Guest Blogger: Jeff Lail is the Assistant Student Center Manager of the Brower Student Center at the College of New Jersey. His position integrates student center management as well as student activities and programming. You can read more of his work at the Student Affairs Collaborative blog as well as his personal blog.

Will Social Media be used to increase student learning outcomes?

We’ve heard a lot of discussion lately in student affairs about whether or not our departments would benefit from using technology and if we should use it to assist us in accomplishing department goals. These are all very important topics to discuss, especially when considering venturing into the scary world of social media

Web 2.0, popularly called social media, provides our students with an amazing opportunity to share themselves and what they do with literally the entire world. This can provide multiple benefits to their lives, from connecting them with other people of like interests to building their professional networks. Not to mention the intrinsic benefits of practicing their writing, building their communication skills by keeping up with old friends and new friends, or trying out a new area such as photography and sharing these attempts with the world.

Most of the education on Web 2.0 and social media taught on campus is, “Don’t post this and dont say that! Or it’ll get ya in the end!” We tell our students not to post pictures of themselves on Facebook engaging in debauchery, not to say things that are offensive and not to treat the internet as a free space to do whatever they want. But in my experience, we don’t do enough to tell our students what TO do. Technology should never be a burden but instead should be a tool to improve productivity and get the maximum worth for our efforts. If this is not the case, we are either using it wrong or the technology isn’t worth our time.

I wonder if the day is upon us when we will have learning outcomes and education for our students on how to use social media to benefit their professional life. If I were to write these outcomes they might include some things like sharing your best work, finding other people with similar interests through Twitter and pursuing your passion for photography by posting pictures on Flickr.

We are in an unprecedented time where students can impact their lives from their own home computer through social media. With any change comes significant positives and negatives, but much like OrgSync attempts, we can educate our students on how to make the most out of these new technologies instead of simply trying to scare them into not doing something wrong.

Original image of Jump on the Social Bandwagon.

I have a bold prediction about facebook (or “the facebook” for us old-timers). I am making this prediction based on keen observation, scientific analysis and guessing…..mostly guessing.

I have had a love-hate with facebook from the start, and from the start I mean 2004. Ever since they started with the vanity URLs I have become a bigger fan, and I do not see the facebook momentum in any area slowing down anytime soon with one exception.  My prediction is: within 5 years, college students will start to leave facebook, or at least it will not be their primary social hub.  I know you think I might be crazy, but hear me out.

Facebook is big. If there is a word that embodies a more descriptive meaning than big, then that is the word I need. Perhaps, huge, massive, or gargantuan is a more appropriate term to use when describing facebook.  Yet, according to a recent article on Mashable “…Facebook is valued higher than CBS, Discovery Communications, and Macy’s.” Facebook, which started as a tool for college students to connect, now has over 250 million make that 300 million users worldwide with over 150 million unique logins in everyday.  And I think they are just getting started.

The 2 reasons I am making this prediction:  1) Parents. 2) Corporations.

Facebook’s fastest growing demographic is no longer first-year college students, it is people ages 35 years and up. That means parents, uncles, aunts, or other authority figures that may (depending on your privacy settings) have access to view your activities or photos. You should ask your students the start of every year how many of them have parents on facebook to see if the number increases over the years.  My Aunt that joined facebook last week and she just turned 69.  I think it is cool so I can keep up with her, but her soon to be college grandkids may think differently.  And when my parents joined last week I did not know what to think.

Facebook has had a few major development changes that I think are interesting, but the one that affect this issue is the creation of fan pages. Pages we create for corporations and organizations easily have a presence and advertise on facebook. They were given the first opportunity to create vanity URLs such as facebook.com/vitaminwater before people had the opportunity to create their custom URL. In the current world of marketing, facebook is becoming an essential step in any marketing campaign that can quickly distribute information to a mass audience.

When facebook hit the college campus it was their thing. You had to have a “.edu” email address, while everyone else could go join MySpace or Friendster. College students embraced thefacebook.com and Mark Zuzkerberg, but now it is starting to become a place of commerce. It is like showing up to the mall, or any personal hangout spot, and your parents are hanging out there.  So I ask: when was the last time college students wanted to socially interact in a corporate location with their parents?

