Raines Colloquium: The Digitized Contexts of College Student Learning and Development

Technology has increasingly blurred the lines between our physical and digital world—enabling new organizational forms and new ways of being. As we grapple with these changes, it is critical that we seek to understand their potential ramifications on society as a whole and on college students, and the college student experience, in particular. This lecture will discuss the nature of digitized contexts and the ways in which this is transforming both higher education and its students.

Dr. Paul Gordon Brown is a scholar, consultant and speaker specializing in residential curriculum and curricular approaches, and in student learning and development’s intersection with technology, social media and design. A coffee adherent, a traveler and a thrill seeker, Paul has worked in various locations from Anchorage to London. As an independent speaker and consultant, he has keynoted conferences and spoken to diverse audiences nationally and internationally from Canada to Dubai. Paul’s doctoral research at Boston College focused on college student social media use and its impact on college student development, identity, and self concept. Paul holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the State University of New York College at Geneseo, and a Master of Science degree in College Student Personnel from Western Illinois University. Paul has also studied at Miami University in Oxford, OH and at New College, Oxford University, in the United Kingdom. Paul currently works as the Director of Curriculum, Training, and Research at the higher education technology software company, Roompact, focusing on advancing and enhancing residential student learning.