View All Pages

W10.3 SoMe and Higher Education

Social Media and Higher Education

This page was created by the Social Media and Higher Education Group. Contributors to this collection include: [names]

Section 1: Introducing the Use of Social Media in Higher Education

Within the context of higher education, social media is used for a variety of purposes.  Social media has been used in institutes of higher education by administrators, teachers, and students alike for such purposes as teaching, learning, marketing, fundraising, and collaborating.

 

Teaching, Learning, and Sharing: Links to an external site.  How Today’s Higher Education Faculty Use Social Media Links to an external site.

Key Ideas: This report identified faculty use and concerns regarding the adoption of social media for teaching.

 

Social Media use rises among university faculty Links to an external site.

Key Ideas: This article reports the results of a research study of 3,000+ faculty.  The research found an increase in the adoption of social media by faculty, particularly younger faculty.  LinkedIn and video has increased in use by faculty and their concerns regarding the use of social media have decreased.

 

How Today’s Higher Education Faculty Use Social Media -  An Infographic Links to an external site.

Key Ideas: This infographic summarize the results of the research reported in the previous article (above).

 

25 Of The Best Pinterest Boards In Education Links to an external site. 

Key Points: Numerous Pinterest boards exist that boast the pride of the university/college community, such as mascots, athletic team accomplishments, scholarships, and social events. The article addresses the broader issue of technology in education, but there are several potential resources on Pinterest related to the use of social media for higher education. Some of the more common boards that will be of benefit to instructors and curriculum developers include inspirational quotes, infographics with tips regarding social media, visual sharing of student work, lesson plans, and student participation (such as, environmental activism, journalism, etc.)

 

Why colleges are Using Pinterest - Infographic Links to an external site.

Key ideas: This infographic summarizes the results reported in the previous article.

 

10 Ways Social Media is Influencing Higher Education Links to an external site.

Key ideas: Social media in higher education is effecting changes in the admissions process, curriculum development and delivery, professional development, teacher-student relationships, community outreach/activism, and cyberbullying prevention.

 

How Students Benefit From Using Social Media Links to an external site.

Key Ideas: Social media platforms are used for building relationships with people whom they might never have a chance to meet in real lives. The level of interaction might also be higher than in real life (IRL). From the depth of engagement arises another benefit - the awareness of the Internet presence which they can further benefit from the workplace, for example in social media marketing and communication. Finally, students are likely to retain large quantities of the information which they process on everyday basis by sharing it on social media platforms.



1.1 Social Media in Teaching:

Partly because of the growth of communication technology, including social media, the border between classroom teaching and all other teaching related activities seem to be disappearing. For instance, teachers may assign work to students outside of the classroom using the social medium and direct students’ attention to social media-based resources. The discussion of the topic may take place in the classroom after which the summary is published online for all students to be able to review the main points and continue the discussion if necessary.  The students may then collaborate on the assignment online and submit the digital copy for peer/teacher assessment.  Some forms of social media are going to be more suitable for some activities more so than for others. For instance, Twitter may be a good brainstorming medium, while other tools might be better suited for working on a final assignment.

 

60 ways to use Twitter in the classroom Links to an external site.

Key Points: As the title indicates, the article presents numerous ways of using Twitter in the classroom. Those are classified into five categories: communication, organization of work and processes, resources, writing skills and exercises. Communication seems to be the most obvious application of a social medium. Out of the number of different applications here, using Twitter to foster students’ participation in large lectures and to provide instant feedback to what they are experiencing in the classroom/lecture hall, seem to be the most interesting ways to use the characteristics of a micro-blogging service. As far as organization is concerned, the teachers can use Twitter to summarize classroom discussions, collate all the ideas, comments and feedback received from students in class, and provide venue for live discussion at the same time. The resources section includes a variety of applications of Twitter. Teachers can use them either directly, by collecting resources and sharing them with their students, or indirectly, by encouraging students to do the research themselves and finding, following and evaluating those feeds which are of use for them, e.g. to obtain career advice or relevant data about the world.  With regard to writing skills, thanks to the limited number of characters allowed in each post, Twitter can be used to practice writing in a concise style. The final section, exercises, contains a plethora of ideas. These include continuing the classroom discussions and giving students extra assignments to work on. Literature or language students can get involved in character personification, where each student chooses a character from a book and assumes their identity on Twitter, engage in a book club and share their micro-reviews, or even write poems and stories – each student contributing a line. It can also be used to build what could be called “the collective identity” of the group, e.g. by creating class newspaper or following and engaging with the same feeds, e.g. important events.

 

How teachers use social media in the classroom to beef up instruction Links to an external site.

