A Little Exploring

Right Now (at wvu.edu)
Student Goals:
1. Find People Like Them
2. Join a Group
3. Learn and contribute
(Find a mentor / be a mentor)

1. Find People Like Them At WVU
a) Facebook b) Directory
http://directory.wvu.edu/

The Challenges with Facebook
1) Which group to join?

The Challenges with Facebook
2) Wall posting is not so
great for finding people
who share attributes.
http://tinyurl.com/5nkwyu

The Challenges with the Directory
1. Can only search by name or email.
(not major, res. hall, interests, etc.)
2. Student can only opt out.
(no granular control)
3. Not attached to digital identity.
(Facebook has approx. 90% adoption. 3-30% of your
students use something with a feed. e.g. a blog, twitter, etc.)

2. Join Groups / Clubs / Orgs
a) Facebook (official) b) Official Website List
(nice job with this! : )
c) Facebook Unofficial

2. Join Groups
Challenges:
1. Does the student find the right group?
2. How do leaders recruit?
3. Which groups are active? Which leaders work?
4. Very difficult to assess involvement, esp. with FB.
(Assessment and improvement of this process is great for retention)
5. Student group activity is buried on their blogs.

2. Contribute to the WVU Community
(only 3-30% of your community is ready to “give back” but they are your best
and can be a big help. Think wiki contribution patterns here.)
a) Facebook b) Official Website Submit
(nice job with this! : )

This is great stuff,
but it’s 5 clicks
deep.
This is the 3-30% at work.
http://wvubiodieselproject.blogspot.com/

What if . . .
One system could serve your:
1. Directory
2. Groups / Clubs / Orgs
3. Digital Commons (aggregate student /groups feeds)
And provide assessment?

1. Students create an account as soon
as they are accepted.
They connect it to Facebook to verify identity
and get initial interest tags.
(those that use other online tools can add anything else to their profile)
}

This database powers the official WVU directory. . .
(basically, it’s a directory “widget” embedded in the wvu website.)

. . . and a directory in Facebook.
(as a Facebook application)

. . . and of course:
Benefits
http://wvu.redroverhq.com
1. Easy to find people in common
2. Increased community
3. Creates massive content (feeds)
from your top 3-30% of students.

2. Official Clubs are uploaded into system
(using excel doc).
Student leaders attach their
web tools (including FB groups) to their group profile.
(they can use any tool they want.)
}
Physics
Club

This database powers the official WVU group page. . .
Physics
Club
(basically, it’s a student org. page “widget”)

This database powers the official WVU group page. . .
Physics
And provides customized recommendations
Club
per student based on their interests.

This database powers the official WVU group page. . .
Physics
Students can join groups right on this
Club
page.

. . . and Facebook is synced . . .
. . . so student joining a group at either the WVU
site or Facebook notifies the student leader and is
tracked.

Leader notification email:
Jada Smith

Benefits
1. Recommendations increase group joining
2. Online recruitment and notification improves leader effectiveness
3. Facebook / Website sync increases assessment accuracy
4. Involvement activity is fed into FB Newsfeed, increasing visibility
With Assessment . . .

Involvement Dashboards
Live assessment of group joining.
RAs or Advisors Ashley Wilson
can make
personal volunteering
Recommendations

Students’ and groups’ efforts are
3. bundled in RSS feeds and presented
as the “digital commons”
(Think school specific friendfeed, filterable by major, res. hall, tag, #tag, etc.)
Digital Commons

Students’ and groups’ efforts are
3. bundled in RSS feeds and presented
as the “digital commons”
(Think school specific friendfeed, filterable by major, res. hall, tag, #tag, etc.)
Benefits Digital Commons
1. Builds communities, fosters
connection.
2. Students can see what groups do.
(If groups want them to.)
3. Great authentic content for
admissions.
4. Surfaces all the great work,
giving recognition to students.

Helping students
1. Find people like them
2. Join groups and create groups
3. Give to the community
A Single Web Based Tool:
And helping colleges
4. Track, assess, advise and
support the process