-: Hello. My name is Olimpia Leite-Trambly
I am an instructional designer
for the University of Nebraska Kearney
-: And I'm Tony Hill. I am a faculty member
and family science at UNK University Nebraska Kearney.
I'm also a program director
for the early Childhood and Family Advocacy Program.
Hello I'm Sharon Obasi I'm an associate professor
and family science at UNK.
And
-: Sharon?
Now I was going to mention
that Lanaya couldn't join us today
but he's also part of the presentation. Thank you.
-: Well, good afternoon, everybody. We are glad to be here.
We're going to be talking about certainly COVID.
I think everybody's talked about that today, but also
in particular, looking at that digital divide
that's happened or that's been amplified.
What we know is that the campuses about a year ago
a little more than a year ago, had to turn on a dime
as one presenter previously said, and it heightened, made us
more aware and amplified this notion of a digital divide.
Digital divide always existed.
It has existed, it just got amplified.
So we were kind of monochrome or mono-color.
And then we went to technicolor with COVID.
And so this, what we saw at my colleagues and I saw was
that this impacted every aspect of the campus.
It was very clear, not just students, not just faculty
but also the staff members and issues like technology
the tools, the instruments that they needed
internet access, access to technology, the different types
of technology software, et cetera.
And then we're going to talk about just, what have
we learned from this wonderful experience called COVID.
-: Starting to talk a little bit
about the technological divide, all of us,
including our students with the COVID.
We had to rely on technology
and we had to rely on that extensively.
So the technological divide became very visible.
As Dr. Hill just mentioned that kind of became,
that was amplified.
It was more visible than before. Some students
as many of you know, have several devices,
sophisticated devices while others had to very feel
or some of, some of our students actually
they had to learn.
Some students, they were very tech savvy
about the use of technology. And to others,
they had choice struggle in so many different levels
even with things that, for some of us that is very basic.
Additionally, we gave a mention
about the language that is used
by students when we navigating this technological area.
And that could be due to the generation
or just because of the accessibility to that.
They have chosen a specific tool more than others.
If some of you will kind of watch it this morning
our keynote speaker, he gave an example
of things that happen on his campus.
He said that
with COVID they had to experience, some students,
that they needed a stylus or digital pen to
be able to write some of mathematical equations
which it is a sophisticated technological item for some.
And they had to deal
with some students that actually they even
don't have access to the internet at all.
So that is a very vivid example
that many of us had to experience one way or the other
or we saw some students or colleagues of ours
experiencing that as well.
And Diamond showed that we can relate to that example.
And again, that's just one of many examples
that we could use to say
that the technological divide was present
and very amplified when COVID came.
Next slide.
So as with everything else, when you,
when you start talking about this divide
and this digital disparities
we have these, these terms that become even more relevant
in this particular conversation.
So we talk about the divide
basically referencing any disparity
in access to technology, to software, to anything like that
that it may be based on age, on
on your gender ethnicity, your income level
your location for sure has an impact on this.
We also our struggle to get what we call digital equity
where we have a minimization of the disparities
if not an elimination of these disparities.
And we're also looking
towards digital inclusion where we can actually say
that we can all
we're all able to access what we need when we need it
in an equitable and an equitable manner.
Next slide please.
-: And so even prior to COVID terms like
the new digital divide so I mentioned earlier,
this is not new. So we know as Dr. Obasi talked about,
there's been this inequity, it just COVID amped it up
brought it a little closer to the front.
And there's a 2018 study that looked at about 30+ states
and several other countries outside of the United States.
And what they found is about 91% of the participants,
And we're talking about
over 65,000 students had 91% had access to laptops,
either owned or had access
to and 95% had access to smartphones.
However, when we look at students of color
and students of lower income that is drastically different.
So they may have access to those items,
however, there tend to be older devices or lower quality.
So they may not be able to access the same platforms
as a peer.
And I can tell you from personal experience last semester
using an online quiz format, a student would have to go
to school in order to access that quiz
which kind of defeated the purpose of being online.
But we have to be aware
and cognizant of those differences and that in equity.
And so simply saying that, oh
everyone has access to internet.
We to know exactly what that means.
Some schools are getting wiser and more educated about that.
And they're creating things like mobile hotspots.
There's a school in Maine that actually has a
drive-up hotspot.
So parents, family members, students can sit outside
whether it's a library or school
and have access to the internet
but we have to be aware that that digital divide is real.
And that, as Dr Obasi and Ms Leite-Trambly talked about
there are so many differences
when we talk about that divide.
So what we had happened roughly 14 months ago
as we went down this great digital highway,
schools, our university was no exception.
You had to go online
and some people were not quite ready to go online.
And I, again, I'm going to say at all levels
not just students, not just faculty, but also staff members
and having to have access to forms that typically
were written to be able to access those digitally.
It became a challenge
but some universities made that transition pretty quickly.
We all had to make it.
I love what the keynote speaker said this morning.
He talked about sort of this tension
between wanting to be in person and being online.
