College students as catalysts for social change: a case study
Business School Influences
Download 0.54 Mb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- Technology
- Template Model
- Customizable Mass Production
Business School InfluencesThe founders all being business majors had an influence on the formation of SLP. Mackenzie talked about the MAD tour being the only “product” that didn’t require 100% satisfaction. During the training sessions I observed terminology such as referring to students as a “distinct target market”, understanding “the audience” and the “market’s needs.” One of the documents I reviewed talked about SLP being in the “business of people.” The business backgrounds of the founders with specific skill sets such as Pete focusing on non-profits, Mackenzie on marketing, Nickers on accounting and Roy on leadership elements has been beneficial to the overall success of the group. TechnologyCurrent social factors such as technology and social networking have provided greater opportunities for SLP to spread nationally. As Allen and Cherrey (2000) stated, this is the networked knowledge era. “A typical 21-year old today has, on average, exchanged 250,000 emails, instant messages, and phone text messages; talked on a cell phone for 10,000 hours; and spent 3,500 hours online” (Leick, 2008, p. 6). Because of this network, millennial students tend to be multi-taskers, processing multiple information streams at once. While on the MAD tour, most of the buses had laptop computers and students set up blog sites to share their experiences with family members and friends back at home. On one of the tours I was on, a bus core member used his computer to Google directions for a restaurant when the driver got lost. He relayed the information to the bus driver from the front seat. Prensky (2001) calls these users of technology, Digital Immigrants and Digital Natives. Immigrants are those who have learned to use technology but will always carry some accent from their past. Digital Natives are the college students of today and technology is part of their makeup. Digital Natives are used to receiving information quickly. They have been networked their entire lives and are used to multi-tasking. They listen to the music they have selected on their I-pods, while instant messaging on their computers, and texting on their phones. They thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards (Prensky, 2001). The implications of the use of technology by these Digital Natives for higher education are immense. SLP has used this technology to their advantage in staying in contact with their chapters and nurturing relationships through this medium. The bus cores can also quickly and easily set up various service projects and overnight accommodations in cities all over the country by using the Internet. There are numerous YouTube videos from the various MAD tours that are out on the web promoting the organization. During an observation, a unique example of the use of technology was a student board member who was studying abroad in Ecuador who used a free program called “Skype” to call into the meeting. SLP is using technology to build their organization similar to the yeast analogy of Allen and Cherrey (2000), they have the right combination of people and conditions. Template ModelThe Make a Difference tour is virtually the exact same model the founders created on day four of meeting together as freshman. In asking them how the MAD tour has changed, Roy said once they did a service project in the afternoon instead of the morning but they didn’t think it was effective, so they changed it back. The template is the same. Mackenzie references this when she says, “tell me any night of the week and I will tell you what the group is doing and where their energy level should be.” It is the “paint by number” concept. One reason it is successful is because it allows students with very little previous leadership to step into positions and be successful. This is because of the template model and the exercises provided in the tour manual. The students chose what they feel most comfortable using. It allows for personalization but within parameters. The model is very successful, and it has made a great impact on the students that participate, as seen from some of the transformation discussions in my research. There are definitely aspects of the program that could be replicated and the participants that are involved develop transferable skills. This issue was actually raised as a concern by Roy: One thing I question is what if someone took these skills and tools that we are providing and did harm? The skills we teach could help you run an effective drug circle, could help you run an effective manipulation plan of, I don’t know, trafficking children or something and, you know, we are asking people to use it in the positive but someone could take these skills and use it for the negative and I worry about that. Clearly while this template concept has sound roots there is some question about how long it will be effective for students that are hardwired for change. The founders have been very resistant to major changes within the MAD template believing very strongly in what they have created. It works very effectively with this population, but how long before this population also changes? A legitimate concern that was expressed by Roy is that of using the skills that are taught for harm. The founders have high ethics and values and the concern is very real for them.
An example of how mass customization is already being used is in college admissions. Students who inquire on websites identify interests and as the student revisits the college website the profile is customized to his or her desires highlighting arts, sports, clubs or any other unique information shared by the student. Another example of how this customization of education is impacting our K-12 institutions can be seen in the following statistic. Charter schools have increased to 3,625 schools serving approximately 1,076,964 students in 41 states (Center for Education Reform, 2006). This is an example of customizing education by both parents and students. It seems that SLP is actually just mirroring a trend within our society. The MAD tour allows for flexibility of choice thus using the “mass customization” or mad lib concept where students can personalize it or fill in the blanks on what they want to do. Yet the template remains constant. Directory: assets -> files files -> Класс unit 1 Чтение files -> Darcy was born February 16, 1953 in Vancouver and played 11 years in the nhl drafted 13 files -> Judicial Action in the Aftermath of Aviation Accidents: a global Perspective files -> Version: 19 November 2015 files -> Rules of Procedure of the ospar commission files -> Citizenship: United States business address files -> December 29, 2005 memorandum for: directors, field operations files -> Pprd east Programme Final Conference and 3rd Steering Committee Meeting Brussels, 13 June 2014 Download 0.54 Mb. Share with your friends:
|