Improving Student Retention and Education

1. Improving Student Retention and Education Dr. Lewis Pulsipher Central Carolina Community College, Sanford CCCC CIT Department

2. Student retention • Three parts to retention: • Students must want to stay • They must do well enough academically to stay • They must be able to afford to stay • I’ll Talk mostly about #1, some about #2; #3 can be on an individual basis • These slides are more wordy than ideal, because I expect some will read the slides without hearing the talk CCCC CIT Department

3. Communication • Communication with students is the best way to involve them in the department • All-student meeting • Department listserve • Student surveys • Department Web site • Podcasts • Horizon 2006 Report CCCC CIT Department

4. All-student meeting • What is it • Mass meeting with all students (especially new ones) • Introduce all faculty • Make sure students taking the right courses • Explain what computer people actually do • Tell them interaction with students and instructors is more important than “book learning”; ability to do more important than ability to memorize • When: about the third day of school, 1-2 in the afternoon • Students have met almost all classes once • Fewer classes in afternoon • Avoids second shift clash CCCC CIT Department

5. Department Listserv • Simple way of reaching all students • Topica, Yahoo Groups free • We’re switching, Groups has the Web site • School provides an email address for all; student chooses what to use • Recognize, younger students are inconsistent/unreliable email users • Horizon Report, surveys—students prefer commo by cell phone CCCC CIT Department

6. Department Web site • More flexibility • College Web sites often limited in what they can do • Computers.cccc.edu • Handouts, podcasts • Faculty schedules can be a problem • Time-consuming for maintainer(s) • Some faculty maintain personal sites or sites for particular classes • Pulsiphergames.com CCCC CIT Department

7. Podcasts • Some students more likely to listen than to read • Not hard to do, but takes time • Good PC microphone headset • Audacity (free download) • Podcasts of lectures for online students • Computing education often not suitable for “lectures” • Good wireless mic/headset nearly $300—typical bluetooth headset is apparently inadequate CCCC CIT Department

8. Horizon 2006 Report • “Soon”: • Social Computing • Yes, I’m on Myspace; • But such sites are part of socialization of teenagers, they really don’t want to see older people there • Personal broadcasting (podcasts and webcasts) • Phones in their pockets (prefer text message to email) • Educational Games • “Four or five years”: • Simulations • “Context awareness” • Community college students not as used to using (costly) technology as university students CCCC CIT Department

9. Other means • MSDN-AA • Classroom management software • Course management software • Testing Center • Games? • Student clubs? • Off-campus socials? CCCC CIT Department

10. MSDN-AA • Microsoft operating systems, servers, other “programmable” apps such as Access, Visio, Project • Lump sum annual cost, discs available to all students in department classes • Freely usable in labs • http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/academic/default.aspx CCCC CIT Department

11. Classroom Management Software • “Millennials” are easily distracted—”moths to the flame” of the Internet • Classroom management software controls what students can do on PCs • Block Internet or allow access to specific URLs only • Control which applications can be used • Project one screen to all • Instructor can view any screen anytime • We are experimenting with Geneva Logic “Vision” • Google it—there are many products CCCC CIT Department

12. Course Management Software • Blackboard: • opinions vary • I don’t use it • It’s artificial, something you never see in the real world • Ours is quite unreliable • Tech support is “awful” • Others swear by it • It’s certainly convenient for students and instructors, especially for distance ed • Blackboard bought WebCT; Moodle is open source CCCC CIT Department

13. Testing Center/Vouchers • CCCC is a Prometric testing center • In some cases, students can get vouchers to take certification tests at considerable discount • Convenient for students CCCC CIT Department

14. Games? • It helps to be able to “talk games” with younger students • “Educational gaming” is coming, but I’ve not found them for computing • It isn’t necessary to have “computer games” as opposed to non-video games, but computer students tend to expect it • Computer games MUCH harder to produce CCCC CIT Department

15. Student clubs • This works at a residential, four year school—sometimes • We’ve tried computer club, game club • Interest may be there for a year, then many of the students are gone • Students don’t live on campus, they go home or go to work after class • Has not worked for us, might work at a much larger school CCCC CIT Department

16. Off-campus socials? • Difficult to organize • Possible liability issues • Venue problems, money problems • We rarely manage to do it CCCC CIT Department

17. Distance Ed • Some students cannot get to school any other way, BUT: • Tends to leave students isolated, without connection to the school • Many students do not have sufficient discipline • Often the equivalent of learning from a book • many students simply cannot do that when they get to college • “Millennial” students rarely read books • Not suitable at all for hands-on topics • Often fails our duty to employers (cheating is easy) • More suitable for advanced degrees (studying theory, not practice) CCCC CIT Department

18. Discourage Distance Ed MIT spokesman: “An MIT education happens in the classroom, by interacting with other students and with faculty, not by reading some Web pages or downloading some materials, or even watching a video lecture.” Teaching is not about “delivering content” or “covering the material”. Teaching is about influencing students to think and solve problems, to understand how to behave in the workplace, to take responsibility for their work and their behavior. Consequently, I discourage students from taking Distance Ed classes CCCC CIT Department

19. Discussion? Slides at pulsipher.net/teaching1.htm CCCC CIT Department