It was so eloquent the way he said it, schools are
they're almost like a divide.
We like having in-person classes, but the reality is
that we will also have to have online.
So we're sending mixed messages,
Dr. Obasi and I are both family scientists.
So it'd be like a bigamist. You're married
to in person and then married to online
and wanting to do both at the same time.
I'm not saying they need to divorce
but they can't be married probably at the same time.
We're going to have to make that commitment.
Again, that notion of whether it's in-person online,
whether it's and you've heard this argument I'm sure,
quality almost only exists in the classroom.
If you really want to connect with students
you can only do that in the classroom.
Okay. That's not practical when there's a pandemic
and your school is closed. Again I'm going to go back
to the keynote speaker. He just talked about,
you know, some of those differences that
once we have let students go online
when we come back in person, we better be really good.
And so I think that's something that's going to
continue to happen, but I like the way you said it
now that we're back, you know, or some
of us are back in person, we need to be really, really good.
I will say, as a faculty member, we're not alone though
that this is something that is a university issue
not a faculty only issue
not a student only issue or a staff person issue.
It takes all of us to be really good when we go back.
Pre pandemic, we're looking at about universities
in the United States spending about 5% on IT services.
And you know, I got this
from the Harvard business review in September of 2020.
Also pre pre-pandemic, say that fast why don't you?
One-third of US universities were online
and two thirds in class.
But we know post pandemic, it will probably never,
ever look the same again.
And as an institution, education tends to lag behind
businesses when we talk about incorporating technology.
-: So everyone was, as I showed them, and this is a few
of the applications that we've been using around.
I know that we have several campus in here
not only in Nebraska, but all across the country.
If you're willing, please use the chat area
and type some of the platforms that you had to learn
or something that you already use it
but because of the pandemic, you had to become proficient.
And as you type that, I will proceed with the presentations.
And then we can go back to that.
But for example, all of us
we had to learn something either in the matter
of technology or maybe in the matters of boundaries.
And that's a topic that we're going to
talk a little bit later, but for example
I remember once talking to Dr. Hill
and she mentioned that you, during one day
she had to so many conferences that she ended
up using three different platforms in order to
accomplish her work in order to help and support students.
So just imagine how, just recall actually
recall how exhausting that was for many
of us to start to rely so much on technology
as we were back then. And some of us
is still on that, still on that page
and to one thing, it does not matter how proficient we are
does not matter how tech savvy each one
of us can be or can become.
When we started to use technology, it becomes exhausting.
It is time-consuming, it takes our knowledge
our peace to a different level.
So all of us, we want assurance, and we need to
to remember that because sometimes we
we forget how difficult it is
or all the struggles that students struggle through
and then imagine the struggles that they are going to
on top of the pandemic
and all the things that they had to deal with.
So again, having to become aware
we have to become aware of the differences.
We also, we have to become aware of each person's experience
and the reality that we are living at that moment.
And that was one thing that also our speaker
mentioned a lot, the fact that we might have to
learn it to work differently. We're going to
have to learn it to do with our students differently,
not only focusing
on the pieces that we needed to teach
but actually also thinking in the holistic approach
in which we want also have to see where are our students
what are the pieces that they have
and bring back to our classroom.
Next slide please.
Again, students learning different platforms
that they had to learn, different interfaces that they
and we had to be exposed to.
Next slide, please.
Thank you.
So due to the Covid, we had to rely a lot
on technology again. And instructors
they had to become creative
about the way that they would be teaching to the students.
About the way that they would be
assessing the students. Things came to a different level
and we all had to be prepared to. Or better yet,
maybe we had to become aware
about the complexity that technology can bring to our lives.
Some applications, for example, as we know, works better
maybe in Firefox, rather than Chrome and vice versa.
So be aware of that
and then making sure that your students know that as well.
All the applications, for example, they are on the cloud.
So sometimes we want to work
and then the internet is not working
or sometimes that application that is not as accessible
or who knows what it is in between.
So, and that is a unit that I found to kind of show
that technology ended up adding a layer
of complexity. Technology can be a obstacle again.
So many of us rely on the technology and the reality
that technology, for some, ended up becoming a obstacle
for many of our students from the beginning to the success
from completing a course. For example, one thing
on our campus that many instructors they had to rely on
or they decided to rely on, it was for example, proctoring.
And while that kind of seems to be a easy solution
for accessing the students. That actually,
for many students and administrators
and support people, that kind of became a nightmare
because of the complexity that it was added
by using a proctor to take care or to assist
to the instructors while they are accessing the students.
And again, everybody's still learning how to do better
with accessing only students
how to better teach our students.
All of us are alone in that aspect, but we also
we are learning on what it is the best practice
and the best technology for us to use in our classroom.
Next slide please.
-: So as we continue and hopefully as we move
through the pandemic, learning never stops, right?
We're still trying to understand
still trying to provide the best experience
for all of us in the higher ed space.
Certainly when it comes to the digital divide
internet connectivity remains a problem.
