Full Description
Winner of the 2018 Association for the Study of Higher Education Outstanding Book Award
Technology and Engagement is based on a four-year study of how first generation college students use social media, aimed at improving their transition to and engagement with their university. Through web technology, including social media sites, students were better able to maintain close ties with family and friends from home, as well as engage more with social and academic programs at their university. This 'ecology of transition' was important in keeping the students focused on why they were in college, and helped them become more integrated into the university setting. By showing the gains in campus capital these first-generation college students obtained through social media, the authors offer concrete suggestions for how other universities and college-retention programs can utilize the findings to increase their own retention of first-generation college students.
Contents
Introduction 1
1. Engagement and Campus Capital 23
2. Being First-Gen on Campus 48
3. Web 2.0 Technologies on Campus 66
with contributions by Adam Gismondi, Kevin Gin,
Sarah Knight, Jonathan Lewis, & Scott Radimer
4. Transition and Campus Engagement 96
with contributions by Kevin Gin & Scott Radimer
5. Bridges to Campus Capital in the Classroom 118
with contributions by Jonathan Lewis & Sarah Knight
6. Propositions for Change 141
with contributions by Kevin Gin
Acknowledgments 163
Appendix: Research Methods 165
References 171
Index 191