Key Ideas: Teachers are embracing a variety of social media platforms to foster open communication, helping students find their voice through blogging, stay informed of recent news, find tutorials, and other resources.  The article concludes with a caution regarding using social media with young children and adhering to institutional policy.

 

Social media expands the classroom Links to an external site. (Must sign-up to view this article.)

 

Can Social Media in the Classroom Give Voice to the Voiceless? Links to an external site.

Key idea: This article proposes the use of social media to give voice to the student who is reluctant to speak-up for fear of peer criticism, rejection, or embarrassment. The Edmodo project gave students anonymous identities in order to facilitate an open conversation that fully involved all students.  

 

1.2 Social Media For Communication

Social media has become a common means for faculty, staff, and students alike to stay in touch.

 

Communicating with Students in a Web 2.0 World Links to an external site.

How Do Libraries Use Social Networking Sites to Interact with Users Links to an external site.

Social Media and College Admissions:  The First Longitudinal Study Links to an external site.

 

Crisis Management: How Higher Education is Using Social Media for Communication and Crisis Management Links to an external site.

Key Points: A survey of 219 key senior communications professionals in universities indicated all their institutions maintain an official Facebook channel and 94% have an official Twitter page. In the 12 months before the survey, 65% of the respondents had experienced a crisis or a media-reported event in their institution.  More than 70% reported that potential reputation-damaging events have been discussed in social media channels in the 12 months prior to the survey.  Only 56% had a social media monitoring system in place to make them aware of breaking news or past or present mentions on online mention of their institution’s name so that they could effectively respond or manage the information being presented.

 

10 Ways Universities are Engaging Alumni Using Social Media Links to an external site.

Key Points:

1.  Helping alumni find jobs

2. Collaboration and connecting with students

3.  Fundraising

4.  Training alumni to use social media

5. Meeting alumni where they’re at

6. Providing tools to spread information

7. Alumni-generated content

8. Promoting alumni networks

9. Mobile reunions

10.  Connecting the dots: google maps

 

The Future of Public Relations in Higher Ed Links to an external site.

Key Points:

  • Higher education institutions have no choice but to tell their own stories.  There are very few traditional media outlets to cover higher ed.  The internet makes it easier and economical to connect with the audience that care about us.

  • If you have a great story, you don’t have to wait for someone to pick it up.  Stories that would interest your target audience.

  • If our goal is to communicate with segmented audiences — prospective students, current students, alumni, parents and the like — then we should definitely reevaluate our content types and how we present the stories. Depending on the audience, a 90-second video may be more appropriate than a press release, or a lengthy article in the alumni magazine

  • We shouldn’t look at the social web as merely a megaphone for our institutional communication. It is more than merely a broadcast medium. It is a monitoring medium, and through monitoring the discussions happening on the social web — about our institutions, our people, the areas of research and expertise we promote, higher education in general — we can learn more about what our audiences care about.

 

phdchat on Twitter Links to an external site.

Key Idea: This article illustrates how one person can set up a regular TweetChat for a particular interest group.  This group is organized for graduate students in Europe to discuss topics of concern a weekly TweetChat.

 

Social Media: A guide for researchers Links to an external site.

Key Ideas: A guide presented by the International Centre for Guidance Studies, according to the Social Media Guide for Researchers, social media best practice means more effective collaboration through: opportunities to forge new collaborations and benefit from the experience of others; drawing expertise to help with research processes (use of techniques, methods and analysis); receiving feedback as you go rather than waiting until you reach high stakes moments like submitting to journals and presenting conference papers; and raising the profile of your work more rapidly than conventional academic publishing allows.

 

QR Codes and Hobsons VIP Pages: Social Media Links to an external site.

 

A recording of how CalPoly uses social media to communicate on daily events.

 

1.3 Social Media For Recruiting:

Institutes of higher education use a broad range of approaches for recruiting; social media is a relatively new tool being used for recruiting new students.

 

Student Recruitment Strategy: 4 Universities, 5 Key Questions Links to an external site.

Key Points: Social media makes it difficult for universities to “fudge” their reputations as students will  expose any inflated claims with a tweet.  On the other hand, the potential for virality makes social media  a great medium to spread a positive message (for example University of Toronto’s students made a very watchable pop video which can be used to target school pupils).

 

How Higher Ed Can Master Student Recruitment on Social Media Links to an external site.

Key Points:  According to 2012 Social Admissions reports, 2/3 of high school students use social media to research colleges and enrollment. 71% (of the 7000 students surveyed) used a mobile device to conduct the research. 88% used Facebook for the search followed by YouTube and Twitter. Students searched on the following information(in order of most valued): 1. Academics, 2. Cost/Financial Aid, 3. Admissions Process, 4. Campus Visit, 5. Campus Life and 6. Athletics

 

Social Media and The Student Recruitment Journey Links to an external site.

