The Role of Social Media in Today’s College Student Experience �Liz Gross�Penn State Social Media Summit �November 9, 2015 �

@LizGross144 �  

Opportunity�

Social Media and College Students �A Decade of Research�

2005�

2006�

Social networking sites were first defined in the literature by boyd and Ellison (2007).�

Early Social Media Research:�

Early Facebook Research:�

•  Here’s how often college students use it �(Jones, Ramanau, Cross, & Healing, 2010; Judd & Kennedy, 2010; Hargittai, 2008) �•  Here’s what they post about �

(Selwyn, 2009) �•  There are differences among users and non-users

(Hargittai, 2008) �•  Students aren’t likely to utilize Facebook virtual

office hours with faculty�(Lei & Pitts, 2008) �

Early Facebook Research:�

•  Students who spend more time on Facebook spend more time on face-to-face activities�(Heiberger & Harper, 2008) �•  Students who persisted to the second year were

more likely to use Facebook to connect with other students at their institution�(Morris, Reese, Beck, & Mattis, 2010) �

Early Twitter Research:�•  When used to supplement an LMS for an online class,

Twitter has a variety instructional benefits, including:�– Respond to students quickly�– Teach concise writing�– Maintain a relationship after the course ends�

(Dunlap & Lowenthal, 2009) �

•  When using Twitter for learning Italian, more than half of students responded positively, but a third had negative opinions�(Antenos-Conferti, 2009) �

Post 2010 Research�

•  Correlation to student outcomes�– i.e., engagement, GPA�

•  Student identity development �•  Better understanding of student perceptions of

institutional uses of social media�– Faculty�– Campus communicators�– Student activities�

When faculty use Twitter with students outside of class, students report higher levels of campus engagement and have higher GPAs.� Junco, Heiberger, & Loken, 2011 �

When attempting to correlate Facebook use to student outcomes, type of Facebook use matters.�

Junco, 2011 �

Relationship of Specific Facebook Activities to Student Engagement �# Creating or RSVPing to Facebook events�# Commenting�# Viewing photos�$ Posting photos�$ Checking up on friends�$ Playing Facebook games�

Junco, 2011 �

Social Media and Student Identity Development�

Junco, 2014 �

Identity:�Conscious sense of individual uniqueness�

Erickson, 1968 �

Online�Disinhibition �

Effect �

Junco, 2014 �

Cons �

• Bullying�• Shaming�• Threats�

Cons �

Pros �

• Online class discussions�• New student Facebook groups�• Coming out or exploring LGBT identity�• Positive risk-taking�

Campus professionals should support student engagement with social media & validate the exploration of their identities online.�

Junco, 2014 �

Since 2010,�

16,512 published doctoral dissertations have “social media” in the text.�

1,455 are relevant to higher education.�

23 identify “college students” as a subject.�

Based on a search of the ProQuest dissertation database.

I’ll review 5 of them for you.�

Developing Digital Student Leaders: A Mixed Methods Study of Student Leadership, Identity Development, and Decision-Making on Social Media��Dr. Josie Ahlquist�California Lutheran University�2015 �

@josieahlquist�  

Percentage of 2,200 social media posts from student leaders that were defined as “appropriate.”�

Colleges Need To Provide �

• Guidelines, not policies�• Student leader contracts with positive

language�•  Inclusion of students in campus social

media policy development �

Ahlquist, 2015 �

An Exploratory Study of Students’ Use of Facebook and Other Communication Modalities In Order To Receive Student Affairs Information ��Dr. Alicia Huppe �University of North Texas�2011 �

@aliciahuppe �  

What student affairs functions have you accessed using Facebook in the last year?�

Percentage of students that had not accessed any student-affairs related pages on Facebook in the last year�

What is the primary method of communication you’d like us to use for student affairs information?�

Campus Topics�

Student Events�

Student Use of Social Networking Sites: A Multi-Method Study At An Access Institution ��Dr. Jesse Robert Bishop�University of West Georgia�2015 �

@ProfJBishop�  

Social media plays a significant role in the daily lives of students.�

Social media use in academic settings is limited.�

Campuses and faculty lack meaningful social media presences.�

Exploring the Role of Email, Blackboard, and Facebook in Student-Instructor Online Interactions Outside of Class: A Mixed Methods Study� �Dr. Olivia Laura Halic �University of Tennessee�2011 �

@Olitzi�  

When students interacted with a faculty member online … �

Percentage of students that reported interacting with a faculty member using email�

