Ask-Dr-Kirk

60 Ways Educators Are Using Twitter

 

I think Twitter is a great tool for students to learn how to use professionally and have included Twitter assignments in several of my management courses. If you're thinking about using this tool, here are 60 examples of how educators are using twitter in the classroom.

 

What Is SOPA? And Why Should I Care?

Anyone who doubts the power of social media hasn't been following the SOPA controversy this week. SOPA stands for Stop Online Piracy Act and it, along with related legislation, PIPA, has been a hot topic of discussion on the internet. I was trying to explain the issue to one of my students and found these resources.

Clay Shirky, author of Here Come Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations, does an excellent job of explaining the history behind this move to pass the SOPA legislation and how it affects the public in this Ted Talk video.

 Wikipedia, Google, Wordpress, Craigslist, and many other sites made a statement on Wednesday, January 18, by blacking out their homepages or even their entire website, making these unavailable to the public.

The National Post did a Q&A on why this is an issue and why Facebook and Twitter decided not to participate in the blackout.

Jeff Ogden (@fearlesscomp) tweeted me this analogy: "The patient is very sick. But Congress wants medicine that will not only kill the patient, but lots of others too.

Ike Pigott (@ikepigott) explained it this way: "Those against SOPA are not "pro-piracy." They just believe there are better ways to kill crabgrass than Agent Orange."

Kirk Tuck (photographer) presents the opposite point of view as an artist.

I'd be interested in your thoughts on the issue.

Amazing Use Of Dancers As Visual Aid Rather Than Powerpoint

John Bohannon uses dancers instead of powerpoint to discuss scientific topics and advocates that we all be more creative in our visual aids. Great thing to think about as we begin a new semester of teaching.

 

Amazing Use Of iPads To Teach Music In The Classroom

Check out this video on how this company is helping schools teach music with iPads. I'm wanting an iPad myself now!

Tips For Students On Using Google Search More Effectively

According to a recent study on student research skills, 75 percent of students do not know how to do a well-defined online search of a given research topic. You might want to share this site with lots of tips on using Google search more effectively. 

18 Educational Apps For Your Smart Phone

Check out these apps for your smart phone including a free app to Ted Talks, Evernote's notetaking app, and an interactive grammar app with over 1800 questions to test your skills.

Great Video On The History Of Google Search

 

Interesting video that shows the evolution of Google Search from its beginnings in 1996 to how it works today as well as Google's plans for the future. Hard to believe we've only been able to "Google" for 15 years, isn't it?

Using Social Media For Research

Dr. Kathy Black (University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee) shares the following resources on how social media is being used by researchers.

Social Media: A Guide for Researchers

List and Links to Social Media Sites 

Case Studies: How Faculty Use Social Media for Research

Article: How Shoe Designers Are Using Social Media

Thought I would share an article I wrote that was recently published in the Drake Management Review. It’s on how shoe designers use social media but the tips given here by both designers and bloggers could be applied to a variety of businesses. Enjoy!

 

Photo by James M. Maher, 2011.

Video Of Student Project In Social Media Class

Here's a 5 minute video of the social media project that my MBA class at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee did this semester that I mentioned in an earlier blogpost. 

 

 

 

 

Student Project In Social Media Class A Huge Success!

 

As you know, social media is a relatively new concept and a few universities are beginning to offer a course on this in their journalism, PR, or marketing programs. This semester I taught a course in Social Media Management and Strategy for the first time in the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee’s MBA program.  I had given a great deal of thought to what the final exam should be and was thinking I would give them a choice of scenarios and have them pick one and put together a social media plan.

In the meantime, I went out to dinner one night with some friends and heard a local musician, Jonathan Cortez, for the first time.  We were all impressed by the range of music he sang including jazz, blues, top tunes from the 1980’s and even opera. Afterwards, I tried googling him to find future gigs and was surprised to find very little information. The proverbial light bulb came on as I thought he would be a great project for the class. The students agreed and were excited about developing a social media strategy for him, including designing a blog, getting him on LinkedIn and Twitter, updating his Facebook and Youtube accounts, etc. Here’s an article from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune that talks about their project.

Congrats to the MBA students in Cohort 8! I have to say this was one of the most interesting student projects I have been involved with in my 30 years of teaching!

