by
Jennifer Kowalewski
While flipping
through the chapters of the manual of FrontPage, a Web
site creation software program, Jill Harman saw
information about using chat rooms. Harman, the associate
director of admissions, realized that chat room technology could
help make life easier for new students.
So in 2004,
students entering OU-COM began to utilize the school’s first
electronic message board.
“The board,” says
John Schriner, director of admissions, “has provided a
venue to make the transition easier not only for those heading
to OU-COM, but those new to the Athens community.”
Since the board’s
inception, admissions has posted information such as reminders
for filing deadlines and financial aid. As it evolved in 2005,
the electronic message board became a great place for incoming
students to find housing or roommates, connect with classmates
or learn about faculty and curricula.
Incoming students
can use the board for information gathering before classes
start. This way, when classes begin, students are already
familiar with the system. Faculty and staff also have the
opportunity to use the board for disseminating information to
students.
Survey results
from 2005 show that 70 percent of incoming students says the
board was helpful in getting to know classmates. Also, 76
percent found the board helpful for obtaining needed
information, while 83 percent would like to see more current
students and alums using the board to share their knowledge.
Kate Yanko,
a first-year medical student, used the board for connecting with
others already at OU-COM. She was an undergraduate at Ohio
University.
“I put my contact
info up there and offered to show anyone around Athens, to
answer questions, etc.,” she says. “A lot of incoming students
got a hold of me. Coming from their point of view, the
discussion board helped facilitate getting to know the
university and Athens.”
At first, she
found an unequal distribution of use, with some using it
constantly while others never seemed to. But having the board
was better than not having it, though, as it helped Yanko find
roommates.
In the next
several weeks, messaging is planned to switch to Blackboard, an
electronic classroom community already in use by Ohio
University.
“Going to
Blackboard is the logical evolutionary step for our information
sharing needs,” says Harman.
Because of her
experience, Yanko sits on a committee which makes
recommendations for the next version of Blackboard. She wants to
continue improving it for incoming classes of the future.
“In general,
being a student on the committee means making sure the
Blackboard site is cohesive, easy to navigate, complete and that
you don’t have to search in 80 places for one piece of
information,” Yanko says. “People differ in the way they
organize information, but I’m trying to give the student
perspective, using my own personal experiences with the message
board. The discussion board is something I’d like to see
utilized more, and we are definitely working towards that for
incoming classes.”
She and other
students are working on a comprehensive section called “Life in
Athens,” with information ranging from housing and roommates to
area parks, recreation and services unique to Athens.
“No matter how
great we make a site, if no one uses it, it’s pointless,” she
says. “So, the real challenge is getting those who aren’t
comfortable with using a discussion board an epicenter for info
gathering and exchange. Many students are already very computer
literate and participate readily, so there already is a wide
distribution of use among them.”
And the board has
other uses for OU-COM as well. In November, OU-COM partnered
with the University of Michigan Medical School to present a
lecture on using technology to communicate with prospective
medical students at the American Association of Medical Colleges
Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.
Schriner says
continually updating the message board shows OU-COM’s commitment
to its students.
“When we did this
at first, we thought, ‘we can do better,’” he says. “And we did
better. But then we decided to improve it even more. That’s
indicative of OU-COM. Something may be great, but it can always
be made better.”
As for the
future, the Office of Admissions will continue to work with
incoming and current students to improve the way in which OU-COM
communicates with its future students.
“And from there,
who knows?”
- 30 -
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