be the “invisible” minority, it is difficult for students to seek out others on a campus, particularly if there is no prominent GLBT student organization or resource center.
  - Due to the often negative stigma associated with being homosexual, students may not be ready to publicly identify themselves or publicly search out peers. They often turn to the anonymity of chat rooms to first explore their homosexuality. This way, they can begin contact with other homosexuals (either locally or far away) and still remain anonymous until they are ready for the next step.
• Instant Messaging and e-mail has made some people more easily accessible. Many students of this generation crave accessibility (Liu, 2000)
• E-mail and Instant Messaging have become a substitute for personal direct interaction in many cases.
  - Many people confront others more easily through electronic communication
  *-* + The director of residence life has gotten reports from the resident assistants stating that roommates in conflict are now communicating through IM instead of face-to-face.
  *-*+ Students have reported that they feel more comfortable confronting through IM because it takes less effort and is easier than speaking to someone face-to-face. Many students report that they are not comfortable with face-to-face confrontation and are not confident in their ability to handle it.
  - The “Instant Message” world changes the nature of community requiring a more progressive view and more specific community definition.
  - Over-reliance on Instant Messaging may hamper the development of interpersonal skills essential for interviews and the working world.
  - E-mail and Instant Messaging slang has reduced the sophistication of language.
  - Students are turning in written work that is written in sentence fragments instead of complete sentences. Instant messages and emails tend to be written this way.
  - Students are using informal IM “lingo” in formal writing (i.e., using 4 instead of “for”, 2 instead of ‘to’ or ‘too’, U instead of ‘you’, and even so much as ne1 instead of ‘anyone’).

Keeping Up With the Joneses

• Given current priorities, students may find themselves toting cellular phones, hand-held organizers, and laptop computers while receiving federal financial aid or going into debt for tuition.
• Ogilvy and Upcraft, Terenzini and Kruger (as cited in Woodard et al, 2000) Discussed the idea that many students, particularly non-traditional students, may not have computers and be forced to face a curriculum and academic culture that assumes that everyone does.
  - Professors are often using email as the official means of communication with students.
  *-*+ Not every student on this campus has a computer and the labs are not open 24 hours a day. This makes it difficult, inconvenient, and unfair for those students to communicate with their professors.
  *-*+ Professors are using programs such as WebCT as an official means of learning outside the classroom. For those students who don’t have a computer, they might not be as computer literate as others. This adds additional frustration on top of an already demanding academic course load.
  - There are document format requirements which may be difficult to achieve through the use of non-computer writing tools.
  

Lack of Understanding of How to Use Conventional Non-Digital Resources

• Some students may feel lost in libraries and the organizational systems on which traditional libraries are built and maintained
• The use of multi-media in analog form such as microfilm and microfiche may be unfamiliar.
  - Students may not be aware of how to properly use these machines. This area of the library are often staffed by student workers, who may not be aware of how to properly use them either. Since these machines are not often used, adequate training may be forgotten about, even though the machines themselves can still prove to be valuable.
  

Misuse of Institutional Resources

• Some may use computers in institutional labs to write e-mail or spend time instant messaging in a way that is excessive.
  - Working students may waste their time and the institution’s money by instant messaging or e-mailing while “on the clock”
  - Students may be engaging in these activities at the exclusion of other students’ academic work in setting in which there are no strict policies.
  - Students and employees may use the Internet on institutional computers to browse for pornography and other inappropriate material.
  - Some students may use the printing resources in places of campus work excessively for personal printing.

The members of this committee are:

Dr. S.D. Ram - Associate Vice-Chancellor of Academic Affairs

Ms. I. M. DeLaw - Director of Judicial Affairs

Dr. Esther Net - Director of Residence Life

Dr. Crimea River - Director of the Counseling Center

Mr. Moe Dem - Assistant Director of Academic Computing

Ms. C.P. Yu - Director of Computing Resources

Dr. Chad Room - Head of the Communication Department

Dr. Sageon Stage - President of the Faculty Senate

Dr. X.L. Sheets - Assistant Director of Financial Aid

Dr. Ima Livre - Director of Media Service

Mr. A. Buch - Assistant Director of Media Services

Proactive proposals

Per the charges concerning the issue of academic integrity, Dr. S.D. Ram, the Associate Vice-Chancellor of Academic Affairs and Ms. I. M. DeLaw, Director of Judicial Affairs have come up with the following proposals:

We will integrate a set of sessions on academic integrity through the Freshmen Seminar curriculum on academic integrity and the ethics behind such ideas. If we were to simply introduce the ideas of academic integrity as rules we would probably only see short-term results. If we were to engage the students in these courses through class discussion and reflection on the ideas of intellectual property, the learning will be made real.

To this end we are submitting a directive to the office of Freshmen Seminar Curriculum concerning the implementation of this set of focused units.

To further address the idea of academic integrity in the digital age we are also establishing a task force which will be a standing committee of the Faculty Senate. This committee will keep abreast of new technologies as they emerge into our lives and cultures, and submit a report at the end of every academic term to the faculty.

