Advising Services For Learning In The Age Of The Portal Opening Session

Workshop May, 2009 George Steele [email protected]

Designing Academic Advising Services for

Learning in the Age of the Portal University of Southern Maine

George E. Steele, Ph.D.Director of Educational Access

The Ohio Learning Network614 995-3240

[email protected] www.oln.org


Purpose

It is all about how technology can be used in advising for enhancing learning and making us better advisors and administrators - It is not about the latest gizmos, gadgets, tools, and other things that ring, buzz and whistle on your computer.


Top Teaching-With-Technology Challenges for 2009

1. Creating learning environments that promote active learning, critical thinking, collaborative learning, and knowledge creation.

2. Developing 21st-century literacies — information, digital, and visual — among students and faculty members.

3. Reaching and engaging today’s learners.4. Encouraging faculty members to adopt, and innovate

with, new technology for teaching and learning.5. Advancing innovation in teaching and learning with

technology in an era of budget cuts. Educause - http://www.educause.edu/eli/Challenges/127397?time=1231765352


Outline• Ideal E-Student Services• Learning Goals directed Academic

Advising• CENTSS a model for considering portal

development and why Web 2.0 tools are necessary

• Portals as a cognitive processing models• Future


Ideal online student services Student-centered service:

– No service more than three clicks to get information and service that a student needs

– Portal must be customizable to each individual

– A single sign-on for each individual, no mater what part of the system the are using.

Savarese, J, (2005). Winning Loyalty through Service


http://www.sewardinc.com/centss/index.html

*Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications



Advising Syllabus

“An advising syllabus is a tool which allows individual advisors or offices to outline the advising relationship and experience for their advisees.”

Tonya McKenna Trabant “Advising Syllabus 101”

http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/AdvisingIssues/syllabus101.htm#over

• Examples of Advising Syllabi:http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/Links/syllabi.htm


Advising Syllabus• must be relevant to the specific campus, office or

advising philosophy. • should adhere to the course syllabus guidelines used by

campus faculty. • include a three to five sentence definition of advising

and/or the advising mission statement used on campus. • clear contact information for students• should include a set of student expectations and/or

responsibilities• should include a corresponding list of responsibilities

and/or expectations for advisors



Advising Syllabus• should include expected outcomes of advising.

Students must easily understand how advising impacts their success. These outcomes may differ widely from office to office or campus to campus, but they are an important method for communicating and measuring our impact on students' lives.

• includes tools, resources, and/or recommendations for students. For example, a syllabus can include calendars of advising events and appointment times, book or Web site recommendations, detailed location descriptions, or a blank line for advisors to personalize the syllabus with a recommendation.



Three Advising Learning Outcomes

• Selecting a major – educational planning

• Selecting a general career direction – career planning

• Selecting a proper campus resource


http://www.wcet.info/projects/laap/guidelines/overview.asp


Audit Generations: Defining a Portal

Generation 0This component is missing from the website

Generation 1Only basic information is available. It is presented from the institutional point of view – often a copy of that included in the institution’s print material rather than written in web style. Transactions cannot be done over the web.

Generation 2Paths appear for different types of students so that information relevant to a particular group (such as prospective students, current students, and transfer students) can be more easily found. The point of view is still that of the institution. Students can fill out forms and click on email addresses to send messages and conduct some limited searches. They cannot save information or views.


Generation 3The text is directed at the student and written in web style. Students can conduct transactions over the web through portal technology. They may have multiple sign-ons and passwords (different ones for the library, student accounts, and career services) or a single one. Within the portal environment, information is personalized and customized to the individual. Students can conduct more advanced searches and save their information at various stages in the interactive forms.

Generation 4The services (inside and outside the portal) are customized to the individual and anticipate his/her needs through step-by-step guides or the use of artificial intelligence. The services are delivered just-in-time based on the student’s preferences. When appropriate the services are integrated to provide more holistic support and live interaction.

