There has been much activity in the world of higher education and social media, however when looking back on recent case studies or articles, there seems to be a lack of commentary on social media in non-traditional education.
Yesterday, I had the honor of speaking at the Career College Association‘s Annual Hill Day conference at the Washington Court Hotel in Washington, DC. The CCA is an organization for schools, institutes, colleges and universities that provide career-specific educational programs. For example, schools that offer short-term certificate and diploma programs, or two and four-year associate degrees.
It was interesting to talk with students and staff of these types of institutions, to hear how they feel about social media, or if they are even interested in using it. I would say the attitude of attendees was split, half interested in using social media and the other half just learning about new media for the first time.
Non-Traditional College Community Social Media
From an informal raise-of-hands survey of the approximately 170 attendees, about 90% had Facebook accounts, 50% had a profile on LinkedIn, 40% had a twitter presence and only a handful had YouTube channels. I advised attendee to see that even if they didn’t currently use social media, it’s still importance to recognize the social aspect of communication isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
“If none of these four tools seem worthwhile right now to go home and try at least one!”
Social media is about the changing face of communication and how people interact with one another. This can be applied to students, professors or community members. Social media can become a part of how one communicates as long as it has VALUE. Not ever technology tool or gadget out there will make sense with students’ lives, just the ones that offer information, resources and connections. Not sure which ones are right for you? Experimentation is key.
I focused my presentation on four basic social media tools used by traditional college students today: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube, giving examples and an overview of each. Afterward, a question answer session followed.
Questions About Social Media
- Is there a push-back or resistance from traditional higher education institutions about integrating social media into the classroom?
Like anything else new and different, there is resistance to change within higher education. Attitude and policy differ from school to school, but there are some outstanding professors, specifically in mass communication and journalism who have successfully incorporated a lot of social media into assignments and student projects. Professor Bill Handy, shown in the video, is an excellent example of a professor embracing social media. As far as resistance, its just a matter of how strict the curriculum is for a given course and how willing or comfortable a professor feels to use technology. A lot of hesitation comes from professors who don’t see the benefits of social media, are not convinced by statistics that its an effective learning tool or simply uninterested in learning new technology. This is a popular topic among educators today, covered by one of the recent Social Media Club Education Connection weekly #smcedu chats. - Is it alright to still use traditional means of communication when social media seems to be talking the world by storm? Is social media just a fad?
Communication varies depending on the community or audience it aims to serve. If traditional media works well for your audience then its a good idea to continue to use it. I don’t believe social media is a fad, I think some of the current tools we use may be temporary, but the overall trend of communication becoming more social and interactive is here to stay. - What is the most important new media tool for college students right now?
If I could recommend one social media took for students today, it would be to establish a presence on LinkedIn. This social media is the most professional out of any of the four presented and will give students more opportunities for potential jobs. Students need to be able to show potential employers a hard copy of a resume, but also a professional digital profile of education, accomplishments and portfolio pieces. LinkedIn is the perfect tool to showcase a person while at the same time allowing a huge network of contacts to be created based on people you have met throughout your schooling or career.
Interested in learning more about technology for education? Take a look at the new Tech Tools section of Tech Academy for a glossary of tools used for publishing, group collaboration and creating videos.
Post Update
Take a look at some of the photos from this amazing event, you may even see yours truly at the podium.
