The newest addition to the ACPA/NASPA competencies tasks professionals with keeping up with the ever-evolving technology consistently changing our world. "The Technology competency area focuses on the use of digital tools, resources, and technologies for the advancement of student learning, development, and success as well as the improved performance of student affairs professionals" (ACPA/NASPA, 2015, p. 33). To say that technology has not changed our entire field would be a boldfaced lie. I often sit in my office, sorting through my emails, and wonder, what on earth did people do before email existed? And email is just the beginning of ways that technology has changed how we operate on a day to day basis.

​

I started my program in the fall of 2015, just as this competency was brand-new to the field. In the Student Affairs: Theory, Research, and Practice course that fall, my group was tasked with discussing and presenting on Technology and Higher Education. Below, you'll find the slides of our presentation, where we used our assigned fake college to come up with an annual, day-long conference that taught Technology ideas for all levels based on the foundational, intermediate, and advanced outcomes of the competency. The idea is that even attending this conference would help professionals at Gala College remain current on student and educator adoption patterns of new technologies and familiarize oneself with the purpose and functionality of those technologies, and would also help the organizers of the conference stay current on the changing technology we experience.

​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even the famed "Green Book" that I have is now outdated, as it was published in 2011. There is a chapter based on technology and student affairs practice, but centers mostly on Facebook. Schuh, Jones and Harper (2011) even admits that "given the essential nature of technology . . . we cannot be certain that Facebook will continue to hold dominance in college and university campus cultures" (p. 515). While I personally believe it's safe to say that Facebook is still a popular thing, I know that Snapchat has maintained a strong hold, and Yik Yak was going strong for quite a while, even leading some campuses to banning it due to the anonymous (and oftentimes very harmful) discourse happening on the app (Stoller, 2015; Zamudio-Suaréz, 2016). 

​

One of my favorite parts of technology is how easily it allows us to connect to other professionals. If I want to get the opinion of other campus professionals regarding a Panhellenic matter, I just have to post the question in the NASPA Fraternity and Sorority Knowledge Community Facebook group, and I'll get some ideas and perspectives. Engaging in personal and professional digital learning communities and personal learning networks at the local, national, and/or global level is easier than ever with technology. My favorite way to engage with professionals, and my favorite group of professionals to engage with, is the #SAKliq: Student Affairs Professional Wrestling Facebook group.

 

At about 400 members, this group allows student affairs professionals across the country to talk about professional wrestling (yes, like the WWE). We have conversations mostly related to wrestling, but we also often discuss wrestling from a student affairs and social justice lens, and have discourse on professional development and exchanging of ideas, all while keeping it kayfabe. Our group somehow even got a mortician involved (our very own Undertaker), and the son of a WWE Hall of Famer and current WWE employee, who used to work as a Residence Director! Two members even presented at ACPA this year about our page. I posted in the group, asking members to give me their opinions on the group and how it has helped them as professionals. Below, I have a slideshow of screenshots with a few comments. 

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

​

Overall, student affairs professionals need to be adaptable in the face of fast-paced technological change. Schuh, Jones and Harper (2011) stress that "student affairs administrators must come to understand how students use various forms of popular online technology, such as social networking sites and instant messaging applications, to interact with others, and then adapt their practice to include this understanding" (p. 523). It is essential to recognize how quickly trends come and go in the online world. Yik Yak, as I mentioned earlier, started in 2013, and by the end of 2016 they had laid off 60 percent of their employees (Newton, 2016). Three years was all it took for an app to surge into fame and then suddenly crash and burn. It is amazing that Facebook has lasted since 2004, in my opinion. As professionals, we need to keep a finger on the pulse of technology and stay aware of what students are using, if only to keep up with them and ensure our helping skills don't entirely go to waste.

​

References

• ACPA/NASPA. (2015). Professional Competency Areas for Student Affairs Educators.

• Newton, C. Yik Yak lays off 60 percent of employees as growth collapses. The Verge. Retrieved from http://www.theverge.com/2016/12/8/13887622/yik-yak-layoffs-growth-collapse

• Schuh, J. H., Jones, S. R. & Harper, S. R. (2011). Student services: A handbook for the profession. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

• Stoller, E. (2015, January 22). Don't ban Yik Yak. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/student-affairs-and-technology/dont-ban-yik-yak

• Zamudio-Suaréz, F. Students Were Mad Their College Banned Yik Yak. So They Went on Yik Yak. Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://www.chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/students-were-mad-their-college-banned-yik-yak-so-they-went-on-yik-yak/110285

​

​