Social Media and Higher Education

Here's a recent email interview I had on higher education and social media - blogs, wikis, podcasts, etc.

1. How large an impact are social media having on the way colleges and universities communicate with their various audiences (students, prospective students,alumni, etc.)?

Social media are starting to have a large impact with colleges and universities, but we are very early in the adoption curve. Admissions are the furthest along, and "student life" blogs, for lack of a better name, are the most prevalent and popular, for example the admissions blogs at MIT.

2. What are the disadvantages of using these tools in higher education?

The perceived disadvantages are that they take too much time, and may reveal "secrets" the institution does not want to have publicized. Of course everything takes time, but plenty of very busy people make time to blog. In reality, higher education administrators and other employees are just starting to realize blogs exist and may be a very effective communications tool for them. As for "revealing secrets," anyone - students, administrators, alumni, etc., can and will blog, anonymously if necessary. There are no secrets anymore!

3. What are the risks of NOT using these tools?

The main risk is falling behind in the adoption curve and not reaping the benefits. For example, if a desirable student is deciding between two colleges, and one has a number of blogs that better reveal what life at the school is like, that can only be positive. If the school seems like a good match, most likely the student will chose it, but if it's not a good match, better to find out quickly for all concerned.

4. What are the implications in terms of cost and other "bottom line" measures in higher ed?

The only significant cost is time, and students and fervent alumni can sometimes do the blogging happily and not consider it work!

5. Why is higher education uniquely suited for adoption of social media?

I'm not sure higher education is uniquely suited, however it is extremely highly suited as education is based on the free flow of ideas and knowledge, and blogs and other social media facilitate that greatly.

6. I've heard of some school notifying students of acceptance via text message—what do you think about that practice?

I could see someone at a school personally, not officially, notifying a student that an official acceptance letter is coming, but a formal acceptance via such an informal channel is inappropriate in my view.

7. Does this sort of usage take away from the formality and gravitas traditionally associated with college education?

Not at all. Many effective learning experiences in school are through somewhat informal exchanges of ideas, whether in a classroom or other setting.

8. How do you predict the use of social media in higher education will continue to evolve and change?

I expect to see enormous growth in four areas:

a) Admissions blogs -- how can a potential student better understand what daily life would be like at that school other than reading blogs written by students currently there? There is no better way!

b) Alumni blogs -- fostering a sense of community with alumni is something higher educational institutions always strive to do, and blogs do this quite effectively. Quite bluntly, if former students view their relationship as a prior business relationship, i.e. "I paid X dollars for Y years of education and a degree," that will harm alumni involvement AND donations.

c) Higher education employee blogs. Not a great name perhaps, but a catch-all phrase for all high ed employees blogging on their experiences, whether professors, administrators, or even janitors. Hey, my freshman year janitor was only slightly older than me and a good friend to most of us, like an older brother. He was also quite literate and intelligent. If he blogged on his experiences at Dartmouth, I would absolutely read them! Ditto for many of my professors.

Another big benefit for professors is the networking with other academics working in similar areas, whether it's researching the mating habits of the White-eared Hummingbird (Hylocharis leucotis - thanks Wikipedia :) ) or working in a similarly obscure branch of mathematics. A blogger is very visible to anyone searching on their topic due to the search engines ranking bloggers highly.

d) Class blogs. For example, Delaney J. Kirk, PhD, Professor of Management at Drake University, ran an experimental class blog and had 100% of the students contribute to it in the form of contents, including some lively conversation. Compare that to a typical class where perhaps only 5-20% of the students maximum participate.

9. Will their audiences come to expect—demand,even—the use of social media?

Probably not in our lifetime! Due to the tenure system (which I support), professors are fairly free to do what they believe works best. Although Professor Slesnick, already teaching at Dartmouth for 20 years, insisted we receive our homework assignments via email (and the term 'email' didn't even exist yet), other professors may chose to only embrace more traditional methods of communications with their students.
This mirrors what students can expect after graduation, with some companies (and bosses) emphasizing face-to-face communications and interactions, while other embrace the latest Web 2.0 technologies and applications.

10. Some people predict that as social media’s usage increases, classrooms will become increasingly empty. Do you agree? What are the broader societal implications?