We still have students who are in remote parts
of the world who cannot access their information
the way that we would like them to that will be in an
in an equitable format.
We still have issues regarding delivery of information.
We still have trying to try to balance out
how do we go back to being face-to-face?
How can we continue some of these
some of these promising practices that we've
acquired from being online and so on.
And then of course technology is always changing.
It's never static.
So we, so as we're trying to understand and make
sense of it and incorporate in an equitable manner
some of the, some of the riches that we have
they're being updated, they're being modified
they're being made better or in some
some places made worse sometimes.
And we still we're constantly trying to
to keep up with, with everything and make sure that
we were bringing out the best that we can for our students
because when all is said and done, it comes back to them.
Next slide, please.
Dr. Hill?
-: I, I certainly can.
We also know with the technology
in the digital world that we're in,
there's issues like boundaries
and what they call E-Etiquette or electronic etiquette.
You know, I had to use this when I started teaching online
I called it E-Etiquette, you know
be respectful of your peers.
Don't use certain words, you know, don't use all caps
I think back in the day
but now I'm sure it's probably different
but what we're starting to see now is that
with whether it's asynchronous or synchronous teaching
there are issues with kind of boundaries and etiquette.
And some of our best examples are coming
from the business world.
And this actually was a true story that we love.
I know I do.
This was a manager that was attending a meeting
used a filter and became a potato and could not get
out of that ground picture because she was afraid
that she would actually disconnect from her meeting.
So she became the potato manager for the entire meeting.
And then we have the attorney who was the cat
and there is, there's actually a video.
I see some head nods where he says, I'm not a cat.
Oh, okay.
That's great that they did not let you pass the bar
as a cat.
But, and the judge, I think actually walked this attorney
through getting that filter off
but how nice a judge is that?
And I'm sure the attorney left an impression so to speak.
And then this is kind of a quiz for you.
This is a another professional meeting.
Can anybody tell me what is different about this picture?
You're in a meeting.
Oh, I see a Kelly is, is doing it.
Okay. She's given me the
the motion that is actually a seatbelt.
Yes. This is an Ohio city council member who was
at home in his office.
Yeah right.
You have your seatbelt on
and you clearly are looking like into traffic.
So busted you.
It might not be a good idea to be driving
while in a professional meeting.
But if you are, I don't know
maybe take off your seatbelt and park.
So there are so many different things.
I know that there's been a lot of things in the chat too.
And we want to attend to that.
I'm going to let Olimpia address this slide.
And I think Dr. Obasi there's maybe one more.
-: So, so what is the most important piece
of that image just is a representation of our students.
I don't work directly with the students. However,
I'm happy to say that
I help others to support students.
And I am a happy when I had the opportunity to
help them directly or indirectly.
And again, being aware of the
where they are at. Be aware of their needs, be aware
of what do we need to be teaching them, not only teach
but also what would you like to educate our
students about it because it is important.
The things that they have to learn it from the university
But each one of us, as educators,
we also, we have the things that we would like to
educate students on top of the subject matters
that they have to learn.
So our students, it is the most important piece
and everything that we do it is it's going to reflect
it's going to contribute into their future.
Next slide please.
-: So in the interest of time
I'm just going to summarize comparatively quickly.
And we learned quite a bit.
We're still learning in this process, but
if there's things that kind of like jump out at us
it would be these, these three things to begin with.
We were forced to be rapid responders.
We, some of us held those roles, anyhow, unofficially
in our departments and in our colleges and so on.
But for all of us in the higher ed space
we had to really be learned to be responsive
to students and colleagues and faculty.
And non-faculty to just to make sure
that we can all help all our students
through the process and
and receive the education that they deserve.
The other aspect
of this is this idea of being digitally literate.
We always assume that our students
because they are I-Gen, Gen Zs and so
on that they are the experts when it comes to technology.
And we'll because we have a multi-generational environment.
We have to realize that we communicate differently.
We access technology differently.
We have to attend to that.
Because we work in family science,
we always talk about resilience and mindfulness.
I think for all disciplines, all aspects of higher ed
we really had to learn to lead with grace
and continue to lead with grace and make sure
that we are being the best that we can possibly be
for everyone that, that we impact.
Next slide, please.
So thanks for your time and attention.
If there are any questions, please email us
or drop something in the chat and have a fantastic day.
-: I was going to say just one comment here on the chat area
for those who didn't see from John O'Bryan.
He mentioned that, adding to the piece of
the digital divides, the disproportionate impact
of our most valuable students.
So yes, yes. Thank you.
-: When I see some of the comments, slack was one type
of platform that was used.
Microsoft forms.
Awesome.
But please reach out to us if you have questions,
we're all learning.
WhatsApp, somebody mentioned that.
-: WhatsApp, yeah.
-: Fantastic.
And that was great, internationally to save money
for individuals to talk free, so to speak.
Yeah. Fantastic.
These are great.
Gethub.
I'm picking out the ones that I don't know
but thank you again.