Showcase Tracks: Students There were four general tracks or focus areas (general track information):
Click the links below to view presentation details for each track:
Student:
Best Practices in Student Support Services
Below is a table listing the presentations given during the conference for this track with presentation downloads and videos where available.
Name
Institution
Title
Summary
Jorge Figueroa
Universidad del Este-Santa Isabel, School od Social Sciences and Humane Studies]
Assistant Professor of English
“The Use of the Web 2.0 as a Tool for Student Retention in ESL Classroom” This presentation will show how the integration of Web 2.0 technologies (blogs, wikis, and podcasts) increased positively the student retention percentile in the institution`s ESL classes. Before the integration of Web 2.0 technology in the ESL classroom, English classes were only retaining 64% of its students. After the integration of Web 2.0 technology the courses increase to a dramatic 93% in a year.
Edgar Gonzalez
University of Texas-Pan American, Department: Center for Online Learning
Assistant Director for Instructional Technology
With a growing number of students at the University of Texas-Pan American, reaching out to them is becoming more difficult. However, due to the increasing use of mobile devices like Smartphones, iPods/iPhones, and laptops, we found a way to support students and faculty much easier and quicker. With the use of certain in-house applications (blogs), social networks, like Facebook, Twitter, and Short Message Service (SMS), students are constantly fed mass amounts of information while on the move. We have taken advantage of these new technologies and have implemented them in our applications to reach our users through everyday ways. Other institutions will also learn how the Center for Online Learning, Teaching and Technology uses internal applications to enrich studentsÂ’ experience when enrolled in a course utilizing Blackboard. The Center for Online Learning, Teaching and Technology will provide a handout with a couple different documents; Overall Blackboard usage for several terms, different applications we provide/support, and a brief run through of their specs, what they are running on (hardware/software/frameworks), when/why they were implemented, and application feedback.
Seelpa Keshvala and Naydeen Tyffane
Burlington County College, Department: Student Services
Director of EOF & Associate Dean of Advisement, Transfer, Special Populations and EOF
“Using Technology to Build Social Capital with Low-Income Latino Parents: A Proactive Approach to Recruiting Latino Students to College” Research confirms that Latino parents, regardless of their education, have strong college aspirations for their children (Gasbarra & Johnson, 2008; Roderick, Nagaoka, Coca, Moeller, Roddie, Gilliam, & Patton, 2008). However, a recent study by the Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR) found that Latino students were the least likely to plan to go to college, or apply. According to CCSR, only 60% of Latino students who said they aspired to attend a four-year college actually planned to enroll the fall after graduation, compared with 77% of African-American and 76% of white students (Roderick, Nagaoka, Coca, Moeller, Roddie, Gilliam, & Patton, 2008). Using social capital theory as a conceptual framework, the authors of this study propose that Latino parents living in low-income districts have a more difficult time navigating the complex “inside” knowledge required to apply to college and for financial aid as compared to their suburban and upper-class counterparts. Our research study utilizes technology to help foster social capital among low-income Latino parent populations so that they may be able to successfully assist their children with navigating systemic college entrance processes.
Marva Craig and Erwin Wong
BMCC / CUNY, Department: Student Affairs
Vice President, Dean for Academic Programs and Instruction
“Commuter Students Connecting to the College Before Classes Commence” Commuter students spend little time on campus before classes start. Using the mantra, “it takes a village,” the college community at an urban institution has collaborated to provide a two-day experience in which students meet members of the college community, complete workshops, get advised and register for classes. As a result, students are connected to the college before they begin classes.
Rene Batiz
Universidad Interamericana-Ponce, Department: Educación a Distancia
Profesor
Presentation
“Los Centros de Estudios Cibernéticos: Herramienta de Apoyo al Estudiante a Distancia y Presencial” Every educational institution providing distance education ought to be aware of the importance of student support service as a key factor for program success. The Internet Studies Centers have been created to offer academic and technical support for students taking both online and face to face courses, as well as reliable access to all necessary tools for success. The centers are managed and operated out of traditional service hours and are conveniently located in different municipalities along the Island, private companies, and commercial centers to enhance student access to tools that support their assignment completion without having the need to actually go to the campus. Uniquely, with this project, the college campus goes to the student.
