Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
(2)
Mentoring model.
Because the ACT program was designed as an orientation
program and its goal to guide participants to think about their role in the cam-
pus community, mentoring was a crucial element. Besides providing technical
support and guiding participants through the activities, peer leaders took part
in designing the curriculum and activities outside of the computer labs. For
the ACT program, including peer leaders in the design process was critical in
fostering the mentoring relationship between the peer leaders and participants.
Peer leaders had the opportunity to share their experience of being upperclass-
men with participants through the activities and experience they designed. This
included simple topics such as which ice-cream store to visit after a group din-
ner, to which administrative office to contact to most efficiently learn about what
campus dining did with leftover food. The intention throughout was to provide a
genuine experience for both the peer leaders and the participants through which
to build a mentoring relationship that could last beyond the 3-day program. The
success of the ACT mentoring model was evident in that over half of the first
year participants volunteered, without prompt, to return as peer leaders for the
second year.
(3)
Diversity.
One of the first tasks of the program was to decide on selecting a
group of 18 participants. The issue of diversity for this program rested in techni-
cal competency, previous experience with civic or community related activities,
and exposure to the community neighboring the university. Unlike the first case
study where racial and ethnic diversity purposefully played a major role in the
participant selection process, this study aimed to select students from a range
of technological experience, and from different types of communities. We also
intended to include in the sample two to three international students each year to
align with the student population at the university. Initially, we hoped to recruit
an approximately equal sample of male students and female students; however,
the lack of female applicants caused us to remove gender as a recruitment crite-
rion. Through our analysis of the Zora log and field notes, we found patterns of
Zora interactions that could be attributed to the diversity of participants' back-
ground. For example, participants who reported to be less social media savvy,
including one participant who had a difficult time keeping up with typing in the
chat, tended to create and build more objects. Log data showed that they were
more likely to take directions and take others' discussion and turn them into
objects and 3D exhibits.
(4)
Project scale.
Because of the context of ACT as an orientation program, we
were not able to test the technical issues related to scalability. This issue was
addressed in a different case study. Instead, the ACT program was piloted to test
whether the university could uptake this and could offer portions of the program
for all students on campus for extended projects or as part of the typical student
life experience offered. Only 18 participants attended each year of the program
and thus we focused the scalability issue on whether students could find an
interest in using the Zora interface as a tool to communicate and form a network,
and at the same time use it as a space for sharing ideas about their campus life
with administrators. The mentoring model was one of the outcome questions