Blog by: Cody Olsen, OrgSync Campus Liaison, Dixie State College

Just like many others, I am fully aware of the recent uprising of the mega-internet platforms now known as social media. Their increase in popularity has brought a new level of communication and interaction to all groups and ages, especially on college and university campuses.

As a full time student I know that social media has become just as effective as e-mail, text messaging, and phone calls because of the instant communication capability. Many times on campus I witness arguments between friends because someone failed to receive an invite to the latest social event. It’s clear that these students have already jumped on the social media train, but what about the rest of the campus population: the faculty and administration?

Untapped Resource for the Classroom
Many educators tend to adhere to the tried and true teaching methods of the past. Unfortunately, students are changing, and those once effective teaching methods are becoming stale. Faculty, and campus administrators, can utilize social media as a tool for creating new ways to engage students by posting relevant articles, research and websites to these social media sites that students are frequenting on a very regular basis; hence, encouraging outside the classroom learning.

Extend Learning Beyond the Classroom
Using these social media tools educators are able to reach students through new communication mediums and provide students with exposure and experience to valuable tools.  Providing their students with the experience of blogging, developing podcasts and building professional networks, equips students with skills they will likely need after college due to the multiple mediums that all outlets are reaching out to with these social media tools. Allowing students to hone these skills inside the classroom, giving appropriate and constructive feedback, plays both into the traditional mode of teaching/learning as well as the know-how of the future tools.

Teach People, Not Lectures
Many of the postings and updates on social media sites are fully searchable and identifiable to a particular user or author. With the proper skills, educators can track and follow the indications of the comprehension and understanding of specific lectures, lessons, writings and assignments of their students over the duration of the class. Using social media posts, along with student interaction in the classroom, educators may now base their teaching on custom plans centered not only on the needs of their students, but the overall student participation level over these various social medium platforms. This bridge is easy to cross for the faculty member by indicating in the course syllabus the specific social media sites that they will be monitoring/tracking/participating in along with their students and then granting a certain percentage-point amount for participation, frequency, cogency, and relevance to the course materials.

These perks are only a small taste of the fresh new style that social media can bring into the world of higher education. In addition, we will see the potential for higher productivity, better student accountability, and increased participation because when faculty members are reaching out to students where they currently are, the internet, it establishes credibility of both the student and the faculty member. With new technology breeds innovation, and with the best and brightest minds utilizing this new medium, the possibilities for overall effectiveness are near infinite. It’s clear that the use of social media can have a great effect on the lives of students and educators alike. It’s time to throw away the stale, and to embrace and create a fresh new environment where education can thrive.

Blog by: Angel Quicksey, OrgSync Campus Liaison, Claremont McKenna College

Today’s world is smaller, flatter, and more connected than ever before. Places and people that once seemed remote are now only a click away and virtually right next-door.  Neighbors that once chatted through a fence are now chatting online through a social network such as Facebook, Twitter or AIM. Young people – students, especially – use the internet to stay connected, as it’s easier than ever to reach out to the classmate across campus, parents back home, or even the friend made while studying abroad.

Yet, students can use such technologies to reach out in a different way. Young people on campuses around the world already promote social justice and create change. Clubs raise money for relief actions in war-torn countries, they prod politicians and their fellows to take action on environmental issues, they support campaigns for AIDS relief, clean water, and health care. But if one club on one campus can raise a few thousand dollars for Darfur or Burma or the environment, imagine what could be accomplished if those students came together to accomplish something even greater. This is where social media comes in. Recall what students can do without our new technology:

•    The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the 1960s – the group, begun at Shaw University, staged many of the sit-ins and freedom rides of the civil rights movement and had a leading role in the1963 march on Washington.
•    The students of the 1970s and ‘80s who protested apartheid in South Africa – beginning with students of Stanford University in 1974, these young people divestment from companies involved in South Africa during apartheid. By 1988, 155 universities had partially or fully divested funds from the country.

These students saw a need for change and combined their efforts across the nation to guarantee civil rights in America and abroad.

