Using Social Media for Academic Practice and Impact

Andy Coverdale

27 November 2012Engineering and Science Learning Centre

#1Social media are not only about impact

#2Social media are interrelated. Technically, commercially and culturally

#3Social media do not exist in isolation

#4Social media constitute a contested space

#5Both interaction and broadcast metaphors apply

#6 Academic reputations and hierarchies are easily transferred

#7Practices are emergent, contested and culturally situated

SOURCE, MANAGE& SHARE RESOURCES

COLLABORATIVEWORKING

DISSEMINATION

NETWORKING

SOURCE, MANAGE& SHARE RESOURCES

RSS Readers

COLLABORATIVEWORKING

DISSEMINATION

Facebook

Twitter

Blogs

Google Docs

Wikis

‘Ning’ Sites

Social Bookmarking& Referencing

Facebook Groups

NETWORKING& DISCUSSION

MOOCs

LinkedIn

Content Sharing Sites

Google+

Tools

Spaces

Individual ProfessionalDevelopment

ResearchProject

Events &Conferences

Research Group /

Department

Barriers to adopting social media?

Time-consumingLack of knowledge / awareness / ‘best practices’Insignificant and frivolousEgocentric, opinionated and self-publicisingNot trustworthy, unreliable contentLack of academic rigourNot formally recognised / rewarded by institution Lack of institutional / departmental support or incentiveInstitutional constraints or regulationsCompromises formal publication opportunitiesThreats to representation (self, institution, research)Risks of disclosure (research design, findings etc.)TechnophobiaLow initial rewardsLow regard of contribution – “I’ve nothing to say”Exposure of academic naivetyCompromises lecturer / student relationshipsCompromises existing personal / recreational use and online identityPotential misinterpretation and misappropriationCommercial imperative (non-institutional / non-academic)Issues of privacyOwnership, copyright and IP issues

NETWORKING

Facebook LinkedIn Academia.edu Google+ Twitter

General / recreational social networking

Professional networking (business-orientated)

Dedicated academic network

General / recreational social networking

Microblogging site

‘Friending’ metaphor (reciprocal)

‘Connections’ metaphor (reciprocal)

‘Following’ metaphor (non-reciprocal)

‘Following’ metaphor (non-reciprocal)

‘Following’ metaphor (non-reciprocal)

Status updates,commenting, messaging and live chat

Status updates and messaging.Professional profiling

Status updates and messaging

Circles – organisation of followers and privacy settings

Tweets (max. 140 characters)Retweeting, direct messaging,lists and favourites

Facebook Groups, events and pages

Job seeking and listing facilities

Content sharing – papers etc.

Hangouts (group video-chat).Integration with other Google apps. and services

Third-party clients, apps. and services

Twitter: Academic Practices

Knowledge / resource sharing – posting, accessing and ‘retweeting’ microcontent

‘Information overload’ – using people as ‘filters’

Self-promotion – new blog posts etc.

Notification – new publications, events, call for papers, announcements etc.

‘Crowdsourcing’ – asking questions, making enquiries

Real-time discussion

Real-time search engine

Hashtag communities and networks e.g. #phdchat – informal community / network of PhD students

Events and conferences – the ‘backchannel’ and remote conferencing

Format Media Mode Genre

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What?Type of research work / activities / content etc.

Where?Social media – platforms and tools

When?Stages of project / study / tenureHow might this support / compromise formal publication?

How?Type of format / media etc.

Who (to/with)?Audience – academic / discipline / publicStakeholders – participants / partners

Blogging

Writing Development

Contribute to development of writing skillsDeveloping writing ‘voice’Experimentation with different writing forms / styles

Conceptual Development

Blogs as Narrative - journal-style structure (e.g. research project / PhD)Blogs as Documentation - contextualised personal / professional development (chronological / themed)Blogs as Reflective process - development of ideas / concepts / projects

Blogging: Impact Factors

Contexts

Emphasis on personal perspectives and experiences – Informal and subjectiveOpportunity to explore wider contexts – socio-cultural, political and economicEngaging a wider (non-specialist) audience

The ‘Blogosphere’ – blogging community

Reading, linking to, and commenting on each others blogsBeyond local research community – geographically and (inter)disciplinaryEstablish sustainable channels of discussion, feedback and peer support

