Apps and learning
Several online colleges are introducing new apps for their school. These can be neat in that you can check in on the go from a tablet or smart board. However I find when students use these apps their quality of discussion posts goes WAY down. All of a sudden you see grammar and spelling errors and text speak start to slip in. I try to make it clear that expectations are the same for writing level for apps or posts made from web browsers but they jump into this more informal frame of mind. Does anyone else see this happening?
Jill,
Love the saying "practice makes permanent." We need to continue to stress that for sure. Professionalism is so important. Thanks!
I agree that apps can be a great help in engaging the students and setting a boundary of professional communication is a must. I tell them from Day 1 that Practice doesn't make Perfect, Practice makes Permanent. We want to build good communication habits so when we're in that unexpected stressful situation with a client or a co-worker, the only thing that comes out of us sheer professionalism.
Dawn,
Set the standards of professional communication no matter what technology they use. I use an iPad and I can type complete sentences. ;-)
Leah,
I am proactive in showing (giving examples) of professional communication in a discussion board format and what to do and not to do. Students also see the expectations laid out in a rubric and I don't have as many problems as I used to with texting language.
I see that students who use a tablet have poor typing skills. They end up misspelling and using incorrect grammar. They are more likely to dismiss this due to the fact that the keyboard is not as effective for long discussions. However I try to set standards and explain that they can either get an external wireless keyboard or properly check their posts.
