Using Social Media in Academic Practice: A Student-led Training Initiative

Using Social Media in Academic Practice: A Student-led Training Initiative Andy Coverdale & LeRoy Hill University of Nottingham

Overview
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Sessions in social and participative media
PhD students and Early Career Researchers
Supported and hosted by the Jubilee Graduate Centre Rationale
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The effective use of social and participative media is increasingly becoming a key requirement in 21st Century academic practice and professional development

Key Drivers
‘ Gap’ in formal
PhD training provision
Promotion of
student-led initiatives
& professional development
Participation in
peer-supported activities
Teaching opportunity

Graduate Centres
xxx 5 Graduate Centres (3 Faculty-based / 2 campus-based) xxx Core Objectives
Faculty-specific training
Cross-disciplinary interaction and collaboration
Social and careers events, and work placement programmes xxx Researcher-led Events
Develop researchers’ own skills
Support and develop peers
Enhance employability potential

RCUK Joint Statement
Xxx
Training Requirements for Research Students
Xxx
Research Management : identifying appropriate resources and acquiring data effectively
Personal Effectiveness : demonstrating creativity, innovation and initiative, able to identify own training needs, motivation, use of sources of support
Communication Skills : articulation of ideas and arguments to wide ranging audience, supporting the learning of others
Networking and Team Working : developing co-operative networks and relationships
Career Management : taking ownership of career and improving employability, awareness of transferable nature of research skills

The Sessions: Overview
xxx
Three lunchtime sessions (2 hours each)
Limited to 20 people per session
Multi-disciplinary
Pre-survey and Twitter feed - attendees’ interests, experiences and expectations
Interactive - discussion activities
Xxx
Online Resource
Tools: annotated links to key social media
Resources: annotated links to guides, tutorials and best practice examples

The Sessions: Key Aims
xxx
Finding common ground between Web 2.0 ‘core values’ and academic practice
Addressing wider concepts - digital identity, Open Access / Education models, collaborative practices etc.
Aligning with social learning concepts and models - communities of practice, network theories etc.

The Sessions: Programme
Xxx
Key Concepts
Key Processes / Technologies
Key Tools / Platforms
Xxx
Session One : Introduction to social media, underlying concepts, values and technologies
Session Two : Blogging, Twitter, tagging and social bookmarking, resource sharing
Session Three : Social networking and collaboration, aggregation and syndication, Personal Learning Environments

Key Outcomes
xxx
Observations
Limited awareness and use of social media for academic purposes
Strong respect of / reliance on traditional forms of research practice, discourse and dissemination
Cultural differences in social media adoption across disciplines
xxx
Student Feedback
Value opportunities for sharing good practices and experiences
Concerns over time-intensiveness of using social media in studies

Some Feedback Comments "I can't believe that I have been in the dark for so long, its almost like discovering word processing..I've been struggling with the PhD by myself for so long, with tutors who just haven't got the time or inclination to discuss my ideas. I have been trying to achieve something on my own that is essentially collaborative in nature. All the pieces now begin to fit together." "A good overview of the content, nature, function and uses of social media It will make me think about my online presence and how I would develop it I realise that this can become part of my repertoire This stimulates me to put my work through the channels of social media Will start building a webpage" it could be longer! Not that interactive

Key Training / Policy Issues
xxx Training Issues
Disciplinarity - engaging with multi-disciplinary audiences
Addressing inequalities in skills, competencies and experiences xxx Policy Issues
Integration of student initiatives into formal graduate training provision
Inspiring further student-led initiatives

Current and Future Development
Xxx
Repeat sessions at Jubilee Graduate Centre
One-day session at the Engineering Graduate Centre
Participation in JISC Digital Literacies Materials Pilot programme
Towards integrated programme - open workshops, seminars, online community development etc.
Integration into formal PGR training programme?
Sustainable models for shared practice

Summary
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Relate to traditional academic practices - publishing, conferencing etc.
Identify challenging and augmenting properties of social media adoption
Adopt holistic perspectives of social media
Focus on academic and professional community / network development
Recognise the need for coping strategies
Promote critical and reflective approaches

Thank You! Questions, Comments, Suggestions? LeRoy Hill Andy Coverdale email: ttxlh12@nottingham.ac.uk email: ttxac20@nottingham.ac.uk twitter: @leroyh twitter: @andycoverdale

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Using Social Media in Academic Practice: A Student-led Training Initiative

by LeRoy Hill on Jul 06, 2010

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Using Social Media in Academic Practice: A Student-led Training Initiative — Presentation Transcript