Social Media Opportunities in Higher Education

Ana Tellez

February 2011 – Teachers College, Columbia University

Agenda

Social Media Trends & Characteristics1. Who’s participating in social media and how often?2. Sampling of specific platforms we can use

Rising to the Challenge: Opportunities! 1. Using Pressible in the Classroom2. Using Wordpress in the Classroom3. Using Twitter for Outreach 4. Using Facebook and LinkedIn for Outreach

Assessing Feasibility: Where should we start?Questions / Open Discussion

Overview ofSocial Media Trends &

Characteristics

Interconnected

Do you read blogs?

Blogging Trends

One in three internet users read blogs. 14% of online adults write a blog. 79% of bloggers have a college degree

What is Wordpress

Wordpress is the largest self-hosted blogging tool in the world.

Wordpress is an open source project. It's free and people all over the world contribute to its continual improvement.TC offers wordpress as a resource for programs and faculty to build more collaborative websites including blogs, newsletters, etc. Contact the Web Office at TC to get started.

Do you use wikis?

What are other ways you collaborate online?

Characteristics of Online Communities

They are continuous, not temporal - there is a core membership that interacts together over a longer period of time.

Communities gather around a concept or a specific goal.

Communities take on various conversations and activities, led by different members over time.

People within communities get to know each other and interact regularly without centralized facilitation.

What is Pressible

Pressible is a free, online publishing service supported by EdLab at Teachers College, Columbia University.

You can create personal or multi-author sites. Sites can be used for a range of purposes, including personal blogging, group blogging, and other kinds of outreach.Every site is part of the Pressible networkTo get started, go to pressible.org and create a site. In-person support is available at the Gottesman Libraries.

Do you have a Facebook account? LinkedIn? Other?

Social Networking Site (SNS) Trends

46% of online adults in the U.S. have a profile on a social networking site (up from 8% in 2005)Social network or blog sites are visited by ¾ of global consumers who go online.

91% of mobile phone users go online to socialize

Facebook Trends

Facebook has over 500 million active users

Facebook is the most popular online social network for adults in the U.S. (73% of adult SNS users have a Facebook account).

40% of users have gone to college50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given day

LinkedIn TrendsLinkedIn has over 66 million users worldwide

Over 5 million of its users work in EducationOver 4 million of its users work in Government

48% of users have gone to college34% of users visit the site more than once a month

Do you tweet?

Twitter TrendsTwitter has over 100 million users

In a survey of 1,400 higher education professionals, 35% use Twitter

Most use it to share information with peers and/or as a real-time news source

38% of users have gone to collegeTwitter attracts 190 million visitors per month (unlike Facebook and LinkedIn, users don’t have to be registered to view content)

Rising to the challenge: Strategy Recommendations

Social Media Platforms allow learners to...

create

collaborate

connect

share

participate in a learning community

6 characteristics that make social media strategies successful

Plan ahead for content: content knowledge and availability are important; create a monthly content schedule

Conduct initial outreach to stakeholders: Introduce the group to relevant stakeholders on each platform

Be personable and interactive: This means being responsive to inquiries and comments as well as keeping your finger on the pulse of the discourse you are a part of (e.g., education leadership)

Share resources beyond TC: Engage users by sharing helpful resources outside your own content

Understand web etiquette: Each platform is a bit different, so get to know your web environment

Evaluate your work: Find ways to measure success and adjust your strategy accordingly every so often

Pressible Approach

Suggestion: Create a Pressible site for a program within Education Leadership so that students and faculty across the program can interact online and share news and other information with each other.

Main objectives: To create an online community in Education Leadership

Frequency of scheduled posts: Ongoing (as needed)

Content focus: Field news and research, events, etc.

Presssible Example #1

Blogging Approach

Suggestion: Create a class blog that doubles as a syllabus for the course so students can access the syllabus electronically and additional relevant resources can be posted throughout the semester by faculty and students, e.g., links to articles, videos, etc.

Main objectives: To provide students with a continually evolving set of resources for a course and to build their media literacy so they can apply online collaboration skills in their future research and work.

Frequency of blog updates: As needed (ideally on a weekly basis)

Content focus: Syllabus content and space for students to comment on weekly discussions

A Different Classroom Blogging Example

A TC Wordpress Use Example

Higher Education Blog Example #1

Higher Education Blog Example #2

Twitter ApproachRecommendation: Collaborate with @TeachersCollege account that’s already on Twitter to provide them with content

Main objectives: Publicize news & publications by program faculty, attract prospective students, direct alumni to LinkedIn group

Frequency of scheduled posts: As needed**

Content focus: Send periodic reminders about upcoming application deadlines

Send alerts about upcoming events & new publications

** Having our own Twitter account would require planning for daily tweets and keeping up an ongoing content schedule. We don’t have the necessary staffing for this level of

http://commoncraft.com/twitter-search

Twitter Example #1: Teachers College

Twitter Example #2: Education Sector

Facebook ApproachRecommendation: Create Facebook Group “Education Leadership at TC”

Main objective: Recruit prospective students and gather alumni

Frequency of scheduled posts: Once a week

Content focus:Send periodic reminders about upcoming deadlines

Send alerts about upcoming events

Encourage inquiries so prospective students can learn more about program offerings

Share news relating to education leadership (as a whole, not just Columbia-related)

Facebook Example #1: Connected Principals

Facebook Example #2: Boston Public Schools

LinkedIn ApproachRecommendation: Create Subgroup “Education Leadership Alumni” within Teachers College Organization & Leadership Alumni Group**

Main objectives: 1) Gather alumni so they can share information and resources; 2) encourage alumni to help recruit prospective students

Frequency of scheduled posts: As needed

Content focus: Job opportunitiesIndustry-related news (e.g., new standards or publications)Encouraging alumni to share relevant articles, job opportunities, etc.

LinkedIn Example #1:TC Organization & Leadership Alumni

Group

LinkedIn Example #2: Georgetown

Assessing Feasibility: Where can we start?

If you have questions about my presentation, you can contact me here:

ait2108@tc.columbia.edu