Date post: | 11-May-2015 |
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The MDE Student Support Social Media Suite: Using social media tools to enhance student support
Dr. Stella Porto & Allison Kipta, MDE Master of Distance Education Customer Trainer Staff Graduate School of Management & Technology Lockheed Martin IS&GS University of Maryland University College
Agenda
• Focus of this presentation • Introduction
Student support in distance education Context & background Social media in distance education
• The Social Media experience in the MDE The tools Projects and goals Lessons learned Synergy and future
• Final remarks
Focus of this presentation
“As distance education has evolved from a teacher-centric to a much more learner-centric model, the roles and activities instructors and other learner support providers have changed to being more proactive than reactive” (Brindley et al., 2004, p.9)
The lack of campus life imposes difficulty in keeping students and graduates connected beyond the ties of the online classroom. Using social media to provide further student support in a sustainable way is the focus of this presentation.
Introduction: Student Support in Distance Education
• Necessary shift from a campus based perspective Needs go beyond those addressed in individual courses
• Focus on the needs of this specific target audience Part-time Full-time employment Family duties Long time away from school Diverse academic and professional background
Introduction: Context & Background – MDE is a partnership
Introduction: Context & Background MDE is a partnership
University of Maryland University College
University of Oldenburg
Introduction: Context & background: the program
• Core competencies Managing the DE system Planning, budgeting, development,
delivery, and support
• Target Audience Potential managers of the distance
education enterprise in: Educational organizations
Corporate / Business Government & Military
Non-profit and associations
• Entirely online for part-time working adults
• International • Collaborative
Faculty Support
Instruction Design & Support
Leaders & Managers
Higher Education
Media & technology
Corporate Training & Learning
Distance Education
Introduction: Institutional Student support
• Enrollment management / Registrar Admissions Financial aid Registration Advising Graduation
• Portal with self-services • Academic specialist within the
department • Program director • Library • Office of disabilities
Social media: what it can do for us BEYOND instruction
• Virtual communities: cultivate a blend of challenge and support Sharing beyond virtual classroom Social network Peer support Tools: any social network tool or online group tools
• Sandbox for experiments, especially useful for distance educators Learning with technology Learning through technology Acquiring skills Developing technological competencies Tools: ALL
Social media: what it can do for us BEYOND instruction
• Individual and collaborative means for producing and sharing content Generation of user content Building collective knowledge Tools: blogs, wikis, collaborative documents, etc.
• Information diffusion and immediate feedback Immediate communication with stakeholders Collective feedback and appreciation Tools: blogs, social networking, wikis, …
• Expanding knowledge in field of interest Sharing new information and utilizing new media Program-wide projects Tools: audio, video, and image tools, blogs, social networking, …
The MDE Student Support Social Media Suite
BLOGS
VIDEOS
SOCIAL NETWORKING
WIKIS
The MDE Student Support Social Media Suite: The MDE Hub
The MDE Hub • The one-stop-shop for ALL MDE related information • Extremely flexible platform
Tool: http://www.weebly.com
URL: http://mdeprogram.weebly.com
The MDE Student Support Social Media Suite: The MDE Blog
The MDE Blog • Initially was the one-stop-shop for all MDE information • Now, works exclusively as a blog • One-way communication - no interaction
Tool: http://www.blogger.com
URL: http://mdeblog.blogspot.com
The MDE Student Support Social Media Suite: The MDE Lounge
The MDE-lounge • Real interaction • Privacy, listserv mode, discussion board, simple and not-invasive
Tool: http://groups.google.com
URL: http://groups.google.com/group/MDE-lounge
The MDE Student Support Social Media Suite: The MDE Faculty Forum
The Faculty-forum • Management effectiveness • Privacy, listserv mode, discussion board, simple and not-invasive
Tool: http://groups.google.com
URL: http://groups.google.com/group/MDE-faculty
The MDE Student Support Social Media Suite: The MDE wiki
The MDE wiki on new technologies • Knowledge-base • Information sharing • Meta-learning
Tool: http://www.wetpaint.com
URL: http://mdewiki.wetpaint.com
The MDE Student Support Social Media Suite: The MDE capstone wiki
The MDE capstone wiki • Support for final capstone: e-portfolio & research project • Information sharing • Direct relationship with instruction
Tool: http://www.pbwiki.com
URL: http://capstone.pbworks.com
The MDE Student Support Social Media Suite: The capstone tutorial
The MDE tutorial • Support for e-portfolio • Precursor of the MDE capstone wiki • Direct relationship with instruction
Tool: webpage on server
URL: http://www.c3l.uni-oldenburg.de/christinewalti/tutorial/index.htm
The MDE Student Support Social Media Suite: MDE Orientation
The MDE orientation • Workshop with direct instructor-led support • Information sharing • Direct support to instruction
Tool: WebTycho – UMUC’s proprietary LMS
The MDE Student Support Social Media Suite: The MDE internship program
The MDE internship program • Getting your feet wet as a distance educator • Supporting the program • Engaging in action research
Tool: http://sites.google.com
URL: http://sites.google.com/site/mdeinternships/
The MDE Student Support Social Media Suite: The MDE Buddy Program
The MDE buddy-system • Peer-support • Student initiative • Action research project
Tool: http://www.weebly.com
URL: http://mdebuddyprogram.weebly.com
The MDE Student Support Social Media Suite: Social Networking
Presence in social networks • Connections with graduates and prospective students • Marketing
The MDE Student Support Social Media Suite: The MDE Itinerant Video
The MDE Itinerant video project • Graduate initiative • Celebration of the 10th anniversary • Community involvement
Tool: http://www.tumblr.com
Tool: http://www.vimeo.com
URL: http://mdevideo.tumblr.com/
URL: http://www.vimeo.com/mdevideoproject
Tools and more tools: Allison’s toolbox
URL: http://mdetools.wikispaces.com/
Tool: http://www.wikispaces.com/
Lessons learned
There is a need for an active leadership role in all initiatives Continuously invite community
Reach out to new students Most participants are lurkers Coupling blog posts to listserv Students want to get involved, but they need a HAND
A few active members generate significant impact Being personal is key Ongoing projects and activities Respond to the needs of stakeholders
Synergy and future
Projects led by graduates Relationship with other UMUC units Partnerships in publishing and academic work
Virtual conference for 10th anniversary celebration Podcast series Webinars Special interest groups
Final remarks
Thinking beyond the classroom Enthusiasm is contagious Experiment, experiment and experiment… Count on your graduates and students Networking is essential to everyone for different reasons
Thank you! - Questions?
Presentation can be found at: http://www.slideshare.net/sporto/sloanc-conference09-porto-kipta
Contact: [email protected]