Teaching Carnival 5.3

Check out all the great info on teaching, advice for students, tips on using technology, and suggestions for professional development at the Teaching Carnival 5.3 in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

 

Ways To Use Twitter In The Classroom

Tom Barrett (Principal Consultant at NoTosh Limited in Nottingham, United Kingdom) shares this google doc of interesting ways to use Twitter in the classroom.

 

Social Media Scavenger Hunt At USF

 

The University of South Florida is hosting a social media scavenger hunt for Homecoming Week starting October 17. The students will access Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, and Foursquare in order to virtually check-in to various physical locations on campus. There will be hundreds of prizes including t-shirts, hats, and a HP printer, and the grand prize winner will receive a iPod Touch. I'm thinking other universities might want to do something similar. You can find more info here.

 

Free Online Talking Dictionary

Not sure how to pronounce a word? I always have to stop and think about how to say "prima facie" in my Human Resource Management classes. Here's a very useful (and free!) online talking dictionary to help both us and our students.

Videos For Math Teachers

If you’re teaching mathematics, you might find these videos on how to teach students to write mathematics useful.   These practical tips are presented by Kevin Houston (University of Leeds), Mike Robinson (Shefrield Hallam) and Franco Vivaldi (Queen Mary, University of London). As noted:

Students don’t write mathematics correctly. They throw down a mess of symbols with the answer underlined at the bottom and rely on the examiner’s intelligence to get the marks. Teaching them to write in a more orderly and logical way has numerous advantages: it makes marking easier; allows students to demonstrate understanding (or not); forces an improvement in their thinking skills. Expressing their ideas clearly and correctly is a valuable skill for graduates in further study, employment and life in general.

Professor Houston also offers this free booklet on 10 Ways To Think Like A Mathematician.

Chris Brogan Talks on Trust, Twitter, and Listening as the New Black

Chris Brogan very generously gave 45 minutes of his time last Saturday afternoon to skype into my class on Social Media Management & Strategy at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee. Chris is the president of Human Business Works and the author of Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust  (with Julien Smith) and Social Media 101. His new book, Google + for Business, will be released in November of 2011. Below are some of the questions from the MBA students as well as Chris’s answers.

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Q: Why did you decide to write books on social media?

Chris: Actually I’ve always wanted to write books but I had in mind to write fiction. My coauthor of Trust Agents, Julien Smith, and I both had an early interest in entrepreneurship and then in social media as a way to build relationships. We found it to be an interesting way to look at the world. I was amazed when Trust Agents made the New York Times Best Sellers list-it must have been a slow week for book sales. On the other hand, there’s no asterisk next to my book stating this. J

Q: What is your take on Google+?

Chris: I predict that Google + will blow Facebook away, not by sheer numbers but instead by the huge traffic potential of Google+. This is partly due to the fact that Google and YouTube are the 1^st and 2^nd most widely used search engines on the internet. Dell is one company that gets Google+. Michael Dell is very active there in engaging live with the community. Talk about a trust agent-there’s no filter, no public relations person, he’s just talking with people about technology in the future. It’s all about building rapport-corporation systems don’t typically do this.

Q: What does it mean to be a trust agent?

Chris: Trust agents use the computer to be human at a distance. When you get a chance to laugh with someone, you take the information they’re sharing in a different way. It’s about engagement, building relationships, making connections. We forget how to be human online if we didn’t grow up with computers. You can’t discount emotions on social media but keep in mind that it’s not all “soft.” There’s business in there. You are in marketing regardless of what your job title is. It’s about sales, customer relations.

Q: How do we know it’s really the CEO or the celebrity who’s tweeting with us on Twitter or interacting with us on Google+?

Chris: Good question. Many stars have their agencies do their talking for them on social media. Taylor Swift has a 3^rd party handling her fans on Google+. However, when CEOs or celebrities come off their perch, it matters-we sit up and take notice. Kanye West got tired of the media twisting his words so he got on Twitter to present his side of the story. You can still hate him but at least he’s making the effort to be transparent.

Q: If a company culture doesn’t have the openness that it should, should they even be online or have a blog?

Chris: Listening is the new black. Companies don’t have to tweet or post. They can just lurk to see what people are saying about their products or company. However, there can be a direct ROI to being more open and engaging. Tony Hsieh was able to sell Zappos for 1.9 billion, in part due to his open policy on Twitter to listen and connect with his customers.

Q: Will social media replace focus groups?

