Transcript Status Update: Social Media and its Influence on Student

S TATUS U PDATE : S OCIAL M EDIA
AND ITS I NFLUENCE ON S TUDENT
E NGAGEMENT AT M IDDLE
C OLLEGE
P URPOSE

To examine the growing trends of social media
and how it can be used to engage students at
Middle College
C ONTEXT

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).
I MPORTANT S TATISTICS
ABOUT S OCIAL M EDIA U SE

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)
P OSITIVE A SPECTS

S OCIAL
M EDIA U SE
OF
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
N EGATIVE A SPECTS OF
S OCIAL M EDIA U SE

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 faceto-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)
C URRENT T RENDS


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
C URRENT T RENDS C ONT.

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
G UIDELINES U SING S OCIAL
M EDIA


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)
R EFERENCES

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-educationaltechnology/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/socialmedia-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