Using Social Media in Academic Practice

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
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Training Requirements for Research Students
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Student Feedback
Value opportunities for sharing good practices and experiences
Concerns over time-intensiveness of using social media in studies

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
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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

Using Social Media in Academic Practice

by Andy Coverdale on Jul 09, 2010

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Using Social Media in Academic Practice — Presentation Transcript