Best practices for teaching with social media(Web 2.0) Karen Neves W.K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library Dalhousie University

Today’s topics What are social media/web 2.0? How do we teach? Considerations for using social media in teaching Examples of social media teaching in action

Social media briefly defined At its most basic sense, social media is a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content. It's a fusion of sociology and technology, transforming monologues…into dialogues…and is the democratization of information, transforming people from content readers into publishers. (Source: Wikipedia.)Wikipedia

How do we teach? Classroom Large group Small group One on one Hands on vs didactic Single session vs repeated contact Videoconference, telephone, web conference

Examples of social media Facebook/MySpace Facebook Twitter (Find other librarians on Twitter) (Kellogg Library Twitter account) TwitterFind other librarians on TwitterKellogg Library Twitter account Wikis (wiki for this session)wiki for this session Blogs (Kellogg Library blog)Kellogg Library blog YouTube (University of Florida Libraries YouTube channel) YouTubeUniversity of Florida Libraries YouTube channel Flickr, (CHLA/ABSC 2008 Conference Flickr Pool) FlickrCHLA/ABSC 2008 Conference Flickr Pool Digg, Reddit DiggReddit delicious, StumbleUpon deliciousStumbleUpon

Rules for teaching with social media Rule #1: There are no rules Photo used under creative commons license. Credit.Credit

When might you use them? Single session – YouTube/Flickr, wiki, blog Repeat contact – Facebook, blog, wiki, delicious, YouTube/Flickr Hands on – Twitter, web portal (like LibGuides), wiki One on one – Instant message, Twitter, blog, wiki, Facebook

Considerations for you Are these media blocked in your organization? Who is your audience? How much interaction do you want? Do you want participants to change or contribute information? Do you want synchronous or asynchronous contact? How steep is the learning curve? How much upkeep is required?

For learners… Should be as much about learning as teaching Should make contact easier – for you and your participants Should allow for input & dynamic exchange of ideas Should be fun Just because we can doesn’t mean we should

Case study: Facebook fan pageFacebook fan page The good: Students live on Facebook Free Allows user input The bad: Asynchronous interaction Some features require HTML programming skill Needs to be manually checked The ugly Difficult to keep regularly updated RSS feeds won’t work

Why didn’t this work? Our goal was not clearly defined We misunderstood our audience We misunderstood our medium – we got it backwards: social tool with educational component Interaction is labour intensive The chosen tool is not flexible enough

Case study: Undergraduate Medicine LibGuide Kellogg Library home page Main point of access for users Undergraduate Medicine LibGuide Web portal bringing together library resources in support of program. Architecture of site based on curriculum units. Social media features include feedback boxes that go to librarian, boxes where students can share resources they’ve discovered with each other and an instant message widget to reach librarian.

Why does this work? Clearly defined goal We understood our audience We understood our medium – educational tool with social component Interaction is more immediate – with library & each other Ease of use – for students & librarian – minimal upkeep, minimal learning curve Allows user-generated content One-stop shopping – confidence in resources

In summary Have a clearly defined goal Know your audience Choose the appropriate media Understand the time constraints Decide which aspects of social media you want Have fun!

No social media were harmed in the making of this presentation. They were, however, manipulated mercilessly and used exhaustively.* Thank you. *Flickr, Creative Commons, Wikipedia, Facebook, LibGuides