Just Published: “College Student Development in Digital Spaces” in “Engaging the Digital Generation”

I'm pleased to share that the new volume of New Directions for Student Services that I've been collaborating on for the past year is finally available online!  Engaging the Digital Generation, edited by Josie Ahlquist and Ed Cabellon, focuses on issues confronting college students and higher education professionals related to technology.  The chapters in this volume... Continue Reading →

DOWNLOAD MY DISSERTATION: College Students, Social Media, Digital Identities, and the Digitized Self

I am happy to finally make my entire final dissertation available for all to download and read.  This document represents some of the first qualitative research into how traditionally aged college students use social media and its impact on their development and how they construct identities online.  If you want a more detailed description, I've included the... Continue Reading →

We All Have One. What Is Your Digital Stamp?

We all have one whether we want to or not.  One's digital stamp, a term coined by Erik Qualman, is the sum total of everything about you in the digital domain.  One's digital stamp, sometimes referred to as one's digital identity, is a key concept that we all must be aware of when we interact online.... Continue Reading →

What Does Digitized College Student Development Look Like?

A good friend and colleague, David Kasch, presented a paper at the ASHE conference back in 2011 where he attempted to analyze/categorize developmental theories by their narrative patterns.  Some theories represent linear patterns, whereas others are continua, and still others follow intersectional or vector patterns.  The above graphic is a modification of David's original concept, but should... Continue Reading →

Presenting at University of Delaware Today…

I have the privilege of sharing my time and space today with the staff and students at the University of Delaware.  There are two workshops I'll be giving which are both revamped presentations with a lot of new content arising out of my research.  Hopefully you will find the information helpful as well. In particular, one... Continue Reading →

Presenting at Boston Latin School Today…

I'm excited to be presenting at Boston Latin School today for a number of reasons... One.  Boston Latin is the first and oldest public school in the United States.  As an exam/application-based school, it recruits some of the best and brightest in the Boston area and boasts a number of notable alumni (Samuel Adams, Leonard... Continue Reading →

4 Things Every New Digital #SAgrad Should Do 2015

  It's time for a yearly update! My advice for the digital #SAgrad of 2015... So you've recently started your journey towards a Master's degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs.  CONGRATULATIONS!  As a former instructor in a number of these programs, one of the topics I like to review with my students is how they can... Continue Reading →

Adding ‘Digital Identity’ to your Student ‘Development’ Syllabus [REBLOG]

Once a month I reblog a post from a colleague that I think deserves to be shared more widely.  This month’s comes from Dr. Paul Eaton, who is researching similar topics as myself: the impact of social media and digital technology on the college student developmental process (or as Paul would describe it, “becoming”).  Take a look at this great post from Paul on how one may integrate concepts of “digital identity” into traditional college student development courses.  Some great resources here.

Paul William Eaton

It is the start of spring semester here at Louisiana State University.  I am fortunate, blessed, and honored to once again be co-teaching our Master’s Level Student Development Theory course, alongside Dr. Danielle Alsandor and Kristin Satterlee (pedagogically, team-teaching is an incredible opportunity to add diverse perspectives to a classroom).

We have decided to add discussions of ‘digital identity’ to our syllabus.  This is an ethical responsibility, necessary and important for future leaders in our profession.  If you are teaching student development theory this spring, or in the near future, consider adding this important new component to your syllabus.

Many synoptic texts do not currently have chapters dedicated to this topic, so here is a list and brief overview of some readings we are including this spring.

Becoming and Belonging

This chapter, by Rob Cover (2014), is part of an excellent edited text from the University of Wisconsin Press entitled 

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#ACPA15 Presentation: What Grad School Didn’t Teach You About Your Digital Life

Josie Ahlquist and I are proud to be collaborating on an exciting session for the upcoming 2015 International Convention of ACPA-College Student Educators International.  This session is intended for all levels of professionals who want to learn about how to develop a positive digital presence online and leverage digital and social tools for professional development.  This practical session... Continue Reading →

3 Things Every New Digital #SAgrad Should Do 2014

So you've recently started your journey towards a Master's degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs.  CONGRATULATIONS!  As an instructor in one of these programs, one of the topics I like to review with my students is how they can begin to network and gain valuable professional development... digitally... and often for free.  Going digital... Continue Reading →

The Difference Between a College Student’s DIGITAL and ONLINE Identity (And Why We’re Getting it Wrong)

As you probably know at this point, my research involves college students and how they construct a sense of self in digital and social media spaces.  In conducting this research, I've encountered the term "digital identity" frequently.  I've used it, and some of my doctoral student colleague friends have written about it (including Paul Eaton, Josie Ahlquist, and Ed... Continue Reading →

Applying Bronfenbrenner’s Student Development Theory to College Students & Social Media

Tweet http://youtu.be/fBLuzUk5NII (One of my colleagues and friends, Paul Eaton, wrote a great blog post about Bronfenbrenner's applicability to online/social media spaces.  I also wanted to have a go at the topic, so I purposely didn't re-read his post until after publishing this one... and there's agreement... but with a twist... read on...) Urie Bronfenbrenner's theory of... Continue Reading →

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