Audit Generations: Defining a Portal


Schedule an appointment with a counselor

GEN 0 1

2

3 4

DISTRACTOR

Cannot find information or services on the web.

View hours my counselor is available, along with instructions for scheduling an appointment via the phone or for dropping by the office.

Link to and fill out an online form to request an appointment during designated office hours. Receive an e-mail with time and date of appointment.

Link to my counselor’s calendar from MyAccount. Select and reserve a slot.

Log in to MyAccount and submit reason for requesting an appointment with a counselor. Based on reason and information stored in my profile, receive selection of times matching my availability and the amount of time recommended for this type of appointment. (Smart calendar varies length of the appointments, based on reasons.) Select an appointment slot convenient to me, and set time for advance reminder message. Find link to customized materials and advice for preparing for appointment via e-mail or posted in MyAccount.


Focus of CENTSS’ Items for Academic Advising

• Department’s philosophy

• Advisor information

• Course registration

• Educational planning

• Academic standing


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General findings for Advising• Generally lower averages than other Web-based

services – but not significantly lower.• Advising shares averages with other human resource

rich services, i.e. career services, orientation, etc.• Question: Are the items chosen for academic advising

best represent “elements” of academic advising? What is missing?

• Need to combine elements from several audits to represent the responsibilities of any particular academic advising office.

• http://centss.oln.org/manager/


Cognitive processing and portals

• Compare Bloom’s taxonomy to computer information science DIKW model – Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom

• Show relationship to CENTSS Generational Model


Bloom’s Taxonomy: Cognitive* • Knowledge: Recall data or information. • Comprehension: Understand the meaning,

translation, interpolation, and interpretation of instructions and problems. State a problem in one's own words.

• Application: Use a concept in a new situation or unprompted use of an abstraction. Applies what was learned in the classroom into novel situations in the work place.

* An newer version has been developed by Anderson, L.W. and Krathwohl, D.R. eds. (2001).


Bloom’s Taxonomy: Cognitive• Analysis: Separates material or concepts into

component parts so that its organizational structure may be understood. Distinguishes between facts and inferences.

• Synthesis: Builds a structure or pattern from diverse elements. Put parts together to form a whole, with emphasis on creating a new meaning or structure.

• Evaluation: Make judgments about the value of ideas or materials.


DIKW model*

Evolution of Course Registration Systems

• Data - ways of expressing things

• Information - the arrangement of data into meaningful patters

• Knowledge - the application and productive use of information

• Wisdom - the discerning use of knowledge

Davis, S. & Botkins, J. (1994).; Sharma, N. (2008).; and Zeleny, M. (1987).


Data• Mainframe computers

• Advisors submitted forms to records staff who loaded data – advising session was often consumed with completing forms

• Data access limited


Information• Combined use of networked computers with

telecommunications• Advisors and students can enter data that

creates information – the advising session during course registration was often consumed with search for “open” sections.

• Advisors and students can access, through various levels, information from networked pc based computers


Knowledge• Combined use of networked computers,

telecommunications, and human interactions• Advisors and students can enter data, access

information and use both as a basis to create knowledge that answers their inquiries – Age of the Portal

• Knowledge creation limited to the broad parameters formed by data, information, and inquiries


Wisdom• Technology has not yet emerged that will

address the value laden, affective domain, and irrational nature of this stage.

So, who does this work with students?


The art and science of academic advising

Wisdom

Knowledge

Information

Data

Evaluation

Synthesis

Analysis

Application

Comprehension

Knowledge


WCET - Generations

• Generation Four – One institutional sign on

• Generation Three – Portal with multiple sign in points.

• Generation Two – Audiences categorized: perspective students, current students, staff, faculty, etc.