Today, students have even more tools available to them to create social change. Through the internet, particularly social media sites, students can easily spread information by broadcasting videos, photos and headlining news.

The power of these sites has become especially apparent in recent weeks as students and opposition leaders in Iran used Facebook and Twitter to spread their message and capture images, like the death of Neda Agha-Soltan.

While perhaps not facing the same immediate strife as the people of Iran, many college and university students tackle other important issues at home and abroad. Yet, most campus organizations seem to work independently, though they may be working toward a similar goal.  Why not take advantage of this new age of social networking and connect with others at your college, in your area, or in a similar branch of your club? Then, once these connections are established using social media, you can create larger events, campaigns and movements that will greatly impact your campus, your nation and even the world.

Tweet.

Tweet.

Tweet.

The sound of birds chirping or the sound of people talking?

These days, no matter what I’m watching or reading, Twitter seems to be a major topic.  But what exactly is twitter?

Twitter is similar to a lot of things, but unlike anything.  It is like blogging, but there is a 140 character limit.  It is like the Facebook status, but is not limited to just friends.  It is like instant messaging, but all your followers can read it. Simply put, it is a universal status message answering the question “What are you doing?”

Twitter has a strange name and a stranger vernacular surrounding it. People use words and phrases like: “twitterati,” “tweple,” or “I just tweeted.”  Before I decided to try Twitter, I was warned that initially it would seem completely stupid, and as a newbie, it did seem stupid.  I did not and could not see the point of the hype of it; however, now, it is my most used social network.

I first realized the power of Twitter and the power of an online community when a US Airways plane landed in the Hudson River.  Instantaneously, this message was tweeted with a photo of the plane in the Hudson.  It was then forwarded (or in Twitter terms, “retweeted”) throughout the twittersphere before traditional media outlets even heard about the event. 

Nielsen Online reported that at the end of 2008, social networking surpassed the popularity of email. For those of you still trying to communicate with listserves , there is still time.  If you want to effectively communicate with an audience then go to the audience.

Twitter’s capabilities are infinite!  I have a constant twitter search for OrgSync, so I always know what people are saying about us. Comcast and Dell, creatively use Twitter for customer service request.  At conferences, speakers take questions through Twitter and participants are then able to engage in discussion during the session.  Twitter enables you to send notifications, updates, and reminders out instantly.

What are other ways you are using Twitter on your campus?

If you have specific questions please leave a comment and we would love to address them.  It will help guide us in future posts.

Several years ago I noticed if you wanted to run for student government, there was a new requirement – a Facebook group.  After discovering this, I wondered if the number of members who joined the group was an indicator and predictor of success; and to my surprise, I found the results to be only a few percentage points off.

Recently, I saw a new Facebook group at my Alma Mater, Howard Payne University (HPU), rallying support for my former literature professor as the next university president. This is the first time I have ever seen a Facebook group used to rally support for a potential university president. (There are a lot of groups about university presidents, but not for positive reasons).  And as a person with ties to HPU, higher education, and social media, I am intrigued by this use of Facebook.

As I begin writing this post, I am a little nervous, especially since this is about someone who once graded my writing.  (I hope she doesn’t send me corrections or grade this!)  Dr. Romig is a great professor; she challenges and expects the most out of her students.  After finishing her PHD at Rice University in 1978, she started teaching at HPU and has been there ever since.  Audree Johnson, an HPU alumni, described Dr. Romig’s classes as “life changing.”  As Audree talked about her experience at HPU and Dr. Romig’s class, I thought she purposely giving me cliché answers, but the more she spoke, I realized that she genuinely enjoyed and had an amazing learning experience in Dr. Romig’s classes that really changed her life.  (Did I mention that Audree, or Ms. Johnson is a high school English teacher?) Dr. Romig literally changed Audree’s life, which is why when Audree heard her former professor was interested in applying for the vacant president position, Audree created a Facebook group to rally her support. Dr. Romig thought only a few people would join but it quickly grew to 447 members! Not bad for a school with a population of 1200 students!