Chris: The question is, are focus groups really speaking for your customers? I had the CEO of General Motors say to me that focus groups and marketers were telling him one thing and reality told him another. The problem is that there is unstructured data on social media. It takes time to read through blogs and tweets to throw out a report of  “really important stuff that someone should read.” There are some listening tools out there but we haven’t figured out how to quantify all this yet.

Q: What do you see as potential legal consequences on using social media? For example, if the CEO of a company is blogging something that’s not quite correct.

Chris: Good question. I have that same issue-what if I tell a company to do something while I’m consulting for them and it turns out to be the wrong thing. Professionals and companies have errors and omissions insurance that cover them for this. It’s best for companies to work with their legal teams especially in certain fields such as finance and healthcare. First, have a conversation about why you’re engaging in social media. Google the U.S. Air Force’s social media policy-they’ve done an excellent job.

Q: My company recently had an issue where someone wrote vicious things about one of our board members on our company blog. What’s your advice on how to handle negative comments?

Chris: Negative feedback can be the best kind-if everyone says you’re awesome but sales are down…obviously there is an issue you’re not aware of. However, anywhere there’s a chance for commenting, there’s a chance for stupidity. You can edit out crude language in the comments. If the comment is slanderous, you can report it but be cautious about throwing the lawyer card-can make you look like a jerk. Sometimes you have to accept the criticism and leave it there…acknowledge it by saying, I’m sorry you feel this way. If you look back at comments that person has said on other sites, you’ll usually find they tend to be negative in all situations. Also, many times others on the site will speak up and defend you…Keep in mind that research shows that 70 percent of people believe that if all feedback on a website is positive, that something is wrong. Why aren’t there any negative reviews? A good way to manage negative comments is to move it offline. Say that you’re sorry they had this problem and ask for their phone number so you can call them and talk.

Q: I’m concerned about how much personal information there is about me online. How do I handle this?

Chris: You choose how much to share. Don’t use Foursquare if you don’t want people to know where you’re going. When I’m going to a coffee shop to relax, I don’t post this as I don’t want people to track me down. And that’s ok too. Be smart about it. Embracing transparency is good but there’s too much letting it all hang out. Posting keg photos might be amazing at the time but perhaps not a few years later when you’re starting your career.

Q: We’re investigating Twitter as a business and professional tool in this class. What advice can you give us?

Chris: It’s about them, not you. If you’re not sure who to follow, listen first and then talk to people whom you find interesting. Look at Twitter.com/search for possibilities. My dad loves to play poker. When I showed him that he could connect with professional poker players on Twitter, it made it interesting for him. We do want to know more about you than buttoned-up you. But don’t post your kid’s photo to represent you or those red-eyed party photos.

Q: Any final tips?

Chris: The principles you learn from the web also work outside of social media. It’s all about being authentic. Also, keep in mind that making your own game is the new way of doing business.

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Chris Brogan obviously practices what he preaches. He skyped in from what looked to be his basement and had to share airspace a couple times with his five year old. He was engaging and informative. As one of the students told me afterwards, he seemed like someone she would want to be friends with. She went on to say it was a good model for her in how to be both credible and approachable at the same time.

Chris blogs at www.chrisbrogan.com and tweets at www.twitter.com/chrisbrogan.

 

 

Faculty Can Be Digital Natives Or Immigrants Too.

One of the challenges we're finding in the classroom is the difference between digital natives and digital immigrants. This article by Marc Prensky discusses some of the issues. However, I find that age itself cannot be used as a determinant as to which students will be comfortable with technology and which ones are not.

Recently an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education discusses the fact that we are seeing the same issues with faculty. New Ph.D.s coming out of their programs have been exposed to educational technology as a tool in the classroom. However, faculty who have been teaching for many years may not have the expertise or desire to use wikis, blogs, Skype, etc. You can read the Chronicle article here.

 

Creating Your Own Personal Learning Network (PLN)

One of the great things about social media is "meeting" other professionals online and sharing information, articles, and links. Michelle Baldwin has suggestions on how to create your own personal learning network. First, though she cautions that this takes time just as it would in person. However, the results are definitely worth it and I feel grateful to the educators I have met so far for sharing their expertise with me. Here are some great faculty to add to your PLN: Barbara Nixon, Alex Hosterman, Billie Hara, Natalie Houston, Ellen Bremen, and Rey Junco.

How To Find Authors To Speak To Your Class Or Bookclub For Free

My students enjoy interacting with the authors of some of the books they are reading. One way to do this is via Skype. Kate Messner has put together a list of authors who are willing to guest speak to your class or book club for free using Skype. Click here for authors.

