Q&A with Keynote Speaker Rey Junco

Q&A: Amy Korthank and Keynote Speaker Rey Junco, originally uploaded by NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising.

After a great opening keynote session last night, NACADA member Amy Korthank had an opportunity to ask some follow up questions with Rey Junco. Don't forget to check out Rey's blog and follow him on twitter.com/reyjunco to continue the conversation on social media and student engagement.

The day has arrived - welcome to Orlando

We are officially kicking off the Annual Conference tonight with the Opening General Session on Sunday, October 3 from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. in the Coronado Ballroom. You will hear from NACADA leadership and the plenary speaker, Rey Junco.

Here’s a formal welcome from Conference Chair Jose Rodriguez, thanks Jose…

Welcome to Orlando! Thanks for joining us this year; we are very excited to have you as our guests. On behalf of this year’s planning committee, I’d like to extend a warm welcome to all our new and returning attendees. I’d also like to extend a special welcome to all our international attendees.

I encourage you to meet with others, discuss issues, exchange numbers and e-mails. This conference is more than just about attending sessions, but also about getting connected with colleagues from around the nation and the world.

I hope you will also participate in our online endeavors. This year, NACADA has got social media covered. We are tweeting, blogging, facebooking (yes, it’s a verb), and flickering. I encourage you to add to the online discussion and community. Our online endeavors are meant to be an extension of the face-to-face experience. Regardless of your level of expertise with online media, I encourage you to share your NACADA stories with us, your pictures, and to see what others are chatting about.

On behalf of the conference committee, Region 4, and the NACADA family, welcome again to your national conference!

Speaker Spotlight: Rey Junco

With only 47 days left to go until the Annual Conference, I wanted to spotlight another speaker. Dr. Rey Junco is currently an Associate Professor and the Director of Disability Services in the Department of Academic Development and Counseling at Lock Haven University. He is widely regarded as a leading scholar on social media in higher education. Take a few moments to read Rey's article, "Using Emerging Technologies to Engage Students and Enhance Their Success," in the September issue of Academic Advising Today. You can follow him on twitter.com/reyjunco and check out his blog.

I wanted NACADA members to gain insight into what Rey will be speaking about at the opening session, so he took the time to answer a few questions.

Brad Popiolek: Why were you interested in speaking at the NACADA Annual Conference?

Rey Junco: It's a fascinating coincidence that ten years ago I presented one of my first national conference sessions at the NACADA conference in Orlando. That was four years before Facebook launched. Clearly, the technologies available and the ways that students interact with them, grow and learn because of them, and are challenged by them has changed considerably. I'm excited to be sharing what I've learned in these ten years about how we, as advisors, can best use technology to support our students.

BP: Describe some of your research interests and how they may relate to academic advising.

RJ: I focus on assessing the impact of emerging technologies on student psychosocial development, engagement, and success. Lately, I've focused a lot on social media such as Facebook and Twitter. While there is a good deal of interest in using newer technologies in higher education, research examining educational and developmental outcomes is scarce. Therefore, I focus on clarifying the impacts that social media have on our students through data-driven approaches. My goal is for advisors to be able to use my results to decide which technologies will be most effective to use with their students and to uncover the most effective ways to use them.

BP: What are possible topics that NACADA members can anticipate hearing about from you?

RJ: Most people think that, because of my research, I'm a digital evangelist. In reality, I take a very measured approach in considering educationally-relevant uses of technology. While attendees will hear me talk about the positive outcomes of student technology use, they'll also hear me talk about the pitfalls. Additionally, I believe it's important not to categorize all students as having equal technology skills just because they are younger than we are or grew up at a time when our society is saturated by technology. So, attendees will also hear me talk about digital inequalities in student ownership and use of technology, something that is of great importance and interest to me.

Rey Junco will be speaking at the Opening General Session on Sunday, October 3 from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. in the Coronado Ballroom

Speaker Spotlight: Vasti Torres

NACADA is excited to have Dr. Vasti Torres as the Plenary Speaker at the 2010 Annual Conference. Dr. Torres is currently a faculty member in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Indiana University. She teaches classes in student affairs administration, student development theory, diversity, and research in higher education.

I wanted NACADA members to learn more about Vasti prior to the conference, so she took the time to do a quick Q&A as the conference approaches - only 54 days to go!!!

Brad Popiolek: Why were you interested in speaking at the NACADA Annual Conference?

Vasti Torres: Regardless of the type of campus, residential or commuter, the academic advisor is the one person that every student should have contact with. What I think is critical in helping students is that advisors must take an active outreach role - many times it is assumed that students understand the advisor role and will come to the person. My research illustrates that this is not the case for all students.

BP: Describe some of your research interests and how they may relate to academic advising.

VT: Early on in my longitudinal study of Latino/a college students I found that having a mentor or advisor was very important to the students who were processing and developing. As a result I added this as an item to the survey of the students I was following - the results illustrate this importance. The issue is that not all students had identified a mentor or advisor - this means there is much more work that needs to be done.

BP: What are possible topics that NACADA members can anticipate hearing about from you?

VT: Some confirmation of the importance of the academic advisor and then some challenges about how this work should be done to reach students who may not understand what this role is.

Vasti Torres will be speaking in Orlando on Tuesday, October 5 from 8:30-10:00 a.m. in the Coronado Ballroom.