Social Networking Technologies: A “Poke” for Campus Services at EDUCAUSE2007

Joanne Berg, Lori Berquam, and Kathleen Christoph. I decided to attend this session because students are using this technology. I am a firm believer that any technology that students are using we should at least take a look at. 🙂

• This is a part of students life… the is the number one reason for why we are even considering this technologies.
• How do we social network… how do we socially engage with the students?
• What are those technologies we can endorse? Which ones don’t have anything to do with what we are doing?

Information:

• In the past we didn’t have as much information to filter, but today there are TONS of different sources of information! TONS! We have to find a way to filter that information.
• Students use a LOT of different sources simultaneously to find information.
• They are searching for as much information as possible… trying to find a common theme for all the sources!

So how do we and/or students filter that information?

We did a bunch of interactive learning activities (kudos to the presenters for keeping us awake!). One we divided into groups where we discussed what students want and what administrators can give them.

What Students Want:

• One stop shopping (find all the information we want)
• Text Messaging (when something is available)
• Some people said they want facebook. Admins can create a Facebook app… but then some students don’t want that! I am of the opinion that some would use it and some would not.
• Online Library Resources (ALL of THEM) 24 Hour Online Librarian to help navigate those resources!

• This one really makes me think… Google is going a long way with this with their Google Book Search, but we are lacking one crucial element… the ability to easily mark up that information. We are getting closer with Tablet PC’s, but you still have to download it locally… I want to mark up the web… not just digitally annotate it, but to ink annotate it… who is going to finally fill this hole? Who will step up to the plate to allow me to digitally ink the web (research) and index it for me to find later? (without downloading it locally… I can do that now…)

What can Administrators Offer:

• We can provide Facebook apps for those that want them.
• We can build virtual tours
• We can be open to new ideas and emerging technologies… especially social technologies. Collaboration is a HUGE part of education!

What is it that we need to provide as an IT service on campus and when do we need to just get out of the way? Don’t replicate what they already have!

We didn’t leave this session with too many ideas… at least not concrete ideas. What are you using Social Networking for? I know we have a UNC Libraries Facebook App that some students use, but I have never used it inside of
Facebook. I wonder if any students do use it… Other ideas?