Thanks to Rachel Labossiere for bringing this post to my attention.

 

How To Turn SmartPhones Into Clickers For The Classroom

I've been thinking of using clickers in one of my classes this fall. Professor Sue Franz (Highline Community College) gives step-by-step directions on how to turn student smartphones into clickers. The students might forget their clickers but it's safe to say they will have their phone with them!

Thanks to Ellen Bremen for pointing me to this post.

 

Apps For Profs

Professor Barbara Nixon (Southeastern University and Florida Southern College) shares these useful apps for professors including ones for keeping attendance, accessing discussion threads on Blackboard, and timing student presentations.

Using Clickers In The Classroom

Professor William B. Wood (University of Colorado, Boulder) finds that clickers are a teaching gimmick that actually works in the classroom for improving attendance and participation. As he notes, some of the advantages for students are:

They are answering anonymously—no one has to worry about the possible humiliation of giving a “dumb” answer.

Those who did not “get it” realize they’re not the only ones. In a typical lecture situation, such students are often inhibited from asking a question by the belief that “everyone but me probably understood.”

The students are actively engaged with the topic at hand and, therefore, more likely to understand and retain it better than if they were only sitting passively and listening to the instructor.

As instructors, we can find out immediately if students are not getting a point we are discussing and then explain it in more detail instead of waiting to see this lack of understanding on the next exam.

Additional information on how professors are using clickers in the classroom can be found here:

I am thinking of using clickers in one of my undergrad classes this fall. Anyone have any suggestions or tips to share?

 

 

Using iPads In The Classroom

Professor Alan Jacobs (Wheaton College) shares his experience on using his ipad in class. You can read more about it here.

For more feedback from professors who use iPads, check out this article here.

 

Creative Web Tools For Story Telling

Here are over 50 web tools that could help students develop their own web-based stories.

 

100 Educational Virtual Tours

Katheryn Rivas shares a list of virtual tours of cities, museums, famous landmarks, and buildings. As she notes, "you can learn how things are made, explore the human body or that of a life-sized whale, and visit ball parks and theme parks. There is even a section of incredible virtual tours that Google Earth has compiled that shares the world in a whole new way." The tours would be appropriate to use in history, science, geography, and art classes, among others. You can access the list of 100 educational virtual tours here.

 

Podcast On Using Twitter To Improve College Student Engagement

Professor Rey Junco (Lock Haven University) shares cutting-edge research as well as his personal experiences on how to engage your students by using Twitter. You can access his podcast here.

 

Twitter As Part Of Your Personal Learning Network

Professor Skip Via (University of Alaska, Fairbanks) shares how he thinks Twitter can be an useful tool in higher education in this video.

 

How To Use Twitter?

In case you've ever wondered how you or your colleagues could use Twitter, check out Ed Cabellon's great suggestions here.

 

Road Trip To CES!

I'm off to Las Vegas to attend my first International Consumer Electronics Show.  According to their website, “The International CES is the industry's largest educational forum to help companies expand their businesses and understand new technology...Last year at CES “two thousand five hundred exhibitors showcased their latest products on more than 1.4 million net square feet of exhibit space, with a total of 126,641 in attendance.”

I can't wait to see all the latest tech toys!

 

Wordle As A Classroom Learning Tool

I’m looking at some of the many ways Wordle can be used in the classroom. As noted on this website:

Wordle is a [software program] for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share...

Here are 48 interesting ways to use Wordle in the classroom.  Rodd Lucier shares 20 more tips to using Wordle here.

I plan to have my MBA students use Wordle as an ice breaker for the first day of class in the spring. Each student will put together and make a one minute presentation using Wordle as a visual aid with key words. I think it will be a great way to use technology to start the semester. 

Twitter Usage Increases Student Engagement AND Success In Classroom

 

Interesting video on Dr. Reynol Junco (Lock Haven University) and his research on how Twitter increases student engagement. In his study, he found that the group of students who used Twitter had a .5 point increase in overall GPA that semester over the control group that didn't. Wow.

 

Have You Tried Glogging Yet?

 

I'm looking at this site where educators or students can build their own GLOGS defined as "the creative expression of knowledge and skills in the classroom and beyond...GLOGS (are) online multimedia posters - with text, photos, videos, graphics, sounds, drawings, data attachments and more."

Can't wait to try it...