Key Points:

How Do Universities Use Social Media:

  • Broadcasting: Notifications of events, course information, University news and contact information.

  • Showing: Using multimedia embedded within social media platforms to show their facilities, departments, students and campus.

  • Engaging: Responding to queries, questions, thoughts and comments of prospective students; giving a more approachable perspective of the larger institution.

  • Advertising: Using data supplied to social media platforms by the users, Universities have the ability to carefully target course and institution advertising at prospective students

 

Social Media Marketing in Higher Education: Why Planning is Important Links to an external site.

Key Ideas: This article provides a brief introduction of the administrative concerns that must be taken into account. Simply put, these include selecting channels, structuring accounts, administering account, audience, account settings and assessment.

 

1.4 Social Media For Fundraising

How Universities Can Use Social Media for Fundraising Links to an external site.

 

Key Points:

  • show impact of gifts: thank you videos on YouTube, livecam of construction site for new buildings

  • empower students and alumni to raise money: crowdfunding

  • make social sharing easy - badges, tweets

Examples of successful fundraising campaigns:

 

 

Section 2: Social Media Best practices in Higher Education

Given that social media has such an effect of higher education, it is important to develop best practices to engage and relate information to staff and students. As educators, there is a new pressure to embrace social media technology. There is a need to become a “connected educator.”

 

Ten Tips for Becoming a Connected Educator Links to an external site.

This article stressed that a "connected educator" can overcome the challenge of professional development on a decreasing budget by seeking inspiration and support via social media.  The primary takeaway were the tips for becoming connected for those educators that had not yet attempted the adventure.

1. Embrace mistakes

2. There is no single right way to build a social network

3. Just jump in and explore the possibilities

4. Be open to learning unexpected things

5. Follow like-minded people in education

6. Join the Edcamp movement

7. Join a live virtual event, such as a Twitter chat.

8. Block out some time to become connected even if it is just a few minutes a day or 30 minutes a week.

9. Be yourself, be respectful, be helpful

10. Start blogging to share your experience.

 

6 Best Practices for Universities Embracing Social Media Links to an external site.

Best practices for Pinterest in higher education Links to an external site.

5 Best Practices for Higher Ed on Social Media Links to an external site. 

8 Social Media Tactics for Higher Education Used by MIT Links to an external site.

 

Section 3: Institutes of Higher Ed which have Excelled

While most universities have implemented social media strategies, some have excelled in the use of social media.

 

4 Colleges That Understand Social Media Links to an external site.

Top 100 Social Media Colleges Links to an external site.

Head of the Class: How 3 Colleges Create Great Content Links to an external site.

5 Interesting Social Media Uses in Higher Ed Links to an external site.

 

Section 4: “Wrong Turns”

Even institutes of higher education can make a few “wrong turns” with Social Media.

 

Managing a University PR Disaster Links to an external site.

Key Points: Beyond highlighting specific public relations fiascos, this article stresses the importance of anticipating the inevitable and not so obvious problems with a strategic plan that immediately addresses the problem in professional manner.

 

Social Media for the Professor-Three Mistakes to Avoid Links to an external site.  

Key Points: Educators should have a clear idea of the purpose of using social media for teaching and only then decide on the right tools. Using technology for its own sake will not benefit the learners.  Simple posts on a blog, Twitter, or a bulletin board is insufficient, students need to be engaged to promote further engagement. Because of the perceived informality of social media, clear ground rules on what kind of discourse is acceptable to prevent students from posting offensive or inappropriate comments. However approving students’ contributions before they are published is not recommended as this may stifle students’ contributions.

 

Section 5: Policies and Legal Issues

Social media policies are often necessary in organizations as large as most institutes of higher education.  Faculty and student alike need guidance to act in accordance with the expectations set forth by their governing institutions.

 

Ball State University’s Social Media Policy Links to an external site. 

Colorado State University’s Social Media Policy Links to an external site.

DePaul University’s Social Media Guidelines Links to an external site.

Eastern University’s Social Networking Policy Links to an external site.

Harvard University’s Guidelines for Using Social Media Links to an external site.

Lake Forest College Social Media Guidelines Links to an external site.

Montana State University’s Athletic Department Social Media Guidelines Links to an external site.

Morling College’s Social Media policy Links to an external site.

Ohio State University Medical Center Social Media Participation Guidelines Links to an external site.

University of Louisville’s Social Media policy Links to an external site.

