Thursday, March 4, 2010

Ready, Set, Tweet!

How many of us college students would like to be told by our professors to tweet or use Twitter during an in-class lecture?

Dr. Monica Rankin of the University of Texas is now requesting her students to do just this. Rankin noticed a recurring trend in her large classes-lack of participation among her students.

Rankin decided to try a little experiment using Twitter in one of her many classes. The idea was to allow students to use Twitter to ask questions and make comments using Twitter throughout their class time. Mankin was able to watch this love stream of content and react to it throughout the class.

Not only could she see the content, but students could see the dialogue as well which helped with another recurring problem, participation outside the classroom. Mankin and other professors find it hard to keep dialogue going with their students after class ends.

Twitter has enabled Mankin to keep a running dialogue with here students and has also allowed students to hold conversations with each other.

Students have also begun to use their twitter conversations as study aids. Because of the easy traceability of these conversations, students are finding it valuable to take the small amount of time needed to look back on them.

This use of Twitter is just one more example of how valuable social media is becoming in our society. Twitter is an excellent tool that universities are beginning to use to bridge the gap between professor and student.




By Bethany Maddox

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Social Media Survey

Liberty Mutual has conducted their first-ever comprehensive survey of online behaviors and responsibility. The company has a whole website dedicated to their Responsibility Project which encourages responsible behavior. This link shows what the project is all about and features a Liberty Mutual Ad on responsibility.





The part of the site dedicated to the survey is split up into four categories: Office Online Responsibility, Classroom Online Responsibility, Relationship Online Responsibility and Parenting Online Responsibility. According to the Classroom Online Responsibility category, 43 percent think it's responsible for teachers to have a social media profile. My view on it? As long as you act responsibly and don't put anything that would jeopardize your job or reputation on your social media, that it is just fine! Why do teachers have to miss out on the Groundswell?

I found an article discussing how men are more likely than women to use social media. According to the article, "Men (57 percent) are more likely than women (50 percent) to have more than one social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook or Twitter, according to the survey." The article also said "more men (51 percent) think it's OK for their boss to tweet about their company than women (37 percent)." I found this interesting because our whole social media class is made up of women! We need to help our fellow females embrace and accept social media and all of its benefits!

This survey provides great insight on how people feel about social media and unwritten guidelines on acting responsibly. Using social media on the job is definitely something to be addressed and may be a concern for many companies and institutions. Many companies are making guidelines for the use of social media on the job. I think this step is necessary because social media is such a huge trend and in some cases it can distract workers and lower productivity. The need for companies to do this shows that social media is a huge deal! Hopefully we will see more surveys on social media!

Women and men, let's embrace social media and show the world all of its benefits!

-Jackie Gubbins


Transfer Into Your Life

I am no stranger to moving. My father was a banker, he was transferred all over the world. Being new was nothing out of the ordinary to me in fact I loved it because I loved meeting new people. When it came to colleges nothing was different. I was the only one in my graduating class to travel alone all the way to Florida from New Jersey. Starting as a freshman at Jacksonville University, I began with the class of 2008.We all were new learning the college life and what it meant to be free. Some more than others experienced college life by engaging in fraternity parties and joining sororities. I embraced the social aspect of school, for me it was like high - school but with a beach. I went to, Morristown Beard-School a small private school where most would agree you paid to pass. After two years at Jacksonville University, I left, decided to work and figure life. Hoping to figure something out.
I got restless and moved back to New Jersey where I took some classes at the local college where again among many people I was new and older than most of the students. Spending three years working in New Jersey it was time to finish my degree, which then brought up transferring into a four year school. Again being no stranger to being new, this time was different, I was older, new, and moved knowing only the few people I still kept in contact with in Jacksonville. All my other years of moving or transferring I never did it alone. When I was younger transferring to Singapore American School or to Woodrow Wilson Elementary, they would pair you up with a partner, showing me around and introducing me to their circle of friends. Classes stayed in one room. In college you have that immediate connection with your roommate. Transferring into Flagler College is new ground.
Transferring this time is a lot different especially mid-school year. I find it harder because students go from class to class with classmates that have similar schedules. Also on a college campus you are dealing with a hundred or more student coming and going. Students have already built their relationships with each other through various opportunities. I joined Flagler College mid-year as a Junior. Junior and Senior year are busy quick and important years, everyone has their own stresses about graduating on time. By now most have a routine about their school day.
Its all about routine also, and up to you to branch out. My experience after getting settled and seeing the unfamiliar faces become familiar made it easier to put yourself out there. In any new situation is about putting yourself out there and seeing who responds. I found that when you do everyone responds and that’s when the friendships form. It is only a matter of time until you feel part of your campus community. No one can prepare you for being a transfer student and there are a few tips of how to ease into the community. Getting involved in student activities is also a good idea but there is still that problem of breaking in. Take a look at the calendar of events pick a few that seem interesting. There are no “cliques” and nobody is not going to talk to you. Orientation is not much help because it is combined with incoming freshmen. Orientation is more meant for familiarizing yourself with the school.
This happens all across the world, and colleges should think of introducing a transfer club or some sorts of organization which can include current and past transfer students. I am not complaining because I have settled in, have adjusted well but for the first couple of weeks it would have been easier to be able to share the experience along side someone who also was adjusting. After being acclimated to Flagler College it becomes a place of comfort and while it takes time you are not alone. This also carries into the work force and the sooner you get comfortable putting yourself into new situations the more adjusted you become. This process is not easy but it gets easier.

Carolyn Adams