Technology KG

Professional Development - Technology KG

Technology Bootcamp Recap

August 9, 2019 by 0 Comments

Summer Technology Boot Camp

By Kelly Atwood, Assistant Chair of the Technology KG, Mississippi State University

The Technology KG hosted its 3rd annual Boot Camp July 24-25. This two-day webinar event began as the brainchild of Peter Thorsett (University of South Florida) and Sally Perez-Ramos (St. Edward’s University) to provide technology-focused professional development to the KG and overall SoACE membership. Each year, the event has evolved in the types of technology and marketing platforms included in the programming, as well as the variety of KG and association members both presenting and participating.

The 2019 Boot Camp showcased seven presentations from members at six institutions and across four states.  Coordinator of the SoACE Technology Boot Camp, Danielle Golinski (Elon University), noted that she was impressed with the level of knowledge and willingness of all presenters to share what they know virtually. The boot camp is a fantastic opportunity for all SoACE members to learn and support each other, from the comfort of their office, during the summer season to further promote continued learnings.

In two packed days, Boot Camp participants learned about chatbots; email and social media analytics; résumé technology; impactful and targeted messaging to Gen Z students; utilizing institutional research software to attract new talent; Slack; and driving student engagement through technology and data. Each session offered knowledge sharing, insights, and best practices for career services and employer members.  For those who missed out on this year’s Boot Camp, or want to revisit a session, all webinars were recorded and are available on the SoACE website.

The Boot Camp has afforded the opportunity to increase KG member involvement and a foray into leadership with the KG.  The past Boot Camp coordinators (Peter, Sally, and I) have all served or currently are serving in leadership roles. We are proud of Danielle’s coordination of the event, and anticipate her contributions to the KG and the association to grow. We thank all of the presenters for their time and willingness to share their knowledge, the SoACE and KG leadership for support and promotion of the event, and of course, all the attendees for joining one or all seven webinars.

The next Technology KG member meeting will be September 4 at 1 p.m. CDT/2 p.m. EDT (call-in details:  https://zoom.us/j/256607305). All SoACE members interested in learning about the KG, sharing technology insights or challenges, or discussing trends are welcome. Slack or email Laura Kalb (lkalb@trinity.edu);, Technology KG Chair, or me (katwood@career.msstate.edu); with any questions, comments, or suggestions for the KG.

Recordings of the Technology Boot Camp Webinars can be found on the Archived Program page on the SoACE website.

Professional Development - Technology KG

4 Simple Reasons to Register for the SoACE Technology Boot Camp

May 31, 2019 by 0 Comments

by Danielle Golinski, Elon University & SoACE Technology Boot Camp Chair

The third annual SoACE Technology Boot Camp is quickly approaching! On Wednesday July 24 and Thursday July 25, SoACE members will connect virtually to learn how colleagues are exploring marketing techniques and utilizing technology trends in their respective spaces. We have so much to learn from each other! So, put on your comfiest of clothes, grab a cup of joe, your techiest way to take notes, and learn something new from your colleagues!

Now, why should you register for sessions of interest? Read on:

  1. It’s free! Yes, really! SoACE provides so many fantastic, fun and free opportunities to continue the learning for everyone at every stage in their professional development. This is just another great option to spice up your month.
  2. It’s convenient! Attend every 1-hour session (8 total) to fill up your afternoons or pick and choose a topic that catches your attention. And, if the dates don’t work for you, the sessions will be recorded so you can watch them on your own time. At the airport, on the beach, or at home the opportunities to watch are literally endless. Yay!
  3. Learn something new! If you have “Learner” in your Top 5 Strengths like I do, then you know how I feel about learning something new. I’m a total geek when it comes to the process of learning something new. I get excited and I get energized. Don’t you? Even if you don’t have Learner in your Top 5 you are still encouraged to stretch outside of your initial learning bubble and consider the “what if” option. If you can’t benefit directly from the content, maybe on of your colleagues at your institution or across your state would benefit. Here’s your line: “Hey Sam! I just learned some really unique program ideas at a virtual technology boot camp offered through SoACE. It was so helpful! I know that you’ve got a lot going on this summer, so let me treat to you a cup of coffee next week so that I can share with you everything I learned as I think the project that you’re working on with Joseph would greatly benefit from this new information.” You’re welcome!
  4. Support your fellow colleagues! Show your colleagues (whether you’ve met them or not) some virtual love. Let’s show up in the masses, and interact with them. Send them questions through the platform and follow up with them after to continue the conversation offline. The community of SoACE is strong and mighty, let’s continue this incredible trend! No pressure!