Sam Houston State University Social Media Policy and Procedures Manual Links to an external site.

Seattle University’s Social Media Policy Links to an external site.

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Blog Policies and Procedures Links to an external site.

Tufts University Social Media Overview Links to an external site.

University of Colorado Social Media Guidelines Links to an external site.

University of Michigan’s Social Media Guidelines Links to an external site.

The University of Utah’s Spencer S. Eccles Health Science Library Social Media Policy Links to an external site.

The University of Utah’s Health Sciences Social Media Policy for the Graduate Medical Residents Links to an external site.: This policy specifically addressing privacy issues restricting references to patients.  These guidelines are designed to protect the university from potential violations of the United States of America’s Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules

University of Wisconsin’s Social Media Policies Links to an external site.

Vanderbilt University’s Social Media Handbook Links to an external site.: An excellent example of a policy handbook has been carried out and implemented by Vanderbilt University.

William Paterson University’s Social Media Policy Links to an external site.

 

5.1 Concerns regarding Social Media Use in Higher Education

 

Simon Fraser University’s (Canada) Social Media Policy Links to an external site.

Key Ideas: Simon Fraser University is very concerned regarding the storage of social media records on cloud services including such uses as Google Docs.  The following is a direct quotation from the website: “In general, using the cloud or Software-as-a-Service" (SaaS) systems is legal only if Simon Fraser University can guarantee that any personal information in the data remains in Canada.  This is not true for many SaaS systems (Apple's iCloud Links to an external site., Amazon Web Services Links to an external site. including EC2 and S3, ElasticHosts Links to an external site., IBM SmartCloud Links to an external site., Rackspace Cloud Links to an external site., ...), free email and collaboration services (Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL, ...), and various document-storage and backup systems (Dropbox Links to an external site.,Windows Live Links to an external site., ASUS WebStorage Links to an external site., FilesAnywhere Links to an external site., iDrive Links to an external site., Syncplicity Links to an external site., and many others).”

 

Oxford blocks Google Docs Links to an external site.

Key Ideas: Increasingly, university IT staff are struggling to eliminate phishing sites that attempt to obtain personal information from students, faculty and staff.  Several universities have begun to advise students to restrict access to sites where phishing activities have been unusually frequent.  The University of Oxford took the unusual step of blocking access to Google Docs in protest of Google’s slow reaction to eliminate phishing attempts. Robin Stevens (an Oxford network security team member) noted “Google’s persistent failures to put a halt to criminal abuse of their systems in a timely manner is having severe consequences for us, and for many other institutions,” Further, “if [Oxford technology officials] are alerted to criminal abuse of a university website, we would certainly aim to have it taken down within two working hours, if not substantially quicker.”

 “Bob Bayn, a Utah State network security team member, said the university has set up a system to automatically warn users who receive e-mails that link to forms generated by Google Docs or PHPformgenerator.com, another popular form-making website.”

 

University of Montana discussion of Social Media policy Links to an external site.

Social Networking, Wiki, Blog Policy for Delhi University Links to an external site.

Cornell on Facebook Links to an external site.

Web 2.0 (Social Media) Policy in Higher Education Links to an external site. by Anne Arendt 

Blogging Guidelines for Harvard University Links to an external site.

Using social media in education, Part 1: Opportunity, risk, and policy Links to an external site.

Social Media: Understanding the Policy, Privacy, and Legal Issues Links to an external site.

Social Media, Higher Education and the Law Links to an external site.

 

Section 6: Infographics

Social Media in Higher Education Links to an external site.

Social Media Adoption in Higher Education Links to an external site.

State of Social Media Analytics in Higher Education Links to an external site.

Professor, Peers, & Pinterest Links to an external site.

Teacher’s Guide to Social Media Links to an external site.

Social Media in the Classroom Links to an external site.

 

Section 7: Further Readings

As a new and rapidly changing field, the most difficult challenge is always timeliness. The resources compiled below should prove useful at present, as they were all published after the initial shift to Web 2.0 platforms and technologies. In keeping up with this ever changing field, however, we would like our readers to also be aware of several journals, organizations, and communities that regularly discuss the subject of Social Media in Education.

7.1 Books and Peer-Review Articles

Anderson, Michael. “Crowdsourcing Higher Education: A Design Proposal for Distributed Learning. Links to an external site.” Journal of Online Learning and Teaching 7.4 (2011): 576-590. MERLOT. Web. 

Bart, Mary, Ed. “Social Media Usage Trends Among Higher Education Faculty Links to an external site..” Magna Publications. (2011). Web. 

