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Post date: Nov 28, 2015 3:28:19 PM
Digital Paradox: so many ways to send a message, but are we doing an effective job of communicating?
As a Community College teacher with over a decade of experience teaching online, I use a lot of digital tools to communicate with students. We have an email system and I set up a Distribution list each semester, and send weekly email messages with agendas, reminders, links, and due dates. Much of the information that I include is in their syllabus; however, not all students actually sit down and read through that document.
We also have a Course management system called Canvas, and it has its own internal email system. Students can send a message to teachers through Canvas, and we get it in our HCC email account. Unfortunately, that has turned into a mixed blessing as some students email once every couple of weeks, referring back to a previous message. I then have to search back in HCC email to see the context of the question from several weeks ago. It is actually more efficient to have the normal back and forth of regular email, where you can scroll down and see previous messages in the same thread, or topic.
My Education students have an additional option, since I require them to set up a Gmail account; this makes it possible for us to use Google Drive/Google Docs. They share assignments with me and I make comments, giving them feedback on their materials.
I have resisted the urge to include texting with students as an option: there are a number of apps out there that allow you to set up a text message to students as needed. My friend Lavonne has used the Celly app and likes it; however, I really don’t think I want to get texts from students. Our college already has a texting service in place to alert students and staff of weather related closings or late starts.
I have a number of former students who are friends on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Tumblr, but have made it my policy not to friend current students. I do, however, use Pinterest with my Education students, and follow them and ask them to follow me.
With all of these communication tools, you might assume that I have frequent communication with all of my students and hear from all of them on a regular basis. However, I am battling with technology at time to contact errant students to seem to be as elusive as wild turkeys trying to avoid the hunter.
I’ve now sent half a dozen messages through two email systems to one online student who has sent me all of one message this semester (14 weeks) and managed to avoid doing a mandatory phone conference with me over her major essay. So, I entered a zero in the gradebook on that dropbox and wrote a note to her explaining why I could not accept this essay: I suspect this is the message that will finally get noticed.
Another student just surfaced this past week, after nearly six weeks of absence. When asked if she had been checking email, she said her computer had been acting up……and that she no longer had internet access at home. So, all of those messages sent to her had been ignored for at least 5 weeks.
The paradox of having so many ways to contact students – and for them to contact their instructor – is another source of fatigue and frustration. It means that we have more places to check for messages and more opportunities to miss them. I was willing to do that conference with her if she had only contacted me this week: I did two phone calls with other online students who had experienced major family crises. Instead, I found myself becoming more frustrated with each passing day as she did not respond to any message. Unfortunately, another feature of our new CMS is that we can track the last day that students accessed the system: we can even see the pages they have viewed, the assignments they have submitted, and the discussion boards they have posted to, among other details.
However, talking to other people, I hear examples of digital paradox almost daily—someone sends a message inside Facebook but the person it’s meant for seldom checks their messages there and is looking for a message on Gmail. Someone else texts someone because he hates actually talking on the phone, but the person receiving the text has put his phone on Airplane mode for an important meeting. Someone else leaves a voice mail message but the phone got left in a purse in a back bedroom while I, the intended recipient, was getting ready for Thanksgiving company. As it turns out, the voice mail was asking for final directions to our house: living in a newly constructed condo, on a new street, we should be used to the idea that not all GPS systems can locate us.
With all of the mobile devices most of us carry with us, we are becoming more and more caught up in a flurry of various communication apps and tools; however, the communication skills of many college students are not necessarily reflecting the amount of energy used to keep in touch. Many younger students, who have a fixation on their Smartphones, are more comfortable with texting and do not like to make eye contact with others, especially adults. In turn, middle aged and older adults are put off by trying to talk with younger people who avoid eye contact and seem to be playing with their phones during the conversation or interview.
This digital paradox has been documented in a recent study reported by Insidehighered, where researchers talked to approximately 600 college grads and 400 employers, and found that the college students saw themselves as very prepared in a number of areas where employers questioned their preparedness. As Scott Jaschik points out, “But in a number of key areas (oral communication, written communication, critical thinking, being creative), students are more than twice as likely as employers to think that students are being well-prepared.”
Simply because you have an iPad, iPhone and have a Gmail account does not mean that you are a good communicator; a shiny laptop does not make you a better writer, and having a presence on ten social media websites does not translate into being a good team player or having problem solving skills. Multiple students have assured me that they check their email messages on their phone…..and if they think of it later, they will go to their laptop and download that document, respond to a message, or work on an assignment—if they remember. I love the convenience of using my iPhone to check for messages and send short messages; however, it is only one tool for me, while for some of my students, it appears to be their main tool for email when away from campus.
While the ability to text frequent messages to multiple people seems impressive to some, it also seems to suggest an inability to focus on work for longer than ten minutes: I once had a student with a giant phablet (a Galaxy Note) who confessed to sending approximately 1,000 texts a day to about a dozen people. Unfortunately, that didn’t leave much time for college homework. I immediately felt sorry for those people, rather tired at the mental calculations of sending that many texts, and said to her, “My dear, I think you’ve made yourself unemployable!” She was enrolled in a face to face class, meeting in a computer classroom; however, she had not done much work to that point in the semester, and I could not recall seeing her in class when she was not clutching her Galaxy. It was a wake up call for her, and she did manage to pass, with a great deal of effort.
Even as we strive to put the best technology in the classroom, we must continue to emphasize the importance of communication skills, oral and written, as well as the basic and largely unwritten rules of how to be successful in college. Check your email often and respond to messages from your teachers. READ messages from teachers and other college staff. Don’t miss class for more than two sessions without letting your teacher know what is going on that is keeping you from attending. Ask when you have questions or don’t fully understand an assignment. Treat attending classes at college like it is your job.
In the end, given the choice between a very smart student who shows up once a week and a quieter one who comes every class and lets me know when she cannot make it, I will take the quiet student who comes to every class and communicates with me. Digital paradox makes for a fascinating blog post or column; however, it does not translate into a good experience in the classroom or workplace. What many of our students do not grasp is that the same work habits demonstrated in the classroom are likely to be the habits practiced at the job. While we all agree that students need to be tech savvy, employers value workers who know how to communicate with others both face to face and online.
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Jaschik, Scott. “Well-Prepared in Their Own Eyes.” Insidehighered.com. January 20, 2015
Last Updated Nov. 28, 2015
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