Melissa Bonner, Jessica Grandt, Jennifer Schwartz

STATUS UPDATE: SOCIAL MEDIA AND ITS INFLUENCE ON STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AT MIDDLE COLLEGE

University of North Dakota

PURPOSE

To examine the growing trends of social media and how it can be used to engage students at Middle College

CONTEXT

It is common for students to own more than one device such as a computer, smartphone, eReader, or tablet. There is a growing expectation by students to have a seamless experience across these devices (DeSantis, 2012)

Internet has become a global mobile network. One hour of video is uploaded each hour to YouTube, and over 250 million photos are sent to Facebook each day (Desantis, 2012).

IMPORTANT STATISTICS ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA USE

55% go online to get information about a college or university (Lenhart, 2009)

100% of institutions are using at least one form of social media (Lynch, 2011)

Over a quarter of all time spent on the internet is spent on social networking sites (Nielson, 2011)

POSITIVE ASPECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA USE

Enriches Learning

#FYCchat for professors teaching first-year composition (Templeton, 2011)

Experimentation with technology teaches transferable skills (Croxall, 2010)

Money raising tool

UW Madison donors pledge donations for every “follower” (Inside Higher Ed)

Easy networking

Academics drawn to social media for research purposes (Howard, 2011)

Crisis Planning/Management

Fast notifications for safety risks on campus

NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA USE

Sexual Predators use social media to connect with and stalk victims

Online harassment and bullying

Students may post content that will be looked upon negatively by future employers

Students may use social media as an alternative to face-to-face communication

Social media sites do not confirm people are who they claim to be

User-created content becomes the property of the owners of the domain (Barnes, 2006)

CURRENT TRENDS

Social Learning Websites (Parry & Young, 2010)

Student-to-Student collaboration on class projects or notes similar to Facebook status updates

i.e. OpenStudy, FinalsClub, GradeGuru, Mixable

Twitter as a participation tool during class lectures (Croxall, 2010)

Students access Twitter live feed that professors displays throughout class to actively engage with one another and lecture material

Google+ (Young, 2011)

Provides space for students and professors to share information with isolated groups

Utilizing Google+ to collaborate for research projects or hold office hours

CURRENT TRENDS CONT.

Creation of multiple social media account for personal and professional use (Young, 2011)

Multiple accounts do not indicate multiple identities but rather various perspectives

Utilization of Facebook accounts for various departments, clubs, residence halls, etc. (Young, 2011)

It is prudent to keep accounts active rather than creating a “zombie” online presence which deters students from visiting page again

GUIDELINES USING SOCIAL MEDIA

Encourage students to avoid providing personal information

Create a policy against cyber bullying and harassment

Make sure sites are updated regularly

Keep MC-owned sites free of inappropriate content

Remember: “Credibility, validity, and control are all notions that are no longer givens when so much learning takes place outside of school systems” (DeSantis, 2012)

REFERENCES

Barnes, S. B. (2006). A privacy paradox: Social networking in the United States.First Monday, 11(9), 11–15. Retrieved from http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue11_9/barnes/index.html

Croxall, B. (2010, June 7). Reflections on teaching with social media. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/reflections-on-teaching-with-social-media/24556

DeSantis, N. (2012, February 1). New media consortium names 10 top 'megatrends' shaping educational technology. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Retrieved fromhttp://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/new-media-consortium-names-10-top-metatrends-shaping-educational-technology/35234

Donors pledge $1 for each new friend, follower of wisconsin-madison. (2011, September 20).Insider Higher Ed, Retrieved from http://www.insidehighered.com/node/26389

Howard, J. (2011, February 20). Social media lure academics frustrated by journals. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Social-Media-Lure-Academics/126426/

Linch, L. (2011, Aug 29). How colleges and universities have embraced social media. Retrieved from http://www.schools.com/visuals/social-media-university.html

Nielsen. (2011). State of the media: Social media report. Retrieved from http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/social/

Parry, M. & Young, J. R. (2010, November 28). New social software tries to make studying feel like facebook. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/New-Social-Software-Tries-to/125542/

Templeton, E. (2011, January 24). Enrich your teaching through social media. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/enrich-teaching-social-media/30100

Young, J. R. (2011, June 19). Academics and colleges split their personalities for social media. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/AcademicsColleges-Split/127936/

Young, J. R. (2011, July 8). Professors consider classroom uses for google plus. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/professors-consider-classroom-uses-for-google-plus/32131