Bonnett, John. “High-Performance Computing: An Agenda for the Social Sciences and the Humanities in Canada Links to an external site..” Digital Studies / Le champ numerique 1.2 (2009). Web. 

Davis, Charles H. F. III, et al. Social Media in Higher Education: A Literature Review and Research Directions Links to an external site.. Arizona: The Center for the Study of Higher Education at The University of Arizona and Claremont Graduate University (2012).

Ebner, Martin, et al. “Microblogs in Higher Education – A chance to facilitate informal and process-oriented learning?” Computers and Education. 55.1 (2010). 92-100. Web.

Franklin, Tom, and Mark van Harmelen. Web 2.0 for Content for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Links to an external site.. (2007). 

Goodier, Sarah and Laura Czerniewicz. Academics’ Online Presence: A Four-Step Guide to Taking Control of your Visibility Links to an external site.. OpenUCT (2012).

Hemmi, A., Bayne, S. and Land, R. “The appropriation and repurposing of social technologies in higher education Links to an external site..” Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 25.1 (2009). 19-30. Web.
Links to an external site.

Hirsch, Brett D. Digital Humanities Pedagogy: Practices, Principles and Politics. OpenBook Publishers, 2012. Print.

Junko, Reynol. “The Need for Student Social Media Policies.” EDUCAUSE REVIEW, (2011). Jan/Feb, pp. 60-61.

Lankshear, Colin, and Michele Knobel. Digital Literacies: Concepts, Policies, and Practices. New York: Peter Lang, 2008. Print.

Moran, Mike, Jeff Seaman, and Hester Tinti-Kane. “Teaching, Learning, and Sharing: How Today’s Higher Education Faculty Use Social Media Links to an external site..” Pearson Learning Solutions, 2011. Web. 

Moran, Mike, Seaman, Jeff, and Tinti-Kane, Hester. “Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Facebook: How Today’s Higher Education Faculty Use Social Media Links to an external site.”, Pearson Learning Solutions, 2012. Web: 

O’Gorman, Marcel. E-Crit: Digital Media, Critical Theory, and the Humanities. Toronto: University of Toronto Press Incorporated, 2006. Print.

Roblyer, M.D., et al. “Findings on Facebook in higher education: A comparison of college faculty and student uses and perceptions of social networking sites.” The Internet and Higher Education. 13.3 (2010). 134-140. Web.

Rodriguez, Julia E. "Social Media Use in Higher Education: Key Areas to Consider for Educators Links to an external site.." Journal of Online Learning and Teaching 7.4 (2011): 539-50.MERLOT. Web. 

Salt, Joel, Allison Muri, and Wayne Cooley. “Electronic Scholarly Editing in the University Classroom: an Approach to Project-based Learning Links to an external site..” Digital Studies / Le champ numerique 3.1 (2012). Web. 

Siemens, Lynne. “The Balance between On-line and In-person Interactions: Methods for the Development of Digital Humanities Collaboration Links to an external site..” Digital Studies / Le champ numerique 2.1 (2010). Web. 

Siemens, Ray, et al. “Drawing Networks in the Devonshire Manuscript (BL Add 17492): Toward Visualizing a Writing Community’s Shared Apprenticeship, Social Valuation, and Self-Validation Links to an external site..” Digital Studies / La champ numerique 1.1 (2009).

Trifonas, Peter Pericles. Learning the Virtual Life: Public Pedagogy in a Digital World. New York: Taylor and Francis, 2012. Print.

Waldner, Leora. “E-Advising Excellence: The New Frontier in Faculty Advising Links to an external site..” Journal of Online Learning and Teaching 7.4 (2011): 551-561. MERLOT. Web. 

Wankel, L. & C. Wankel. “Higher Education Administration with Social Media : Including Applications in Student Affairs, Enrollment Management, Alumni Relations, and Career Centers.” Cutting-edge Technologies in Higher Education. Volume 2 (2011). Print.

Wheeler, S., & Yoemans, P. & Wheeler, D. (2008). The good, the bad and the wiki: Evaluating student generated content for collaborative learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 39(6), 987-995. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2007.00799.

 

7.2 Communities and Databases

 

7.3 Blogs and New Articles

Houser, Myra Ann. “Candor and Candidacy in Social Media Links to an external site.,” Gradhacker. May 16, 2012.
Links to an external site.

Jordan, Katy. “Synthesising MOOC Completion Rates.” KatyJordan.com: Research Education and Technology. February 13, 2013. Web.

Kolowich, Steve. “The Minds Behind the MOOCs,” The Chronicle of Higher Education. March 18, 2013. Web.

“Social Media and Higher Education Literature Review,” ACUTA. Spring 2010. Web.