Ann White

Today’s guest blogger, Ann White, works as the Web Content Coordinator at Oklahoma Christian University. She manages the content, navigation, and editing of the university’s public website, but in the past year her role has expanded to also manage the university’s social media presence.

I have been a follower of Ann and OCU on twitter for awhile, and I think she does a fabulous job of interacting with their community online.

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Institutional tweeting- now there’s a phrase the old school marketers never saw coming.  But now it’s a reality.

The beauty of this moment is that although you may be unsure in how to go about it, the fact is we all are. This is uncharted territory and we are all learning new lessons day by day.

Although there really is no one who can tell you exactly what to do, there are some fundamental guidelines that I believe will give you the framework to make your own way.

Here are my basic principles, a bit more fleshed out below:

• Have fun
• But don’t be annoying
• Interact
• Use it or lose it
• Make it up as you go along
• Be true to your school

Have fun

I work at a university I love, and because I am here 40+ hours a week, I see many of the stories and events that make this place great. Twitter gives me an outlet to share those little tidbits with others, so they can see the school through my eyes.

For example, whether it’s a video from an alumna of adorable Zambian babies wearing university apparel or a bizarre bathroom fixture that won a toilet contest, I can quickly and easily show people the little pictures that shape my point of view.

If you’re enthusiastic and sincere, it will come across and spread quickly.

Don’t be annoying

Ah yes, the annoying tweeters. Don’t be that guy (or gal).

Unless you explicitly state that you are a news source, don’t run an RSS feed through your Twitter account.

Don’t send mass or auto-direct messages.

Don’t spam tweets- multiple tweets in a row.

Don’t belabor calls to action.

Don’t re-tweet yourself word for word, multiple times in a day.

Don’t ignore basic customer service moments including replies and inquiries.

Twitter makes it very easy to dump you, and people can be fickle enough without you giving them a reason to bail.

Interact

I get a lot of great content from following those who follow the school. As a general principle, I re-follow the following categories.

1.      Real people (Sounds silly, but it’s obvious when they’re not)

2.      Other academic institutions (Great for seeing what other schools are doing)

3.      Local businesses (Good to build ties and relationships with them)

It’s always fun to re-tweet those who write about us, because it is a credible testimony to your school’s value and also is flattering to the person you re-tweet. It shows them that their opinion is important to you, and you build a positive bond.

Use it or lose it

I think this is a key difference in institutional tweeting and personal tweeting.

If you are putting time and energy (university resources) into creating quality tweets, you have to use them somewhere besides Twitter, or they will be by and large lost within an hour because of the volume of tweets.

Thankfully Twitter gives you the RSS feed, so you can run your feed through another website. Whereas a tweet may only last a short while with limited views in a follower’s tweet stream, it could last for days if run through another location.

Make it up as you go along

When I started tweeting for our university, I looked to other schools for ideas. However, there weren’t many doing it in a way that I felt would be authentically transferable to our university, so I had to improvise.

Granted, I started off rocky with infrequent tweets, boring content, little interaction. But once I decided to just dive in and try new things, the response has been great.

One example of this is OC Oldies. I have a lot of great, vintage photos from our university at my disposal, so I have started Twitpic-ing them with the hashtag #OColdies. People seem to get a kick out of it.

Don’t be afraid to try new things! Everything is a new thing right now. Embrace the freedom of it!

Be true to your school

This is the key point where Twitter is not just a hobby but becomes another outlet for your brand’s platform.

Your school has a personality, and Twitter is a place to let it shine.

Are you a large research institution? Then share stories of innovation and accomplishment.

Are you a business school? Then highlight your moguls who are rocking their industries and taking over the world.

Our school is a close knit community equipping people to serve the world in creative and powerful ways, and social media has given me a great platform to breathe live into our mission.

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Hopefully this will inspire you to take some chances and go try something new. Help us all figure out what works and what doesn’t, and share what you learn!

You have an online space even if you do not claim it. A student of the McCombs School of Business (probably an alumni now) created a Facebook account for Red McCombs the namesake of the school 4 years ago. Red McCombs is a brand, he did not claim his space, so someone else did.

