2. The Social Web & Higher Education?
Student, faculty, staff, institutions want to use it.
! We are social by nature
! We are driven by our passions
! We seek identity & individuality
! We no longer feel bound by that which is immediately around
us
! We seek better ways to manage information overload
! We spend more time connected virtually to one another than
we do physically
! We can interact with one another in ways that were never
possible before (or were extremely cost prohibitive)
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3. Yet, social networking sites don’t
seem to be the answer.
Don’t Friend me!
! Privacy
! Content Ownership
! Academic Identity
! Knowledge Networking
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4. The Engagement Principle
As institutional leaders, faculty and staff, we care about
engagement.
! The majority of students drop out because of a lack of
connection to the university.
! Increased student engagement can lead to:
• Higher retention rates
• Improved academic performance
• Contextual, situational or differential learning, resulting in the building of
higher order thinking skills
! Increased faculty & staff engagement can lead to:
• Stronger ability to meet institution goals, mission & vision
• Tighter alignment with institution values
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5. What About Academic Identity? Networking?
In a world where we are one of many, we seek identity & look for
others to network with.
! Active, vibrant virtual commons & communities promote
stronger institutional & individual identity, which can lead
to:
• Higher recruitment rates
• Increased utilization of institutional resources, academic or not
• Increased extended community participation
• Increased participation in life-long learning offerings
! Networking is critical as students seek opportunities within or
beyond your institution upon graduation.
• Personal learning networks are a key part of 21st century professional
success.
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8. Case Study: The Penn LPS Commons
The University of Pennsylvania College of Liberal & Professional
Studies engages students through virtual commons focused on
social learning.
! Three key principles of the commons:
• Connect
• Communicate
• Collaborate
! First Courses launched in Summer 2009
Foundations in Positive Psychology
• 600 students, 96 countries
• 3,000 user posts, 45 forums, 11,000 hours of video across one semester
• Led to ancillary communities, fostered a community broader than the
course
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9. Case Study: The Penn LPS Commons
Success multiplied for the Penn LPS Commons, delivering similar
results to courses across disciplines, countries & diverse student
populations. Success was driven by:
! Commitment to fostering (not forcing) collaboration by faculty
& staff
! Use of social learning constructs when developing the
curriculum
! Opportunities for students to build pro les & network
! Ease of accessing streams of content & updates
! Ease of contributing content
! Community-oriented (vs. course) nature of the entire
experience
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10. the Academic
Engagement Network
My • Activity Streams • Announcements
Channels
Dashboard • My Content • News & Events
& Feeds
• Notifications & Feeds • SIS Data
• Web resources
My • Programs My Academic • Academic Identity
Communities • Workgroups Identity • Portfolio
• Social Classrooms • Connections
• Students Cooperatives • Knowledge Network
• Clubs & Associations
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11. If We Build it, Will They Come?
1. Remember the fundamentals
• Domain, community, & practice
• Think participant goals rst, institutional outcomes second
2. Design for growth
• Create exible goals & tools that allow for growth at any pace
• Build aspects that promote new, differentiated activity
3. Build critical mass
• Involve key participants early
• Pick strong projects to start with that involve diverse participation
• Develop buy-in quickly
4. Develop permeable spaces & encourage ow
• Allow external & internal constituents to interact
• Involve novices & experts
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12. If We Build it, Will They Come?
5. Make sure all participants derive value
• Everyone should see value in participating, regardless of skill level or
involvement
• Conduct focus groups, employ role-based scenarios
6. Abide by community norms and foster trust
• Allow the community to develop its own policies & procedures
• Establish community-based ownership
7. Encourage identity building
• Promote activities that encourage students to “own” their pro le
• Allow the pro le to move among communities as desired
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