Additional attention will be given to the current policy governing student use of institutional resources in manners which may be considered offensive.

E-mail and Instant Messaging Affect on Social Development

Per the charges concerning the issue of the affect of e-mail and instant messaging on students, the Director of Residence Life, Dr. Esther Net and the Director of the Counseling Center Dr. Crimea River have come up with the following proposals:

We will begin by instituting a task force comprised of 3 resident directors, 3 counselors, 5 students and the Dean of Students (ex. Officio) to examine the cognitive, and psychosocial development changes affected by communication by e-mail and instant messaging.

Among this group’s charges will be the examination of the ideas of an on-line Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Trans-gendered (GLBT) Student center. The idea of safe space is of paramount importance to the GLBT community. As institution-wide budget crunches slow growth, alternative forms of student support may be necessary for the short term. With this in mind, the idea of an on-line GLBT Student Center complete with moderated chat rooms may be an effective stopgap measure towards greater support for our GLBT community.

Further, an on-line GLBT center may facilitate GLBT identity development as anonymity may create safe space in cyber space for our students who are traversing through these identity development stages and processes (Cass and D’Augelli as cited in Evans et al, 1998).

In addition to these measures Mr. Moe Dem, Assistant Director of Academic computing and Ms. C.P. Yu, director of Computing Resources and Dr. Chad Room coordinator of the communication department have agreed to the following measures:

Two monthly seminars will be sponsored on emerging technology and communication. One seminar will be for students and one for faculty and staff. These programs will be heavily advertised throughout the administration building, the student affairs division, the faculty senate, the student union the cafeteria and via inter-office messenger.

These seminars will be held in the student union and will include speakers from within the institution and from the private sector. Discussion of the feasibility of requiring attendance at such events will be charged to the faculty senate and student affairs division for discussion.

Keeping Up With the Joneses

Per the charges concerning the issues of inequity created by technology Dr. Sageon Stage, president of the faculty senate and Dr. X.L. Sheets, the assistant director of financial aid have the following proposals:

The faculty senate will examine a ratification to eliminate e-mail as an official means of communication with students until such time as all students are guaranteed access. The faculty senate has stipulated that they be allowed to distribute a communication questionnaire to their classes concerning preferred method of communication. The process enacted by this form will allow many classes to use e-mail but will insure that no students are left behind.

Ms. C.P. Yu, director of Computing Resources, has agreed to petition the provost for two 24-hour computer labs, one on either end of campus. The funding for such a move will require roughly $4500 per semester in new funds.

Lack of Understanding of How to Use Conventional Non-Digital Resources

Per the charges concerning education on non-digital media usage, Dr. Ima Livre, Director of Media Service and Mr. A. Buch Assistant-Director of Media Services have the following proposals:

It is proposed that through the Freshmen Seminar curriculum an extended unit on library usage be included. Additionally, this unit should give specific attention to the use of traditional or non-digital media.

Further, through freshmen orientation an extended tour of the library and resources therein should be implemented.

Misuse of Institutional Resources

Per the charges concerning the misuse of institutional resources, Ms. C.P. Yu, director of Computing Resources and Ms. I. M. DeLaw, Director of Judicial Affairs have the following proposals:

Students using institutional computer resources for personal reasons will be asked to defer to others who are waiting to use the same resources for academic purposes.

At the discretion of the lab attendant, students who are using computers for personal reasons in the labs for times in excess of one hour may be asked to leave. The lab attendants will have to evaluate each situation based on the capacity of the lab and the amount of students present.

The institutional firewalls will be tightened to restrict commerce of pornographic content and music file downloads.

Additionally, the office of Judicial Affairs has agreed to examine the policies concerning the usage of institution e-mail and resources for the propagation of spam-mail and other offensive material.

In order that a clearer picture of the institutional climate is available we have a list of assumptions.

1. Every student on campus does not have a computer.

2. There are computer labs on campus that are open during selected hours of the day.

3. There are no 24 hour computer labs on campus.

4. All freshmen are required to take a course entitled “Freshmen Seminar.”

5. The Library maintains books and other resources in a variety of digital and non-digital forms.

6. The Institution has a residence life division with professionals, and student professionals who enact programming through the residence life structure.

Evans, N.J., Forney, D.S. and Guido-DiBrito, F. (1998). Student Development in College. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers

Liu, W.M. (2000). Student Development and Student Affairs in a Technological Era: Thoughts About our Discipline and the Future. In Stewart, G.M. (Eds.), The Maryland Papers: Creating Student Affairs History. University of Maryland: The Division of Student Affairs: College Student Personal Program

Woodard, D.B., Love, P. and Komives, S.R. (2000). Leadership and Management for a New Century. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers

This case study has been submitted in the StudentAffairs.com Virtual Case Study Competition by
Alan Mueller and
Keith Ridgeway from Appalachian State University

Special thanks to Advisor Dr. Cathy Clark