Group blogs – guest blogging Institutional / departmental blogs or project blogs

Increasingly multimodal – RSS feeds, links, tags, images and videoNon-textual formats: video blogging, podcasting

Blogging: Relationship with Formal Publication

Work-in-progress – shape ideas, concepts and methodologies

Draw on personal perspectives and experiences

Contribution to development of formal publication – thesis, journal article or report

Develop smaller, specific components of text

Summaries and specific parts

Informal, personal and subjective

Engage a wider (non-specialist) audience

BLOGS

FORMALPUBLICATION

Based on: Jacob E Bardram | The Fish Model (2007) http://www.itu.dk/people/bardram/pmwiki/?n=Main.ArtPhD

Blog Content

Can include:

Reports on academic events, including workshops, seminars and conferences

Book and article reviews

Commentary on ‘academic life’ including teaching and research projects

Research methods and methodologies, and academic writing

Using research tools and software

Development of theoretical and conceptual ideas

Training and professional development

The academic experience – emotional development and well-being

Some Other Social Media

Content Sharing Sites

Sharing of academic content in different formats / mediaTagging and annotation of content - playlists, favourites and commentsContent can be embedded on external sites (blogs etc.)

Presentations e.g. Slideshare Papers / Reports e.g. Scribd Images e.g. Flickr Video e.g. YouTube Vimeo Networking Sites e.g. LinkedIn Academia

Community Sites (Ning)

Specialist or community-based themesMultifunctional - profiling / discussion (forums), blog posting, and repository

e.g. Ning SocialGo BuddyPress

Some Other Social Media

Text Editing Tools

Wikis – text-based collaborative platform e.g. Mediawiki Wikispaces

Google Docs. – suite of office tools – synchronous editing for multiple users

Social Bookmarking

Personal / collaborative organisation of web-based contentExamples: Delicious Pinboard

Tagging also used in blogging, and content sharing sites (e.g. Flickr YouTube and Slideshare)

Social Bibliography / Reference & Citation

Personal and social management of academic papers and referencesSynchronisation between browser, desktop and web based programmesCollaboration through group-based and networking activities

e.g. CiteULike Zotero Mendeley

The persona an individual presents across all the digital communities in which he or she is represented.

http://thisisme.reading.ac.uk

““Digital

Identity/ies

Modernist Postmodernist

Determined by dominant structures

Socially constructed and culturally mediated

Stable Flexible and in flux

Singular and developmental Multiple and fragmentary

Unified across multiple contexts

Diversified across multiple contexts

Identity is…

Digital Identity and Reputation

Web Presence – ‘Digital Footprint’

New channels of academic discourse, research dissemination and peer reviewPermanence and transience – activities and artifacts are increasingly searchable / traceable

Online Profiles

Professional / institutional site registrations – personal profilesSelf-publishing – e.g. blogs "About” pageProfessional Development – Digital / online CVs and e-Portfolios

Digital Artifacts

Academic content and referencesRecords of social interaction – blog posts, tweets, forum discussions etc.

Modality

Verbal, textual etc.Multimedia – images, video etc.

(R)ecognising technology practice as diverse and constitutive of personal identity, including identity in different peer, subject and workplace communities, and individual styles of participation.

Beetham et al. (2009:3)

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Image: Rachel Walls | http://newresearchtrajectories.net

Critical and Reflective Practices

Resources

Identifying appropriate tools and platforms and evaluating their affordances

Negotiating institutional, proprietary, and open-source resources

Training and Shared Practice

Identifying appropriate training needs within lifelong learning and professional development contexts

Developing opportunities for shared practice and potential for individual, participatory and collaborative design

Digital Literacies

Developing new socio-technical workflows

Negotiating new academic (inter)disciplinary communities and networks

Recognising shifts in academic protocols – new modes and means of production, peer review and knowledge resources

Adapting to new practices in academic integrity and responsibility – referencing and attribution of digital sources and artefacts

Understanding emerging multimedia and multimodal practices

Managing online identities and reputation

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/graduateschool/resources/socialmedia/index.aspx

Research Practices 2.0

Thanks!

Andy Coverdale

Blog: http://www.phdblog.netTwitter: @andycoverdale