Wepps' Blog on Higher Ed: 2011

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Keep your head up smartphone users

Ever seen some, typing away on their smartphone, walk into a post? Have you ever done that? With the rapid growth of smartphones we are bound to see it happen more often.

After watching the first Shift Happens video three years ago I was a big fan. The videos were produced by a US high school teacher to show the impact that technology was having in the world now and in the future. You should find a few minutes to watch these videos if you have not seen them. Five different versions now exist.

Version 4.0, which was uploaded in 2009, was the first in the series to have a significant amount of content on smartphones and mobile technology. It now seems that everyone has a smartphone on their hip or in their hands. Its amazing how much influence these devices now have in our lives--and funny when we are so focused that we forget how to walk!

Not surprisingly, research from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) published recently indicates that the rapid growth of smartphone use will continue over the next few years. Key findings of the research shared by Marketing include:

Canadian web traffic is set to quadruple from 2009 levels by 2014
From 25.8 million people in 2010, mobile subscribers are projected to increase to nearly 30 million in 2014
Mobile internet subscriptions are predicted to go from 5.5 million in 2011 to 14 million in 2015

You obviously use technology if you are reading my blog and my guess is that you will have some form of smartphone so personally you can appreciate the power of mobile technology.

How have you adapted professionally to smartphone use is the question that intrigues me. I would love to hear how smartphones are impacting your work in student affairs or more generally in higher education. Please share your comments and questions... but watch where you walking though ;-)

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Working (Too?) Hard

Ever heard one of your peers tell you how many hours they are working? How 'bout a student? Does someone you know, peer or student, view NOT taking vacation as a badge of honour? John Ibbitson's We work hard, they enjoy life may provide some insight into this phenomenon and I wonder if it contributes to the mental health trends we see as student affairs professionals.

Ibbitson profiles the time people take off, in the form of government mandated vacation days and statutory holidays, from several countries around the world. Here are countries he profiles and the number of days off citizens typically receive in that country:

Brazil - 41
Lithuania -41
Ireland - 29
Australia - 28
USA - 25
Canada - 19
China - 21
France - 40

This data, along with a listing many other countries, comes from the Employee statutory and public holiday entitlements - global comparisons, produced by the consulting firm Mercer.

Interestingly, Canada and the US are the lowest in the list of more than 40 countries around the world. I'm left wondering the impact this has on our health. Is it possible that our vacation ethic could partially explain the increasing number of mental health issues we face in our society? My instinct says yes. Do you agree? Either way making change won't be easy as this quote from Mercer's press release explains " “Public holidays tend to be rooted in local tradition or religious beliefs, so it can be difficult to change practices."

Many of us are now in the middle of student leader training or welcoming a new crop of students to our campus. This typically involves working long hours and forgoing time off like weekends. After reading this article, hopefully, you realize its ok to take a little time away. Others around the world do ;-)

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Returning for more

'tis the season for student staff training. Last week I had a chance to spend an hour with the returning residence student staff on their first day of training. The returning student staff experience is different. These staff have experience, more advanced skills and they expect more. Harnessing these factors can kick start community development and enhance the experience of other students, especially new student staff.

To help guide the session I created this presentation using Prezi. My approach was to expand the traditional view of education to include a more holistic view. From their past involvement returners can appreciate that education is more than books and classrooms. Acknowledging this at the outset formed a foundation for our hour together and identifies what the returners already know or feel.

Making meaning of their past experience and outlining future actions was the goal in the second part. The seven skills identified by Tilling & Fadel in 21st Century Skills, which they call the seven C's, provides this structure. Using some reflection and discussion time gave the returners an opportunity to map their experience to the 7 C's model so the returners could recognize areas of strength and areas needing development.

This year marks 20 years since I started university. To help relate to the returners I shared some pictures and yearbooks from my time as a student staff member in the session. Fortunately, I did not hear too many chuckles ;-) Weaving my story into the session gave me a chance to apply personal examples to the model and show how one path, of a former returner, has played out.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Students Going International

Student seeking out international study opportunities has grown steadily for more than three decades and signs would seem to indicate that the trend will continue for years to come.

Education at a Glance 2010, produced by OECD, contains two charts which show the steady upward trend of students from around the world seeking out opportunities to study outside of their native country. One chart shows that in 1975 about 800,000 students studied abroad and as of 2008 that number had grown to 3.3 million.

The next chart shows which countries attract the greatest number of international students. The USA, United Kingdom and Germany topped the list in both 2000 and in 2008.

It is interesting to note that the share of international students in the USA, United Kingdom and Germany is shrinking as more countries and institutions get into international student recruitment. Ontario is one region that has taken an aggressive approach, as I noted in two earlier posts: Ontario Gov't Takes Action for International Students and The Competition for International Students Begins.

Life Changing Moments

You usually don't realize when a life changing moment is happening until well after the fact. In Milwaukee Wisconsin in the summer of 2005 I had one of those moments. It was at the ACUHO-I Annual Conference & Exposition (ACE), and Tracey Mason-Innes, who was the Canadian District Representative on the ACUHO-I executive board at the time, stopped to talk with me. She was one year into her two year term and she suggested I should consider running to succeed her.

At the time I was only a few weeks into being the OACUHO President and it had never occurred to me to serve on the ACUHO-I executive board. Fortunately, the seed Tracey planted with me began to grow and a year later I was the Canadian District Rep. Serving on the board has, without a doubt, been one of the most powerful professional experiences I have encountered in my career. Not only did I greatly expand my knowledge of student housing and my network of colleagues considerably, but I was able to participate in the tremendous growth that ACUHO-I has undergone recently. In a little over five years ACUHO-I has been transformed into an association that has become a model for others.

Being actively involved in this transformation has made me a more effective professional. The benefits have far outweighed any costs in time, energy and resources. To be recognized by my peers on top of what I have already received has been humbling. Last month at ACE in New Orleans I was fortunate to receive the Global Initiatives Award. Its quite an honour to be recognized by one's peers. Thanks Kate, Chad, Dima and Tracey for nominating me.

One common piece of advice we offer to students is to get involved. Join a club, a choir, a team or anything that will allow you to develop and get more out of going to college or university. I believe the same advice applies to being a professional, especially those who are newer professionals. Join a committee, run for a board, present at a conference or anything to develop and maximize your potential as a professional.

Lastly, for those of you who follow my blog I apologize for the gap since my last post. A wonderful new addition to my family has meant the time usually devoted to blogging has instead been spent changing diapers, making funny faces and melting at each and every smile :-)