1. Amber Settle (CDM) DePaul 2009 Faculty Teaching and Learning Conference April 17, 2009

2.  Course content ◦ Academic subject with a strong connection to the people, communities, and institutions of Chicago ◦ Common Hour: Co-curricular component designed to facilitate students’ transition to the college experience  Important characteristics ◦ Traditional and experiential pedagogy ◦ Strong emphasis on mentoring and advising ◦ Discover Chicago  Immersion Week prior to the start of the quarter (5 days and 35+ hours)  Teaching team: Faculty, student, and staff

3.  Developed by Gian Mario Besana  Textbook for the course ◦ Technology and Social Inclusion: Rethinking the Digital Divide ◦ Mark Warschauer ◦ 2003 (primarily written in 2001)  Digital divide: “The gap between those who do and do not have access to computers and the Internet”  Supplementary reading ◦ Government reports on the digital divide ◦ Information about the Community Technology Center movement ◦ Popular press articles on technology access and training

4.  Breadth of use ◦ Online social networking community ◦ 85% of students at participating institutions have accounts; 60% of students log into the site daily (Arrington 2005) ◦ Study at CDM (Mittleman) shows that 68% of undergraduates use social networking sites weekly  Mixed reactions/results ◦ N. Ellison, C. Steinfield, and C. Lampe, 2007: Strong association between use of Facebook and the three types of social capital ◦ A. Hewitt and A. Forte, 2006: 30% of students did not believe faculty should be on Facebook ◦ M.J. Bugeja, 2006: Negative faculty reaction to Facebook (and technology) use by students

5.  Created in 2007 ◦ Inspiration of the student mentor (Julie Hardesty) ◦ Open to all DePaul students ◦ Created as a page for current students and alumni  Students from 2006, 2007, and 2008 were all invited to join the group  Group usage ◦ Photos  Typically from Immersion Week, posted by both students and Teaching Team members  Wall posts about course work and questions (limited)  Links related to course topics  Messaging used for group communication

7.  Creates a sense of community ◦ Sharing photos from Immersion Week  Inspired independent photo albums ◦ Incorporate new classmates into existing social structures  Postings to each other’s wall  Spontaneous lunch reunion  Discussion of social events and plans  Excellent example of a resource unavailable to those on the other side of the digital divide

8.  Not all students are on Facebook  Distance between faculty and students ◦ Buy-in is better when the student mentor actively participates  2007 group members: 75% of class  90% of students were “friends” with student mentor  2008 group members: 55% of class  44% of students were “friends” with student mentor  (retroactive) 2006 group members: 60% of class  50% of students were “friends” with student mentor ◦ Students are accustomed to peer-to-peer interactions  Discomfort “friending” a faculty member  Faculty comments can kill socially-oriented threads (even for the student mentor)

9.  Faculty member must balance: ◦ Personal touch with students  Interests: Books, movies, music ◦ Maintaining neutrality  Political affiliations (NO)  Religious beliefs and group membership (Carefully)  Comments to colleagues and friends  Success of early vs. later invitation ◦ Percentage of class who “friend” faculty instructor  2006 (post quarter): 75%  2007 (mid-Immersion Week): 65%  2008 (first day of Immersion Week): 55% ◦ More interaction in person means more comfort online  Be supportive but not intrusive

10.  Arrington, Michael, “85% of college students use Facebook”, TechCrunch, Sept. 7, 2005.  M.J. Bugeja, “Facing the Facebook”, Chronicle of Higher Education, 2006. ◦ http://www.vpss.ku.edu/pdf/PSDC%20Facing%20the%20Facebook. pdf http://www.vpss.ku.edu/pdf/PSDC%20Facing%20the%20Facebook. pdf  N. Ellison, C. Steinfield, and C. Lampe, “The Benefits of Facebook ‘Friends’: Social Capital and College Students’ Use of Online Social Network Sites”, Journal of Computer- Mediated Communication, Blackwell Publishing, 2007. ◦ http://www.mvirtual.com.br/midiaedu/artigos_online/facebook.p df http://www.mvirtual.com.br/midiaedu/artigos_online/facebook.p df  A. Hewitt, A. Forte, “Crossing boundaries: Identity management and student/faculty relationships on the Facebook”, Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 2006. ◦ http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~aforte/HewittForteCSCWPoster2006.p df http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~aforte/HewittForteCSCWPoster2006.p df