Can a digital whiteboard foster student engagement?

ABSTRACT

The application of technology, such as interactive digital whiteboards, in the online environment of higher education, is growing at an accelerated pace. Much is known about the tools used in an on-ground course to promote student engagement, but the literature is scant on tools to promote student engagement in the online environment. The purpose of this study is to explore qualitative data from students on faculty efforts to promote student engagement through leveraged digital whiteboard technology. A qualitative review of feedback from graduate students (n = 81) qualitative responses from open-ended questions and follow up online focus group sessions (n = 9) indicate that this technology can be useful to promote a sense of social engagement among students. It is expected that this knowledge will help instructors to better understand what promotes student engagement in an online graduate social work cohort. This learning tool can be used to promote further engagement in future assignments.

KEYWORDS:

• Student engagement
• technology
• digital whiteboard

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Michael Campbell

Michael Campbell attained his PhD from the Public Affairs program at the University of Central Florida and his Bachelors and Master’s Degrees in Social Work from The Florida State University with an emphasis on children and family issues. Prior to arrival at Saint Leo University he taught at the University of Central Florida in their College of Medicine and their School of Social Work. Dr. Campbell currently serves as an Associate Professor in the Masters in Social Work program at Saint Leo University. He has more than two decades of clinical and administrative experience in social work practice in specialty areas ranging from child welfare, child and adolescent mental health to pediatric wellness and pediatric healthcare. His research interests focus on issues of family engagement, child and adolescent mental health, pediatric wellness and child welfare / public policy.

Maridelys Detres

Maridelys Detres, Ph.D. is the Senior Course Analyst at Saint Leo University. She has a doctorate degree in Public Health and a Masters in Applied Medical Anthropology from the University of South Florida. Dr. Detres has 21 years of experience in research, data analysis and evaluation focusing on using data to inform and develop community partnerships. Her experience working as a mental health researcher, as a data analyst and quality improvement manager, equipped her with analytic skills and the ability to translate data into action for multiple stakeholders.

Robert Lucio

Robert Lucio, Ph.D. received his B.A from the University of Florida, M.S.W. from Florida State University, and a PH.D. in Social Work from the University of South Florida. Dr. Lucio is a licensed clinical social worker, with over 18 years of experience working directly with youth “at-risk” of adverse behavioral, academic, and mental health outcomes. Currently he is an Associate Professor at Saint Leo University in the graduate social work program. He has taught at the Undergraduate, Masters, and Doctoral level, including courses on research, practice, cultural competence, child development, and family/community violence. Dr. Lucio has also consulted with local school districts to enhance social workers use of evidence informed interventions and has been actively involved school mental health. Dr. Lucio is experienced at developing models of risk and protective factors in youth, providing trainings on cultural competence, and serving as a national panelist looking at the impact of ethnicity and ethnicity and cultural diversity on the educational outcomes for youth with disabilities for the U.S. Department of Education. His focus is on how risk and protective factors interact to affect child, youth and family cognitive, social, and emotional development.