I’ve thought of at least 4. If you could add one more, what would it be? Technology Boot Camp registration coming soon! Keep an eye out in your email!

Questions about the boot camp? Contact Danielle Golinski (dgolinski@elon.edu). Can’t wait to “see” you there!

Technology KG

Introducing Technology Spotlight!

January 25, 2019 by 0 Comments
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Technology vendors. Just hearing that phrase can invoke concern, stress, anxiety, or even fear. Yet we know that many of them provide our offices with a wide variety of solutions and services which we can use to better serve our students and meet their career needs.

But how can we learn about all of these different tools without triggering a seemingly endless stream of phone calls and emails?  And how do we acknowledge the important contributions that vendors are making to our profession and make them feel welcome in our Association?

At the 2018 Annual Conference in Atlanta, the Technology Knowledge Group (Tech KG) hosted several sessions with our membership to better understand their needs when it comes to evaluating, demo-ing, and purchasing new software and services. One of the messages we heard loud and clear was the need for a way for our members to be able to hear from and interact with vendors, without having to get onto the sales track.

The leadership of the Tech KG considered these questions and feedback at our December and January leadership planning meetings and we are pleased to announce a new, year-long webinar series: TECHNOLOGY SPOTLIGHT.

Each 75-minute Technology Spotlight will focus on a specific type of technology, problem, or service area. The first 30 minutes of the session will be a moderated panel-style conversation where we invite the participating vendors to answer some of your most pressing questions related to the Spotlight’s topic. We will then provide another 30 minutes for up to three different vendors to do a high-level demo of their products. Finally, the last 15 minutes of each Spotlight will allow participants to ask questions about the products to the vendors.

Each Technology Spotlight will be recorded and archived to the SoACE MemberClicks website, so that you can view them anytime.

We are excited to share that for the Spring, we have the following Technology Spotlights planned:

  • March 19, 2019 at 2 p.m. (ET) / 1 p.m. (CT), we will be looking at interview technologies.
  • May 21, 2019 at 2 p.m. (ET) / 1 p.m. (CT), we will be looking at resume technologies.

This fall, we are exploring Technology Spotlights on online and virtual fair technologies, career development and learning technologies, and a Spotlight on hot technologies leading into the Tech KG Pre-Conference Session!

To help make the moderated panel a positive experience for our members and our participating vendors, we invite all members to submit their questions in advance, online at http://TechSpotlight.usfcs.info. 

If members have specific vendors, technologies, or services you would like to see covered in an upcoming Technology Spotlight, please feel free to reach out to either Peter Thorsett (pethorsett@usf.edu) or Ashley Graham Phipps (phippsac@wfu.edu).

If you’re a vendor and would to be considered for an upcoming Spotlight, please contact either Peter or Ashley.

We invite all SoACE members to join us for this exciting new program!

Watch your email and SoACE social media channels for the registration information for our first Spotlight on March 19th.

Ashley Graham Phipps
Emerging Technologies Coordinator, SoACE Tech KG
Assistant Director, Employer Relations
Wake Forest University

Peter Thorsett
Past Chair, SoACE Tech KG
Director, Strategic Initiatives, Communications, & Research
Division of Community Engagement & Career Readiness
University of South Florida