97% email�52% LMS�5% Facebook�1% IM �

Ways Students Communicate With Faculty Online �

Email was perceived as the “official” form of communication with faculty.�

Facebook made students feel like they had a better connection with a faculty member.�

Students were more likely to connect with faculty on Facebook if they sensed “a vibe.” �

An Examination of the Relationship Between the Communication Methods Used in Out-of-Class Student-Faculty Interactions and the Content and Frequency of Those Interactions� �Dr. Liz Gross�Cardinal Stritch University�2015 � @LizGross144 �

 

The more methods a student uses to communicate with faculty, the more frequently they communicate with them.�

Average number of times students report communicating with faculty in a typical month�

Students who use social media to communicate with faculty report twice as many faculty interactions than average.�

6% used to communicate with faculty�23% want to use it to communicate with faculty�

3% used to communicate with faculty�10% want to use it to communicate with faculty�

KEEP CALM

ANDSUMMARIZE

College students are high-frequency social media users�

Social media is multi-channel Platform usage is not universal �

Social media contributes to identity development �

Personal and academic identities are often viewed as mutually exclusive�

Colleges could be doing more to role-model productive use of social media�

This will be difficult until all employees are comfortable using social media�

Students don’t view social media as official communication�

There are opportunities to connect with some students using social media�

Opportunities for “Unofficial Communication” �

• Take more risks�• Have more fun�• Prototype ideas�

Because social media is not “official,” when you use it to impact a key objective you will be recognized.�

Thank you.�

Sources �Ahlquist, J. (2015). Developing Digital Student Leaders: A Mixed Methods Study of Student Leadership, Identity Development, and Decision-Making on Social Media. (Doctoral dissertation.) �Antenos-Conforti, E. (2009). Microblogging on Twitter: Social networking in intermediate Italian classes. In Lomicka, L. & Lord, G. (Eds), The next generation: Social networking and online�

collaboration in foreign language learning. (pp. 59-90). Calico Monograph Series, No. 9.�Bishop, J.R. (2015). Student Use of Social Networking Sites: A Multi-Method Study At An Access Institution. (Doctoral dissertation.) �Dunlap, J. C., & Lowenthal, P. R. (2009). Tweeting the night away: Using Twitter to enhance social presence. Journal of Information Systems Education, 20(2), 129-136.�Gross, L. (2015). An Examination of the Relationship Between the Communication Methods Used in Out-of-Class Student-Faculty Interactions and the Content and Frequency of Those�

Interactions. (Doctoral dissertation.) �Halic, O. L. (2011). Exploring the role of email, Blackboard, and Facebook in student-instructor online interactions outside of class: A mixed methods study. (Doctoral dissertation.) Retrieved�

from: http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/1185 �Hargittai, E. (2008). Whose space? Differences among users and non-users of social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 276-297 �

doi: 10.1111/1083-6101.2007.0396.x�Heiberger, G., & Harper, R. (2008). Have you Facebooked Astin lately? Using technology to increase student involvement. New Directions for Student Services, 124, 19-35. doi: 10.1002/ss�Huppe, A. (2011). An Exploratory Study of Students’ Use of Facebook and Other Communication Modalities In Order To Receive Student Affairs Information.�

(Doctoral dissertation.) �Jones, C., Ramanau, R., Cross, S., & Healing, G. (2010). Net generation or digital natives: Is there a distinct new generation entering university? Computers & Education, 54(3), 722-732.�

doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2009.09.22 �Judd, T., & Kennedy, G. (2010). A five-year study of on-campus internet use by undergraduate biomedical students. Computers & Education, 55(4), 1564-1571.�

doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2010.06.022 �Junco, R. (2011a). The relationship between frequency of Facebook use, participation in Facebook activities, and student engagement. Computers & Education, 58(1), 162-171.�

doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2011.08.004 �Junco, R. (2014). Engaging students through social media: Evidence-based practices for use in student affairs. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.�Junco, R., Heiberger G., & Loken, E. (2011). The effect of Twitter on college student engagement and grades. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 27(2), 119-132.�

doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2729.2010.00387.x�Li, L., & Pitts, J. (2008). Does it really matter? Using virtual office hours to enhance student-faculty interaction. Journal of Information Systems Education, (20)2, 175-186.�Morris, J., Reese, J., Beck, R., & Mattis, C. (2010). Facebook usage as a predictor of retention at a private 4-year institution. Journal of College Student Retention, 11(3), 311-322.�

doi: 10.2190/CS.11.3.a�Selwyn, N. (2009). Faceworking: Exploring students’ education-related use of Facebook. Learning, Media and Technology, 34(2), 157-174.� � � � ��