Our Four Pillars: Training and Education

At the Technology Knowledge Community (TKC) business meeting held during NASPA 2014, the team took a step back from our many projects, ideas, and ‘what if’s’ to focus in on our why. Just as technology is rapidly changing the faces, places, and spaces of higher education, the TKC was also moving quickly between and within many different initiatives, without always landing on a central purpose or vision. Over a delicious Baltimore meal, the Chair and Chair-Elect identified what have now become to be known as the Four Pillars of the TKC: concepts and guiding lights that direct our work and provide context for not just what we do, but why we do it.

The success of the NASPA Knowledge Communities relies heavily on a shared and common goal of facilitating the exchange of knowledge amongst members who express a desire to learn more about a particular subject area. The Technology Knowledge Community works to further and uphold this goal by creating and facilitating opportunities for training and development that highlight the what, how, and why of technology in higher education. As “technology” has become such a ubiquitous concept in the field, the TKC is committed to providing a (digital) space for colleagues both within and outside student affairs to share their knowledge, skills, and experience to provide members with the opportunity to learn how technology can support accessible, meaningful, and effective teaching and learning. This pillar’s guiding question, whether in providing training on emerging social media platforms and trends, facilitating a webinar on the use of technology for program assessment, or drafting a proposed list of technology-focused competencies, is always “What story can technology tell?”.

The TKC has two current on-going projects related to this pillar. The first is in collaboration with the Disability KC and involves a system-wide discussion around accessibility standards and what NASPA can be doing to promote and develop training around web accessibility through the membership. We hope to develop language and policy that can be easily adaptable for individual campuses. The second initiative is our continued development of a TKC webinar series. Currently NASPA offers each KC the ability to host one free webinar per NASPA year for the membership. Our first webinar was presented just prior to the NASPA 2014 conference and gave insight as to what presenters should be thinking about as they prepared their conference presentations. The second webinar in the series is scheduled for February 5th, 2015, and will be another look at web accessibility with a focus on how technology can help to overcome barriers to fully accessible learning. Additional details about the webinar, including how to register, will be available soon.

In the future we hope to work with NASPA staff to bring back the #NASPAtech conference and offer it as a professional development opportunity once per year. This will be an opportunity for individuals to receive continued training and development around issues of technology and higher education. We are also hoping to launch a new technology in higher education journal in collaboration with the NASPA staff and our new publisher Routledge. This peer-reviewed journal would be designed to not only be academically rigorous, but also to have a expedited review process that allows us to get emerging research on technology in higher education and student affairs into the hands of our constituents faster. Additionally we are working with faculty and colleagues throughout NASPA to advocate for the integration of my technological discussions in graduate preparation programs. We hope to provide references and resources that faculty can use to drop into their syllabi for a somewhat standardized approach to this training across the board.

Identifying and defining our Pillars is the combined hard work for the TKC team and all its members. With the one year anniversary of our first Pillars conversation coming up, we’re reaching out again. Have these ideas stood the test of time? What’s missing? What’s awesome? Share your thoughts with us - comment below, or tweet at @NASPA_TKC. You can also find us on Facebook by searching for NASPA Technology Knowledge Community.

Matthew Brinton is the Chair of the NASPA Technology Knowledge Community and the Associate Director of Alumni Relations at the University of Northern Colorado. You can follow him at http://www.twitter.com/mcbrinton

Lisa Endersby is the Chair-Elect of the NASPA Technology Knowledge Community, an Editor with the Student Affairs Collective and one of a select few who has high fived a real, live, adorable, penguin. You can follow and connect with her at http://www.twitter.com/lmendersby.