The use of social media tools and platforms for sourcing information

1. social media
sowhat?
michelle dalton
using social media for information discovery

2. compared to traditional scholarly sources
social media can be used to discover:
more up-to-date information
information not formally published
the ‘hot’ topics in a subject area
what your peers are reading & researching

3. Source: Bik, H. M., & Goldstein, M. C. (2013). An Introduction to Social Media for Scientists. PLoS biology, 11(4), e1001535.
information
behaviour is
changing

4. the shift from search to social
source:
techcrunchhttp://techcrunch.com/2012/07/09/pinterest-now-beating-
google-referral-traffic-plus-bing-twitter-stumbleupon/

5. social media serves as a
filter for information
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sieve_smetal_urface.jpg

6. all
the
same
social
media
is
not
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ifs-snow.png

7. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zebra_3945_Nevit.svg
different
applications
do
different
things

8. before you use
social media
always ask
why?
Source: http://techno-kitty.deviantart.com/art/question-mark-92591842

9. pick the right
platform for your
purpose
http://www.flickr.com/photos/infomatique/6979113951/in/photostream/

10. What? Why?
Blogs Long form narrative used to share
complex ideas and information
Build reputation & expertise
Source of new, formative & emerging research
Twitter 140 character micro-blogs used to
share links & brief details
One of the most current sources of new information
Can quickly connect to a network of relevant experts &
researchers using hashtags e.g. #budget14
Facebook Established social presence but a
more ‘personal’ space
Potential to be used as a social learning space but limited
as an information discovery tool
Pinterest Share images on a virtual pinboard Curate & organise information in a visual way
Slideshare Upload & share presentations Search for conference and teaching presentations to help
you learn more about or research a topic
Images Flickr, Google Images; Share and
comment on images
Find reusable images for a paper or presentation
Video YouTube, Vimeo: Upload and watch
videos
Watch conference presentations, webinars, online
classes from universities, ‘How to’ help videos and more
Bookmarking Delicious, Digg, Curate and collate
useful links
Online reading lists, collaborative project work
Collaboration Google Drive / Docs, Wikispaces,
PBWorks
Collaborate on group projects, share and publish content
Audio Audacity, Audioboo, Soundcloud:
Record and share audio recordings
Listen to lecture recordings, news broadcasts etc. which
can be used as research sources and learning resources

11. blogs
Long form narrative
Emerging &
formative research
Prof. W. O’Connor, UL GEMS
Inside the Brain

12. twitter
Keep ‘up to date’
Discovery
Crowdsourcing
Build networks

13. pinterest
collates information visually

14. slideshare
conference &
teaching powerpoint

15. youtube
tv broadcasts
how-to videos
webcasts & conference presentations

16. vimeo
videos

17. diigo
find bookmarks tagged by topic

18. figshare
datasets

19. audioboo
podcasts & other audio

20. soundcloudpodcasts & other audio

21. visual.ly
infographics

22. resuable media
http://search.creativecommons.org

23. what do you use
social media for?

24. “I use Twitter for serendipitous
learning when I don’t know where
to go for something to do – it’s a
lucky bag”
Michelle Gallen e-learning consultant, Belfast
Source: http://c4lpt.co.uk/social-learning-handbook/100-examples-of-use-of-social-media-for-learning/

25. “I can search for Creative Commons
photos which I can use for
Powerpoint presentations”
Gabriela Grosseck, West University of Timisoara
Source: http://c4lpt.co.uk/social-learning-handbook/100-examples-of-use-of-social-media-for-learning/

26. “Diigo is my primary social
bookmarking tool … I do so much
online research for both the courses I
develop and for my own personal
learning; a good system to track all the
resources I find is indispensable”
Christy Tucker, Instructional designer, US
Source: http://c4lpt.co.uk/social-learning-handbook/100-examples-of-use-of-social-media-for-learning/

27. the student
perspective

28. the professional
perspective

29. social media
sowhat?
michelle dalton
using social media for information discovery