Social Media’s Place in Your Classroom : How to Engage Students and Enhance Teaching …and Not Get Fired Doing It . Chri

1. Social Media’s Place in Your Classroom:How to Engage Students and Enhance Teaching…and Not Get Fired Doing It. Christopher Cole, Esq. Director of Marketing & Communications

2. “Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.” - Voltaire

3. - 5 Social Media Questions -

4. What is “social media”?

5. What is “social media” (SM)? : forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos) (M-W.com) • Facebook • Twitter • LinkedIn • MySpace • Pinterest • YouTube • Google+ • Blogs • Wikis • Tumblr

6. Should I use social media in my class?

7. Should I use social media in my class? • Studies have shown that about 90% of faculty use SM either in their classrooms or for their professional careers. • About 2/3 of faculty have used it during a class. • The No. 1 SM tool among faculty…

8. Should I use social media in my class? • Studies have shown that about 90% of faculty use SM either in their classrooms or for their professional careers. • About 2/3 of faculty have used it during a class. • The No. 1 SM tool among faculty… (And it’s not even close…)

9. Should I use social media in my class? • Studies have shown that about 90% of faculty use SM either in their classrooms or for their professional careers. • About 2/3 of faculty have used it during a class. • The No. 1 SM tool among faculty… (And it’s not even close…)

10. Should I use social media in my class? • A 2012 study by the Babson Research Survey Group found that nearly 1/3 of faculty said they instruct students to watch online videos as homework. • 73% said they thought YouTube videos were somewhat or very valuable for classroom use.

11. Should I use social media in my class? • Other social media sites paled in comparison. • Only about 15 percent felt that Facebook was at least somewhat valuable in the classroom. (46% found Facebook harmful to classroom learning) • Only 2 percent had used Twitter in their teaching. (53% found Twitter harmful to classroom learning) • Only about 10% “actively” use SM in the classroom (i.e. requiring students to engage).

12. Should I use social media in my class? • So should YOU use SM in your class? • MAYBE. It depends on factors such as the topic you teach, how you plan to use it, your comfort level with it, etc. • People have been saying for years that SM will revolutionize teaching. So far, results are mixed. If used well, it can enhance learning and strengthen the connection between professor and student. Used poorly, it can waste everyone’s time.

13. Should I use social media in my class? • Factors to consider: • Teaching is, at its core, about communicating ideas. SM sites were developed for the exact same purpose. They can be quite useful. • Today’s students are used to receiving ideas via SM. Simply put, it’s where they live. • SM is immediate. • SM makes creating connections (e.g. between current students and alumni) simple.

14. Should I use social media in my class? • Factors to consider: • SM can be used to connect with faculty around the globe to share research, techniques, etc. • SM can be used to develop relationships with members of the community. • SM can be used to “build your brand.”

15. Should I use social media in my class? • Factors to consider: • SM sites take time to figure out and incorporate into teaching. If you use it incorrectly, it can become burdensome and waste time. • With very large classes, some SM platforms (e.g. Facebook) can become unfeasible. • SM can blur the line between personal and professional boundaries. (This can be good or very bad.)

16. Which social mediashould I use in my class?

17. Which social media should I use in my class? • What do you hope to add to your class via SM? • Not all SM are created equal. Each offers tools and functionality that may or may not fit well with what you are trying to accomplish. • Explore at least the most popular options (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest). • A humanities professor might find value in the visual nature of Pinterest, while a math professor might prefer the simplicity of Twitter.

18. Which social media should I use in my class? • YouTube: All video. Play around – there are nearly 3 billion videos on YouTube. Surely you will find something relevant! • Facebook: Your own personal webpage. Establish one-to-one connections with students/colleagues. • Twitter: Your own personal broadcast platform. Share your thoughts/research/lecture highlights in 140 characters or less. • Pinterest: A digital scrapbook. Perfect for collecting/organizing stuff on the web.

19. Which social media should I use in my class? • Course Blogs: Online journal entries that can be used to force students to synthesize concepts and to create a sense of community within your class. Blackboard has several blogging options. • Wikis: Web pages built collectively and collaboratively by users. They can be used both passively (to gather information) or actively (having students contribute content).

20. How do I use social media in my class?

21. How do I use social media in my class? • Easily the most difficult of the 5 SM Questions to answer. • Good News: There is no wrong answer. • Bad News: I’m lying. • How to use SM in your class depends on the subject, the curriculum, your teaching style and your students. Experiment.

22. How do I use social media in my class? Example: Twitter in 7 Easy Steps… Step 1: Pick a topic. It can be as broad as “biology” or as specific as “fungi.” Step 2: Decide what tone you will use, what your persona will be, and how engaging will you be with followers. Step 4: Create an account. It takes 5 minutes. Step 5: Start tweeting. Consistently.

23. How do I use social media in my class? Example: Twitter in 8 Easy Steps… Step 6: Follow relevant people/organizations. With about 500 million Twitter users, surely you can find a few. Step 7: Experiment with hashtags (#), @ messaging and the other Twitter nuances. Step 8: Once you have “figured out” Twitter and are comfortable with the site, promote your account. [I am @NKU_News]

24. How do I use social media in my class? • Some Popular Uses of SM in the Classroom: • Require students to tweet or Facebook post about curriculum-related topics each week. • Encourage students to connect with relevant people on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc. • Recruit guest speakers, or Skype in guest speakers who are unable to make it to campus. • Digital office hours on Facebook or Twitter. • Tweet or post lesson plans, class notes, etc.

25. How do I use social media in my class? • Some Popular Uses of SM in the Classroom: • Create Facebook groups for each class. These closed groups keep things a little more private and don’t require you to friend your students. • Share interesting websites, news articles, etc. • Poll your class (easy on Facebook). • Have students live Tweet certain lectures. • Have your students create a blog (in or outside of Blackboard).

26. How do I use social media in my class? • Some Popular Uses of SM in the Classroom: • Create a YouTube playlist for your class. • Create a class Pinterest board that collects information and images related to the course. Fun way for students to engage and contribute. • Record lectures and post them to YouTube. • For small classes, Google+ Hangout study or review sessions.

27. How do I use social media in my class? • Bottom Line: • Integrate SM into the classroom in a way that serves a purpose (e.g. build community, enhance teaching, networking, etc.). Don’t add SM just because you think you’re supposed to. • Use SM that you understand and are comfortable with.And talk to students about which SM components work and which don’t. • Adapt/modify your strategy if it isn’t working.

28. I’m using social media in my class.Now what?

29. I’m using social media in my class. Now what? • Once you’ve taken the plunge and decided to build SM into your curriculum, there are several things to keep in mind: • Set clear boundarieswith students. • Personal vs. Private • Consistency • Promote your SM presence. As your audience grows, so does your influence/effectiveness. • Change what isn’t working. • Be intentional.

30. QUESTIONS?