This past Monday I jumped off the weekly 12:30 EST #SMCEDU chat to join a free webinar from Wiley Faculty Networks, hosted by social media maven Mr. Brian Solis. I was very excited to “meet” him online and listen to see what he had to say about the importance of connecting social media and education. I’m also attending a panel discussion at SXSW Interactive next week about his new book, Engage. Exciting stuff! Look for a follow up post sometime after the conference.
Social Media and Education: How Social Networks can Improve the Connectivity between Students and Educators
As far as social media and education are concerned, it seems like a natural fit for the two to work hand-in-hand in an effort to further communication between educators and students. So the question then becomes, “How do educators effectively teach social media literacy to students, utilize social tools inside higher education classroom curriculum and help students become social communicators when entering careers?”
Joined by educators teaching Business, Management, Communication, Public Relations, Marketing, Journalism, New Media and more, I listened in as Brian Solis presented an interesting perspective centered around the future of today’s students. Brian explained, “Just because students use social media, doesn’t necessarily mean they understand its implications in the real world.”
From Wiley Faculty Network's March 1 Webinar
That’s a great point, especially since as educators it’s our job to prepare students and train them for the future. So what can educators do?
Lead By Example.
Before technology, people only connected with those they knew in real life, from social circles, groups and organizations, family connections etc. Slowly, people started to connect digitally, as technology emerged, extending social circles to those people they likely hadn’t met in real life. At that time, there were real life identities and online identities. For example, AOL’s instant messenger brought people together to converse in real-time, but it was under the auspicious of a persona. Today, we communicate online in many forms, but it is more transparent, resembling who we are in real life. The same person you meet in real life today, most likely resembles the person you communicate with digitally. Social media allows you to connect with those who you don’t know in real life, but who you would like to get to know. That’s one of the greatest benefits of social media; geography no longer is a barrier to connecting people with similar interests. However, as educators, its important for us to point out to students that with the advent of social media and transparency, there must be an increased level of caution.
Communicating online creates digital shadows, which students may not be aware of when posting photos to Facebook or using Twitter. As educators, its our job to lead by example and show students how to effectively use social media, with as minimal damaging shadows as possible.
A recent study by CareerBuilder.com shows out of 2,500 hiring managers surveyed in 2009, Facebook and social networks were used 38% of the time to find out information on prospective employees. Students are not always aware that digital records don’t disappear, they may not realize it could seriously affect the future and their chances at landing the jobs of their dreams.
How To Help Students Use Social Media
Students should see that social media tools can be beneficial to them, regardless of their concentration, as long as value is added to their daily live. The bottom line is, social media isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Educators and students must both learn to participate in the social media realm, but participate in a way that is smart, educational and valuable. Since we are educating them on effective communication, we must be prepared to use social media tools inside of the classroom to get this point across. From personal conversations with other educators using social media, and chats with #SMCEDU, its clear that social media integration is not widely accepted or practiced across the USA. Its something Social Media Club- EDU aims to help facilitate through guidelines, training workshops, best practices and policy. Students need to know social media tools are not just useful for creating videos of your best friends, it can be used to collaborate on projects, share resources and reflect on each others work. Just as Brian Solis pointed out, its up to educators to pave the way for effective, smart student use of social media. It’s going to be interesting to see which educators step up to lead this communication revolution, and what becomes of social media and education.
Photos: Brian Solis Power Point Presentation Screenshots