• Generation One – Links

Knowledge

Information

WCET 2006 Pat Shea & Darlene Burnett, all rights reserved: http://www.wcet.info/projects/laap/guidelines/overview.asp


Assessing technology and learning outcomes

Wisdom

Knowledge

Information

Data

Use of Technology only through portal

Use of Technology and interacting with an Advisor

• Evaluation

• Synthesis

• Analysis

• Application

• Comprehension

• KnowledgeConceptualization by G. Steele and K. Thurmond


Student can successfully

achieve needed results without

assistance

Student cannot successfully use

technology without assistance

Line represents

limits of unassisted

use of technology

• Evaluation

• Synthesis

• Analysis

• Application

• Comprehension

• Knowledge

Assessing technology and learning outcomes

Conceptualization by G. Steele and K. Thurmond


Selecting a major

Degree Audits

Categorization by degrees

Courses

• Evaluation

• Synthesis

• Analysis

• Application

• Comprehension

• Knowledge

Assessing technology and academic planning



Selecting a career

Relationship between career and

major

Reviewing career information

Careers and Interests

• Evaluation

• Synthesis

• Analysis

• Application

• Comprehension

• KnowledgeConceptualization by G. Steele and K. Thurmond

Assessing technology and career planning


Selecting a proper service

Relationship between student need and service

Categorization by service

Campus Resources

• Evaluation

• Synthesis

• Analysis

• Application

• Comprehension

• Knowledge

Assessing technology and selection of services



Off the leash and out of the yard

Generation I

Generation II

Generation III

Generation IVWikis

BlogsIM

Ning

ImagesEnterprise Systems

Web 2.0

http://www.wcet.info/services/studentservices/ctss.asp

WCET CENTSS Categories of Institutions Web based -services


Characteristics of tools for higher order interactions

Generation IV

Generation III

Generation II

Generation I

•multi-media, video, and audio •interactivity and collaborative

•text based•static WCET CENTSS Categories of Institutions Web

based -services


High tech and High TouchVendor/.org based solutions:• Smarthinking: • http://smarthinking.com/

• CollegeFish.org: https://www.collegefish.org/index.html

• Inside Track: http://www.insidetrack.com/index.asp


Implication for advising• Many of the technology communication

tools academic advising can use to improve Web-based student services can be inexpensively implemented (Web 2.0).

• The time is now for advisors to be heard on campuses in regard to use of technology for both portal and communication technologies.


Implication for advising• Is this a new age for advising?

– Career ladder – can we have one without technology competencies?

– Advising future for full time advisors is as generalists? We use to view our specialty as within a silo – in the future will it be how we cut across silos and help students integrate data, information, and knowledge, while addressing issues of value.

– Movement from specialized fields of advising (i.e. academic advising) to advising (NACADA?)


Bibliography• Anderson, L.W. and Krathwohl, D.R. eds. (2001). A taxonomy for

learning , teaching, and assessing. Anderson Wesley Longman, Inc. • Bloom B. (1956). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Handbook I:

The Cognitive Domain. New York: David McKay Co Inc.• Center for Transforming Student Services Web Site: http://

www.sewardinc.com/centss/index.html• Davis, S. & Botkins, J. (1994). Monster under the bed: How

business is mastering the opportunity of knowledge for profit. New York: A Touchstone Book, Publisher Simon and Shuster

• Gartner Group, publication date 11, July, 2007, p. 5. - G00148910• Kuhn, T., Gordon, V., & Webber, J. (2006). The advising and

counseling continuum : Triggers for referral. NACADA Journal , 26 (1), 24-31.


Bibliography

• Savarese, J, (2005).” Winning Loyalty through Service,” Campus Technology, September. http://www.campus-technology.com/print.asp?ID=11728

• Sharma, N. (2008). The origins of data, information, knowledge, and wisdom hierarchy, Retrieved August 10, 2008, from http://www-personal.si.umich.edu/~nsharma/dikw_origin.htm

• Steele, G.E. (2006). Five possible future work profiles of full-time academic advisors, NACADA Journal, 26, 2, 48-64.

• Zeleny, M. (1987). Management support systems: Towards integrated knowledge management. Human Systems Management, 7, 7, 59-70.