The attention span of students is very short. Students doze off if they have to read more than a few sentences. Remember that Twitter posts must be less than 120 words, which is hardly enough to develop an effective paragraph much less communicate an idea effectively. Media appeals to many students because it is based on visual stimuli as much as words. As humans we depend on our nonverbal communication skills from birth so we are more likely to believe what we interpret from our world using nonverbal communication.
Ideas need to be communicated visually to students. Long explanations – remember that more than 120 words is probably considered “long†to students – are less effective than visually representing ideas. Today’s student needs to be able to see things instead of read things. Instead of having to read and reason, today’s students want things laid out in a few words for them, and accompanying visuals can really help to drive home the more complicated meanings behind those few words.
Since most professors were taught back when media was not so prevalent, we have to train ourselves to think more visually instead of word-based. Multi-tasking requires that things be extremely simple and that everything be laid out in a “click here†by “click here†fashion. Lessons that are visually-based and that develop ideas through series of visuals—photos, videos, graphs, or other visual aids—are more likely to appeal to students. This is absolutely opposite to how most professors learned—we were taught to read, read, read, and then read some more, cogitate, and then develop something amazing that we put into writing or words. Today’s students are more attuned to videos and visual representations of ideas and we have to strive to keep up and tune our own worlds to this approach.
It has been indicated that in just a few years that video will take over the internet and most searches on the internet will result in the users visiting a video instead of reading. We have to get ready to move along with this trend and present our important scholarly ideas in new ways that will have meaning and that will appeal to our students. As a public speaking professor I deal with visual components a lot and I can see that my students are more and more attuned to videos and visuals than to having to read anything that is more than 120 words.
Being an English Literature undergraduate, you can bet I am set against this tuning out of reading, but it is the way of the future online. I earned my master’s in Communication Arts and I have taught public speaking both face-to-face and online for about 15 years. I have seen education move from printed textbooks to eBooks to online subscription materials. I am no longer as able to effectively communicate to my students using only words. I am now shifting more and more of my lectures to more visually-oriented materials, including pictorials of how the course assignments work together. Students now need to see information rather than read it, and I am trying to adjust to this new mode of instruction. We all have our work cut out for us, but it is fun to find new ways to communicate familiar ideas.
Does your institution track the method that students use to make initial contact? Presumably, this would give some insight into the students preferred method of communication and should be useful to determine how to follow up with them.
I have used text messaging and emailing a few times with WHY students, and it appears to be working for the most part. I do have to say that most older students still do prefer being contacted by phone, and are less likely to respond in a timely manner via email.
I haven't used text messaging but I know of a few admissions reps that have and it's been pretty successful. The older students are the ones that usually pick up the phone, so that is still what we find works best for them.
Do you also use text messaging? That is even more immediate and seems to be the preferred method of communication among many younger students. How do you deal with older students who are not as tech savvy?
I find that there are some students that will just not answer a phone call but are very quick to get back to me through email. Most "WHY" students will have their emails sent to their phone and are more likely to to respond that way instead of actually giving a call back.
How do you incorporate these technologies into your job, Bryant? Has it changed the way you communicate with the students?
I agree.. The generation of students living now are the technology kids with a gadget for everything that does everything. Utilizing the mediums that are avaiable today such as WebCam, Skype and FaceBook help because in a world where everything is right here and more importantly right now it gives you the ability to be just that.
I also add that the attention span of students seems to be shorter; particularly if the delivery isn't engaging.
Electronic media also gives them flexibility re the learning experience - when, where, how long, etc. Campus ToolKit, a tool to develop student self awareness and improve retention, addresses the points you make, Jeff. https://www.campustoolkit.com/overview/index.php
