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Social Media and the International Education Office

This article explores how social media is used by international education offices to reach and engage with students. It includes a focus on China and India, as well as examples from Kent State University and Miami University.

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Social Media and the International Education Office

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  1. Social Media and the International Education Office Toni Fry, The University of Akron Robyn Heiman, Kent State University Sarah McNitt, Miami University

  2. Introduction • Video

  3. Kent State University has a total population of • 1,127 are International Students • Approximately 90 countries • 44% are undergraduate • 56% are graduate • 54% are male • 46% are female • Top Countries: • China • India • Saudi Arabia • Taiwan and Turkey

  4. How does the International Student and Scholar Services Reach ALL these students? SOCIAL MEDIA

  5. Blogs: Blogger, LiveJournal, Open Diary, TyepPad, WordPress, Vox, ExpressionEnginie, Xanga • Social Networking:Facebook, FourSquare, Geni.com, Hi5, LinkedIn, MySpace, Ning, Orkut, Skyrock, QZone, Bebo, BigTent • Events: Upcoming, Eventful, Meetup.com • Social News:Digg, Mixx, Reddit, NowPublic • Photography:deviantArt, Flickr, Photobucket, Picasa, SmugMug, Zooomr • Video Sharing: YouTube, Viddler, Vimeo, sevenload • Livecasting: Ustream.tv, Justin.tv, stickcam, Skype, OpenCU • Music and Audio Sharing: MySpace Music, The Hype Machine, Last.fm • Product Reviews: epinions.com, mouthshut.com • Business Reviews: customer lobby, yelp.com • Community Q&A: Yahoo! Answers, WikiAnswers, Askville, Google Answers • Virtual Worlds: Second Life, The Sims Online, Forterra

  6. Everything valuable in China seems so competitive, and there’s no exception to social media.  CNNIC recently released a report on China social networking sites (SNS) and I’m here to share some key findings: • By the end of 2009, the number of Chinese online social media users is about to reach 124 million. • Every social media user owns on average 2.78 social media accounts. • Majority of SNS users are youth (52.6%). • Almost 80% SNS users are referred by friends, classmates, or colleagues. • 75.8% indicate their SNS friends are friends in real life. • 34.3% SNS users visit social networking sites every day while about 40.2% visit SNS once a week or longer. • China SNS users are mostly interested in status and photo album updates from friends. • Sending messages and uploading photos are the two most popular activities on SNS. • 32.4% users find it important to get useful information on a social network Retrieved from http://www.chinainternetwatch.com/385/china-social-networking-sites-statistics-summary/

  7. Facebook is second most popular Indian social networking site with 4 million visitors, up 150 percent versus year ago. • Other popular networking sites in India featured in the list in descending order are ibibo, Myspace, LinkedIn, PerfSpot, BigAdda and Fropper. Retrieved from http://www.quickonlinetips.com/archives/2009/02/top-social-networking-sites-india/

  8. Kent State University’s International Student and Scholar Services and Social Media

  9. Kent State University looking into the Future Resources to Educate Yourself • Second Life? • Linked-In Professional Networking? • Social Media in Higher Education Resources • Schools on Facebook

  10. Education Abroad Program Toni Fry, Education Abroad Adviser Graduate Assistant

  11. The University of Akron Profile Fall 2009 • 28,000 students • 46 U.S. states • 80 foreign countries • Undergraduates- 23,277 • Graduates- 4,103 • Professional- 531 Source: http://www.uakron.edu/about_ua/quick_facts.dot

  12. Education Abroad Profile • Open Doors 2007-2008 • 217 UA Degree-Seeking American students studying for credit • 296 students, faculty, and community members

  13. “If Facebook were a country, it would be the world’s 4th largest!”

  14. Facebook- Education Abroad Program • Facebook page • 180 members • Education abroad returnees • Future education abroad students • Staff • Faculty • Who manages the page? “100 million users in less than 9 months.”

  15. Facebook- Education Abroad Program • Programs • Education Abroad Fair • Education Abroad Forum • Education Abroad 101 • Global Destinations Mini Fair

  16. Facebook- Education Abroad Program • Education Abroad Orientation • Tables on campus • Third Party Provider Campus Visits • Application deadline • Exchange programs • International College Ambassador • Scholarships • Contests

  17. How to get started • Word of mouth • Email students • Signature • Flyers in office • Newsletter • Starter Kit

  18. Positives • Reach students easily • Promote program • Students talk to other students • Upload pictures • Faculty • “More than 1.5 million pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) are shared on Facebook DAILY”

  19. Implications for Education Abroad Professionals • Invite students after appointment • Promote Facebook on website • Promote Facebook on institutions website • Promote at events • “We no longer search for the news, the news finds us.”

  20. Miami University Study Abroad

  21. Miami University Statistics • Enrollment: • Oxford: 14,671 undergraduates • Oxford: 2,213 graduate students • Hamilton: 3,290 • Middletown: 2,052 • Study abroad participation: approximately 40% of Oxford undergraduates • Top study abroad destinations (2007-08): • Multi-country programs (19%) • Luxembourg (16%) • United Kingdom (8%) • Italy (7.9%) • China (4%)

  22. In the world of the Internet… • Information can be shared faster than ever • Communication can happen anywhere, at any time • Learning frequently comes from peer-to-peer collaboration rather than top-down broadcasting • Technology can be used to reach students in new ways

  23. Study Abroad E-mail Newsletter

  24. Study Abroad E-mail Newsletter • 3000+ subscribers (students, faculty, staff, parents) • Used for: • Longer-form communication • Highlighting scholarship opportunities, student achievement, upcoming deadlines, etc. • Educating students about lesser-known destinations • How we get subscribers: • New Student Orientation • Study Abroad Fair • Study Abroad 101 information sessions • Class visits

  25. Facebook

  26. Facebook • 452 fans • Used for: • Announcements • Housing arrangements • Pre-program communication by students • Promoting events • How we get subscribers: • Email newsletter • Handouts

  27. Twitter

  28. Twitter • 1350 followers • Used for: • Announcements • Short-form communication with students • How we get subscribers: • Email newsletter • Handouts

  29. Twitter

  30. NAFSA and Social Media • Blog- http://www.nafsa.org/blog • Facebook- http://www.nafsa.org/facebook • Join the Movement for Study Abroad Facebook page- http://www.nafsa.org/jointhemovement • Twitter- http://www.nafsa.org/twitter • YouTube- http://www.nafsa.org/youtube • LinkedIn- http://www.nafsa.org/linkedin • Flickr- http://www.nafsa.org/flickr

  31. Conclusion- Social Media • Connect to students • Task for a SA or GA • Personalize • Stay connected

  32. Thank you! • Toni Fry- tdf13@zips.uakron.edu • Robyn Heiman- rlheiman@kent.edu • Sarah McNitt- mcnittsa@muohio.edu QUESTIONS?

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