by Greg Metz, PhD

My underlying motives for working in higher education have always been modest…just to change the world, save the planet, cultivate human self-actualization…that sort of thing. Yes, I am inevitably somewhat disappointed when the revolution doesn’t emerge quite as planned.  But I am a believer (and, by the way, a Monkees fan).

I am a sociologist by training and have an extremely fascinating, applied-sociology role here at UC: I coordinate the Peer Leaders for First Year Learning Communities. So…what’s on my mind? Only the future of the USA.

by Jenny Wolfarth, MA

In the spirit of full disclosure, I should start by clarifying that I’m not a technophobe. Once a rabid photocopier who generated reams of handouts for my students, I’ve been on the Blackboard bandwagon nearly since its introduction at UC. I’ve happily and, I think, successfully employed useful tools like online-discussion boards in meaningful ways outside of the classroom, and my students can find fresh, and often interactive, online content on a weekly basis. I am gradually incorporating multimedia assignments in my curricula, am venturing into the world of podcasting, and have even converted my own professional portfolio into a snazzy digital experience that I can share with my students.

But I’ve found myself occasionally rebelling against the inevitable push to fully digitize the teaching and learning experience, and I think it has more to do with the lamentable absence of thoughtful interaction and our culture’s digitally impaired communication etiquette than the fact that I may be a little resistant to change my ways.

For those professors still wondering about how strong teaching impacts the university’s bottom line, please head immediately over to the  Chronicle of Higher Education and read Frank Heppner’s “On the Bottom Line, Good Teaching Tops Good Research.”  Really. You’ll thank us. Go ahead and thank us right now.

by Tom Haines, MM

Our students come to our universities hoping to find something they can find nowhere else. They come to us with highly integrated life experiences that have already colored their worlds for better and for worse. Now, with neo-millennial students staring back at us with their expansive world views and expectations—our currently compressed classroom schedules put the highest priority on our in-class face time together. Each time we set foot in our classrooms, our students assess our relevance via their worldview (again for better or for worse.) These days, knowledge for knowledge sake seems out of date. Students know that with little or no effort they can obtain facts and figures online. If they get the notion that attending class has little effect on extending their knowledge base and has only a slight effect on their grades—then what’s the point? To satisfy their curiosity about their world, they’re just as likely to stay home and online. So what is it that they truly seek?

Students seek authentic, shared experiences. They inherently know when they have it even if they cannot tell us exactly what it is.