What Technology Skills Do Students Need to Learn To Be Successful in Post-Secondary Studies and How Can Institutions Help?

Vania Chan

UBC’s Okanagan Campus

ETUG Spring Workshop 2014

UBC’s Okanagan Campus

UBC’s Okanagan Campus

• 7800 undergrads• 640 grad students

Learning & Technology Assistants

• “LTAs”• A team of 14 students• Stationed in the library• On the front lines of student

technology support

The Study

-An online questionnaire - In-person interviews-Focus group

Highlights of the Results

Most common questions

• Printing, printing, and more printing!!• Microsoft Word and Excel• Working with PDFs• Accessing wifi and workstations• Troubleshooting

What tech skills do students need?

• Productivity software• Research skills• Communication etiquette• Social media awareness

Productivity Software

Quote:

“As part of a business diploma program years ago, I was

required to take two 100 level courses in Microsoft Office

(Word, Excel, Access, and Outlook). I still use these skills

regularly to this day. In the science program, I was never

exposed to the same training and don't know how I

would have survived if I hadn't learned during another

program. In sciences in particular, we are regularly

required to create graphs of lab results and most students

I know spent more time fighting with Excel than writing

the report. This could be extremely valuable training.”

Productivity Software

• MS Office• Not taught within their classes or

labs, but students are expected to be proficient

• Wish for class time devoted to these skills or a technology bootcamp series

Research

• Use of online journal databases• Conducting an effective web search• Citation tools

Communication Etiquette

• How to communicate effectively over email

• Organizing and formatting information

• Understanding audience and tone• Using proper salutations and

closings

Social media awareness

• Concerns about privacy, out of context impressions, and guilt by association

• Want to leverage social media to market themselves

Awareness and Attitudes of Trends

• Asked about flexible, blended and online learning

• Concerns about lack of interaction in online learning

• Heard about MOOCs, but not interested

Implications for Teaching & Learning

• Flexible learning– Troubleshooting and support– Scaffolding of the technology

• Instructor expectations

Discussion

• What are the technical expectations we have of our students?

• Are assessments practices matching their technical proficiency?

• Are faculty aware of students’ proficiency levels?

• At your school, what avenues do students have to learn technical skills? What supports are available?

Thank you!

vania.chan@ubc.caCentre for Teaching and Learning

UBC’s Okanagan Campus