Technology
This competency area focuses on the use of digital tools, resources, and technologies for the advancement of student learning, development, and success as well as the improved performance of student affairs professionals.
Included within this area are knowledge, skills, and dispositions that lead to the generation of digital literacy and digital citizenship within communities of students, student affairs professionals, faculty members, and colleges and universities.
Navigating Handshake - Accessing Center Resources
One of the major softwares and technologies that the APU Career Center utilizes to promote services and engage students is Handshake. Handshake is a software accessible via web browser and app store that connects students, employers, and university career services all together in one place. Handshake is universally used by colleges and universities across the country, making it the #1 way for students to find jobs, network with employers, and interact with university career services at any stage in their academic journey (Handshake, 2020). There are also many behind the scene features that support university career services with tasks such as data collection and analysis. However, one of the barriers that many universities have expressed dealing with, including the APU Career Center, is navigation trouble. In order to ensure that both students and employers are able to connect effectively, I designed and recorded a workshop tutorial for students to support them in navigating all of Handshake’s features. I also ensured that this workshop, both in a live and recorded version, is accessible to both faculty and staff. Creating this tool for students and other campus communities has insured my own expertise in using this software, as well as my ability to effectively guide others in their navigation of the software.
Workshop Approval & Scheduling Procedures Guide
University Career Centers play a key role in determining the successful turnout rate for entire higher education institutions. Whether students graduate or not is often compared with how quickly and how many graduates get a job after receiving their degree. With a high priority being placed on university Career Centers to deliver their services to both entire university current student bodies and alumni student bodies, the use of accessible and innovative technology is crucial (Venable, 2010). In my role as Career Specialist at Azusa Pacific University, on any given day I may find myself navigating and juggling 10+ softwares and digital technologies, all used to streamline our services to various campus communities and student populations. As a student worker and graduate assistant supervisor, I created and published a procedures guide, consisting of step by step navigation tools in order to ensure our Center’s technologies and softwares are effectively used on a daily basis.This guide also serves as key training material when onboarding new career development team members. Through taking on the task of designing this guide, I have become more competent in my ability to easily and efficiently use both old and new technologies that are regularly implemented into daily career procedures.
Statistical Program for Social Sciences (SPSS) Software
For the Quantitative Analysis in College Student Affairs course, we learned how to use the Statistical Program for Social Sciences (SPSS) software to input, analyze, and report data sets. I had already gained experience using this software as a psychology undergraduate, however, using this software in the context of student affairs and higher education for the first time provided new insight. I re-discovered my strengths in data analysis, and knowing that I would be using this type of data and software analytics in my line of work has been a huge motivator to become proficient in using SPSS software. This artifact specifically contains examples of using various statistical methods, specifically Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), correlation, and Chi-Square. These methods allow you to collect data concisely and bring a larger meaning to the research you are conducting (Morgan, Barrett, Leech, & Gloeckner, 2019). After taking this course, my confidence in tackling data analysis using SPSS software has grown immensely, and I find myself seeking out opportunities to both gather and analyze data within my work.