Social Media as an Educational Tool: Is there a place for this in the Community Colleges of Jamaica?   Presented by Mardene R. Carr Chief Librarian, University College of the Caribbean mardenec@hotmail.com

Definition: Social Media Web- based applications and services that allows users to interact and collaborate; allowing for social relations and learning between users and institutions that share common interest.

Introduction to Social Media Our higher education systems are vital in ensuring long competitiveness in the knowledge economy - resisting them will not affect the revolutionary value it has.

Social Media vs Traditional Media Both social media and more traditional media convey information content.

The difference: social media allows the user to engage in the creation and development of content. gather online to share knowledge, information, and opinions using web-based applications and tools

Higher Education in Jamaica Over the 20 years, the education sector has expanded in terms of the types of programmes being offered and the number of participants engaged in these programmes.

The More Things Change….. Delivery style is still mainly face to face Limited online access to programs Very slow pace when it comes to: going beyond the traditional and expand the learning experience to incorporate practical and cost effective measures that are linked to society in today’s context. redesigning the curricula for a competitive advantage to include social media

Competitive Advantage?... The involvement of international organizations in the sector have made it more diverse and complex The relatively slow embrace of the different technologies could damage the long-term viability and image of the higher educational sector; reducing its competitive advantage. 

The Learning Experience… Irrespective of the student's main discipline of studies, they should be exposed to tools and experiences that can provide perspective, depth and breath to their learning experience in a technologically transient society

The Learning Experience… Tertiary institutions seem to place much focus on the academic development of their students and not on character development and social responsibilities – social media can help with this.

Types of social media These computer mediated interactive tools include: Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Google Groups Windows online Blogs Wiki Skype Flikr

   Why use it? Anyone can register and use social media networks, no class distinction, no geographic limitations, etc. they are popular They present opportunities for enhancing the teaching/learning process.

   Why use it? Social media has become an integral part of students’ lives and as such it is important for tertiary institutions to get social. Leading tertiary institutions all over the world are using social media to reach students where they spend most of their time

Advantages Greater student interest/potential to appeal to all learning styles Greater student engagement/assist introverts  Allows for creativity

Advantages Students have greater control of their education Students take more responsibility for their education Allows teachers to incorporate real life experiences into the classroom

Advantages Encourages collaboration Support exchange of lesson plans Encourage teacher to teacher collaboration Fosters global community

Disadvantages:  Time consuming to manage this along with other class activities  Distractions  Cyberbullying

Disadvantages: Limits actual face to face interactions Continual social media change

Disadvantages: Viruses/Phishing scams Inappropriate content sharing or exposure Exposing the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’

How to integrate Encourage students to share work socially: students can share their work on a variety of platforms (Flickr, Twitter, Facebook etc). Require students to keep a blog: will cause students to read relevant articles often.

How to integrate Twitter: create accounts for the class and never use your personal account and create a unique hashtag (get feedback from the students on this. Students can be encouraged to follow current events on twitter; for example they could be asked to follow at least 2 news outlets, analyze and do a weekly report.

How to integrate Encourage students to share work socially  Require students to keep a blog Twitter Facebook Google Hangouts

Policies and Practices… Like everything else, the use of social medial needs to be governed by standards that guard against unintended consequences…this can be done through the policy initiatives.

Conclusion

Reference Blackenship, M. (2010). How social media can and should impact higher education. Hispanic Outlook.   Moody, M. (2010).Teaching Twitter and Beyond:Tips for Incorporating Social Media in Traditional Courses. Journal of Magazine & New Media Research, 11(2), p. 1-9 Solis, B. (2008). The essential guide to social media. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/3283966/The-Essential-Guide-to-Social-Media Straus, M. (2013). Social media in higher education: engage, share and learn. Retrieved from http://memeburn.com/2013/09/social-media-in-higher-education-engage-share-and-learn/  Wankel, C. (2011). Educating Educators with Social Media. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Pub.

Biography Mardene R. Carr I am a trained Librarian whose interests also include Technology in Education. I have published in areas such as telecommuting, paperless environment, Email as customer service tool, social media, competitive intelligence, online chat, and faculty collaborations. I have been employed as the Chief Librarian for the University College of the Caribbean (UCC) since June 2011. I have also worked in USA, Cayman Islands, Bahamas and Dominica. I have been a Librarian since 1991 when I graduated from the University of the West Indies. Since then I have done graduate studies at the University of TX (Library and Information Studies), Devry University (Educational Technology) and Louisiana State University (Information Science).

Questions