Recently there was an article in the Chronicle about fake twittering presidents from The University of Texas and Georgetown University which leads me to think who is monitoring your universities brand? Have you claimed your space? Are people not only talking about you, but talking for you?

William Powers Fake Twitter Page.

The OrgSync team is dedicated to educating the higher education community about experiential learning, co-curricular management, leadership development and other important issues challenging higher education professionals and student leaders. Our series of educational webinars is developed for both higher education professionals and student leaders to learn, teach and collaborate with one another to better the higher education community as a whole.

Higher Education and Social Media

Friday May 8 2:00 pm (PST)

More info & Register

Case Study in Launching a Campus

May 28  10:00 AM (PST)

More info & Register

(This webinar is focused to current and potential community members)

Cindy Royal is an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Texas State University in San Marcos.  Cindy and I met on Twitter, when I volunteered to be interviewed by one of her student bloggers during SXSW Interactive.  You can view the OrgSync SXSW interview here.  We were excited to see social media being taught in the classroom and were even more excited to help students get hands on experience using social media!

As another SXSW Interactive comes to a close, I am pleased to be asked by OrgSync to provide some of my observations from this year’s event. I have attended the festival for many years, and this was the second year that I invited a team of student bloggers to cover the event. Our coverage, including photos, videos and archives of live stream interviews can be found at www.sxtxstate.com. SXSWi is such a fantastic opportunity for students to engage with concepts we discuss in the new media concentration in which I teach at TX State University in San Marcos. It is the most important conference that I attend each year, introducing me to new ideas that will be affecting media in the future.

This year’s programming was outstanding. From impressive keynote speakers like Chris Anderson, editor of Wired and author of two important books, The Long Tail and Free, and Tony Hsieh, the CEO of the online shoe retailer Zappos to outstanding panel discussions dealing with the future of social media, trends in journalism, Web design concepts and the direction of overall online experience, SXSW once again proved that Austin is the place to be in March. Additional highlights for me included discussions by Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV and Kathy Sierra. Their enthusiasm for online endeavors is infectious and inspiring.

Overall, I think two broad themes emerged from this year’s festivities.

The first is the focus on the user experience (UX). Where five years ago content was considered king, now it’s about what your users get to do on your site. The interaction must be two-way, and it must be relevant to the communities you support. The second theme has to do with the ubiquity of social networks. In her talk entitled “The Future of Social Networks: Social Networks Will Be Like Air, ” Charlene Li explained that we are moving to a universal identity and single social graph in our usage of these networks, and that we will eventually no longer use fragmented platforms and identities. This goes beyond a mere aggregation of existing platforms and requires a few major players to emerge as focal points of this interaction.

In regard to the activity of my students at the festival, I am very proud of the work they did on the blog. I was energized by their enthusiasm coming out of panels and discussing topics, asking questions and interacting with attendees. They worked extremely hard to not only gain knowledge for themselves, but to share that knowledge in the various ways that they have learned in our program, through blogs, video, photos and social media; lots of simultaneous learning and practice. The weeks prior to SXSW included the design and development of our site, promotion via various social media platforms including Twitter (@sxtxstate) and Facebook and the creation of content in the form of previews and tech news updates relevant to SXSW topics. While this activity was supervised by me, the students were completely in charge of the direction and execution. For this, they have a lasting archive of their experiences and something they can reference in the future.

We even tested live stream capabilities by doing a live interview from the convention center each day. You can find the archive of these interviews under the Live Stream tab on the site. We met Jeff and Eric of OrgSync on Sunday, and they were kind enough to spend some time with us talking about their collaborative online campus offerings. In addition, we interviewed panelists from The New York Times and Chicago Tribune, as well as business owners who were in attendance to gain new insight into technology trends.

The SXSWi team, of which several of my former and current students are a part, put on an amazing event each year, and continue to improve with each successive year. I don’t know how they’ll top 2009, but I’m already looking forward to March 2010. If you deal with technology and media in any manner, I highly recommend attending SXSW. And, if you can stick around for the second part of the week, the music’s not too shabby either. See some of the pictures and videos I shot during some of the music showcases at www.onthatnote.com. Hope to see you in Austin next year.