Social media cannot replace effectively replace all direct human contact effectively, only complement it. There is an enormous benefit to traditional classroom style teaching for many people, whether in person, or via a slightly less traditional video link or similar. For many people, students included, this is the most effective and desired form of learning.

The border societal implications can fill an entire book! But I'll mention a few:
The Internet is now read/write with blogs and other social media as compared to read-only so everyone has a voice and everyone can easily be a publisher.
Keeping track of friends and family is much easier now.
Everyone has a platform to show their expertise and passion on topics they care about.

11. Is social media becoming a tool via which smaller,lesser-know (or less "prestigious") schools can compete for students?

Absolutely! For example, a small and lesser known school can come to prominence due to one or more thought leaders using social media. Historically, these thought leaders would publish scholarly articles in prestigious journals most of us have never heard of, never mind read, and perhaps speak at conferences, that once again are not commonly known nor attended except by academics.
Using social media, suddenly they and their thoughts are readily available to greater world.
As an example, Dr Robert French who teaches at Auburn University in Auburn Alabama has risen to prominence in his field due to his involvement in social media, which incidentally, has also led to his many of his students being offered jobs upon graduation!

Comments

[Bryan Person, Bryper.com]

I would like to see more implementation of social media in the industry where I spent the first few years of my professional life: study abroad and international education.

The opportunities for blogging, podcasting, collaboration, recruiting, unconferences etc. are endless.

Here are a few that I've come up with:

* Create a blog or a podcast all about study abroad -- latest news, tips for adjusting to life overseas, profiles of international education programs, discussion of types of programs (short-term, semester, year abroad), how to find scholarships and grants for overseas study, etc. This could be a killer marketing effort for the school that does this and does it well.
* Set up a website that features students blogging about their experiences overseas or international students adapting to life in America.
* An international student advisor can produce a short podcast with weekly tips/updates for the school's international students.
* A Skypecast between students overseas and a program coordinator back in the home home country
* RSS updates could help the strapped-for-time international educator to keep up with industry news from hundreds of websites without having to visit those actual websites.
* Create a "Global Island" with seminars, trainings, etc. for students and educators in different locations.

[Ted Demopoulos, Blogging for Business]

Hi Bryan,

I didn't study abroad -- I wish I had. I didn't have much interest, until I realized later in life that I love travel and experiencing different cultures.
Blogs that covered study abroad could have easily convinced me. That's a great application, at meat in my mind.

[JD]

Ted, there is a place in higher ed and even secondary ed for blogging. Forcing blogs in the place of some term papers may generate better communication skills and a sense of urgency. You have to post frequently. You could have reviews of each others blogging. I have learned from blogging these past 6 months and if we do you use as an educational tool we are missing out. As far has the application form through blogging, I am glad I did not have to do that.
Ted, I didn't study a broad either, ok poor joke.

[Amy Cham]

Good timing...the same day you wrote this I was pitching the idea of an alumni blog to my fellow class officers. Surprisingly, I could not track down another MBA alumni blog to show as an example.

Even so, I won. :o)

[Ted Demopoulos, Blogging for Business]

Hi Jim,
I like the idea of a blog as an alternative to a term paper. You can't fake a blog, but you can crank out (or buy) a term paper overnight.

Amy - glad you won! Let us know when the blog starts up.

[Greg]

My comment to your 3/22 post may be more applicable here (reading in chron order), but I'd add that getting the buy in from the alumni association is key. They are subject to privacy policies with alumni information and may not be willing or able to share the contact info with an alumni group to allow the multiple contacts necessary to build an audience. If the association is not ready or willing to do the contacts for you (mine won't send out the blog's address anymore) then you just must keep putting the URL up there in other contacts made by the association.

Our alumni here are very busy people and many of the "older" alums are not familiar with this new fangled social media. We'll keep trying, though.

[Ted Demopoulos, Blogging for Business]

Hi Greg,
I understand privacy policies very well -- I was even speaking about them last weekend and occasionally write them, but an Alumni Association refusing to "help" in any way would be shocking, although perhaps not surprising. Alumni Associations, even the idea of "alumni" versus "prior student or customer of higher education" is based on community.

Keep plugging away and I wish you success!

[term paper writing]

The good thing about your information is that it is explicit enough for students to grasp. Thanks for your efforts in spreading academic knowledge.