 

 

 

Using Wikis To Do Team Research Papers

In one of my classes this semester, I've assigned current topics and have instructed the students to develop their research paper in wiki format on Blackboard. This way I can watch the process and give feedback along the way. I can also build in accountability to make sure the students don't wait until the last minute to do their project.

Here's a site that discusses 50 uses for wikis. You can also read how other instructors are using wikis here.

Is anyone else using wikis for class projects?

 

Using Facebook As A Class Tool

I’m looking at these instructions on how to create a group for your class on Facebook. According to Richard Byrne, students are more likely to look at Facebook than Blackboard or a class blog. 

  

The Social Media Revolution

 

Just watched this updated Youtube video on the Social Media Revolution posted May 2010. It really does make you think about the perspectives our students come in with and what we should be teaching in our classes.

 

Twitter Usage By Faculty

Curious about how other educators are using Twitter? Check out this free report.

 

 

Best Ways Of Using Blackboard As A Teaching Tool

I'm reading through this list of 50 Tips to using Blackboard effectively.

Website For Creating Graphs

Here's an easy way to create various graphs (bar, line, pie) for classes.

 

Free Ebook For Teachers On Using Technology In Your Course Design

If you're thinking of incorporating technology into your classes this fall, here's a free ebook with lots of "how to" info. I have used Twitter, weblogs, Skype, and Wikis so far in order to get more active participation from my students.

 

How To Use Wikipedia As A Class Assignment?

If you've wondered how you might use Wikipedia as a resource in the classroom, here are two ways suggested by Dr. John Orlando (Norwich University). As he notes,"Wikipedia’s motto is 'no original thought,' meaning that everything must be cited, and uncited material is quickly removed. In fact, studies have shown the Wikipedia is about as accurate as Britannica."

One interesting idea is to have your students create their own articles for Wikipedia. Dr. Martha Groom (University of Washington) shares her tips on how to do this here.

Jon Udell walks us through how Wikipedia works by following a page and how it changes over time.

 

 

Educators As Hackers

Dr. Rey Junco (Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania) writes a very interesting blogpost on “Why Educators Must Become Hackers.” 

 

Using Blogs In Your Courses

Professors Irina Gendelman and Nathalie Kuroiwa-Lewis (Saint Martin’s University) share their approach to using a blog assignment in their creative writing course. They include guidelines for students as well as sample discussion questions and examples of effective and ineffective blogs. You can access their blogpost here.

Here's a rubric to grade blog assignments. Download Kirk & Johnson Blog Rubric

Social Media Used As Teaching Tool

New research study of college professors shows 52 percent of respondents use at least one form of social media as a teaching tool.

If you're interested in trying this, here are some possible resources:

Using Twitter and Facebook to get more class participation

Various ways to use blogs in the classroom (and a rubric for grading blogs)

Example of one professor's blog to teach Accounting

50 ways to use Twitter in the classroom

 

Quick Presentations: The Pecha Kucha Method

As we get to that time of the semester when many of us have our students do presentations, you might look at this creative approach called Pecha Kucha which incorporates 20 slides, each shown for 20 seconds, or a total of 6 minutes,40 seconds per presentation.

Some companies are even requiring applicants to use this technique as part of the interviewing process.

You can watch a Pecha Kucha video on using Pecha Kucha here.

Blogs As A Knowledge Management Tool In The Classroom

For those of you who are interested in using blogs in the classroom, here's a paper I recently presented in Dallas at the Southwest Academy of Management meeting. My co-author, Timothy Johnson, has included a rubric for grading blogs.

Download Kirk & Johnson SWAM 2010 Proceedings-1

 

 

What Could Twitter Do For Me?

For those whose colleagues, staff, or administrators ask, what exactly could I do with Twitter...here are some great suggestions.

Social Media Can Boost Your Business If You Do It Right...says me!

I'm in Biz941 magazine this month...talking about social media...

A New Blog On Teaching...And A Little On Accounting...

A friend of mine, Dr. Joe Hoyle (University of Richmond) has created a blog about the teaching of a class this semester. He starts out with some advice on how to create a good first impression with your students. As he notes, "It is about teaching first and about teaching Financial Accounting second."

 

Joe is an excellent teacher whom I've mentioned before on this blog so he's sure to have lots of good tips for all of us to "borrow."

 

How is Higher Education Using Social Media?

Ted Demopoulos answers questions about the use of social media in higher education here.