Advice to Baruch College

               If I were hired by Baruch to improve the college by using new media, one of the first things I would do is dispose of Blackboard. Blackboard is a slow and cumbersome program, which is constantly under site maintenance and is always causing problems with user logins. Because students cannot always access Blackboard, they sometimes cannot retrieve crucial information and notes that are needed for an upcoming test. Instead, I would propose that all courses be instructed to use class wikis. By using class wikis, students could easily communicate with each other, share documents, and discuss lectures. Meanwhile, teachers could post questions, share announcements, and effectively share class cancellations and changes, without having to worry about whether or not every student received their e-mails. 

                I also think it would be a great idea for professors to hold virtual office hours as well. Many times teachers have a limited number of hours in which they are available outside of class and in order to see them you must either find a way to make it there on time, or schedule a future appointment for on another date. In contrast, by using chat rooms and programs such as Skype, I feel that a teacher would be more accessible. For those who could not physically make it to the professor’s office, they could still connect via a webcam or instant message. This would be very beneficial and efficient for students, while posing little to no extra burden on teachers. 

                 Baruch also needs to leverage its current new media mediums in order to generate more public awareness. For instance, I personally did know that they had created a Facebook page detailing certain events and information. I think they should take this idea one step further and actually create a public profile for the college and interact on a more personal basis with students. The school should also promote and use its Twitter more as well. They should use these mediums for posting school closings and delays in advance, rather than waiting for the last minute to post announcements up on the school’s website. I remember having to wake up at 6 a.m. one day and waiting for them to post on the school website whether or not there would be a snow day. Technology can change the way students connect with their school and new media is a great place to start.