Trainee’s Use of Social Media: Implications for AUCD Training Programs

1. Trainee’s Use of Social Media: Implications for AUCD Training Programs Elizabeth A. Bishop, University of Tennessee, Mark Crenshaw, Georgia State University, and Jody M. Pirtle, Northern Arizona University Purpose Addressing the gap between educational technology and social networking has been the subject of research in adult and higher education contexts (Chen & Bryer, 2012; Davies, 2011; Gazi, Aksal, & Oztug, 2012 ; Ghamrawi & Shal, 2012; and Velesianos, Kimmons, & French, 2013).  Specifically, the understanding of educational technology (distance learning, asynchronous learning, etc.) has now started to investigate and recognize the role that social media has on students’ educational and learning processes. Likewise, healthcare professionals are also recognizing the need to address the influence of social media on students’ professional and ethical practices (George, 2011; Myers, Endres, Ruddy & Zelikovsky, 2012; Salazar, 2010; and Spector, 2012). With this attention to the impact of social media within the learning environments and functions found in higher education, research is struggling to catch up and form frameworks for evaluation and new methods of analysis to determine the efficacy of such social media tools in learning (Chen & Bryer, 2012; Davies, 2011; Gu, Zhu & Ghu, 2012; Makki & Makki, 2012; and Veletsianos & Navarrete, 2013). In addition to the attempts at qualifying and assessing the effect of social media on learning in the context of higher education, researchers are also beginning to investigate the impact social media has on large-scale societal learning and change outcomes (Al Lily, 2013 and Ghamrawi & Shal, 2012). Preliminary Results Two open-ended questions were asked about the experiences had using social media as part of a learning experience and what was the most beneficial aspect of that experience. Fifty percent stated that they had never had a learning experience via one of the social media platforms. The other 50% stated that they had engaged in learning experiences via webinars, social chats, discussion boards, and blogs. Most were academic activities associated with a class but others were in the professional work of the respondent. For those who did participate in a learning experience benefits of doing so included easy of access to information, people, and discussions; flexibility and time management; collaborative networking across time and distance; and freedom to choose what is relevant. Conclusions While experience still remains limited among the survey respondents it is clear that social media continues to be used as part of our everyday life. The benefits of incorporating social media into professional training is a natural extension of how it is being used academically and in distance learning. Indications of the importance of social media is evident as well as the frequency of use. It is also clear that certain platforms are seen for specific purposes and that has indication for training programs and their future planning. If Facebook is seen as primarily a personal activity for fun it will not be the most efficient way to provide ongoing professional training. However, one thing is certain that social media is constantly evolving and ongoing monitoring of the uses and capabilities is worth acknowledging. • Methods • 8-question survey created to ascertain the types of social networking tools used by emerging professionals and how important these tools are to the future professional goals and outcomes of current and former trainees across the AUCD network. • Survey distributed for four weeks using Survey Monkey via two listserves. • 291 former and current trainees responded to the survey