In November, a group of five college students representing the California Community Colleges and California State University systems participated in a virtual panel at the annual Directors of Educational Technology in California Higher Education (DET/CHE) conference. Projected on a screen in front of hundreds of educators, students shared their candid reflections and experiences with technology in teaching and learning.
I had the honor of moderating the panel with support from J.P. Bayard, Director for System-Wide Learning Technologies and Program Services at the CSU Chancellor’s Office. As always, listening to student experiences inspired me and reconnected me with the reasons I do what I do. As technology plays a more expansive role in teaching and learning, we must make efforts to center what we do around the real experiences of the humans at the other end of the screen. I also find myself reflecting on the courage it took these students to volunteer to participate and be candid about their experiences. And that is also something all of us can learn from.
I hope you listen to the 30-minute recording and let the students’ messages inform your practices as you start the new term ahead. Leave us a comment below and share a takeaway — we’d love to hear from you!
Quick Links
Don’t have 30 minutes to listen? Here are the 5 questions the students were asked and a video quick link to their responses.
- 3:28 Reflect on your experiences as a college student and answer this question, “I wish my teachers would _____________. “
- 8:08 If your instructor gave you the choice for a test
to: write a paper, create a video, or create a verbal presentation, how would you feel about having that choice? Which option would you choose and why? - 18:03 How are you using mobile devices to access the resources and services provided by your instructors and college?
- 20:25 Why did you choose to take an online class? What makes an online class a good learning experience?”
List of Panelists
- Arturo Aguilar, CSU Fresno
- Trinity Chi, San Francisco City College
- Amber Greene, Santa Barbara City College
- Dineo Maine, San Diego State University
- Laura Marquez, Citrus College
