Craig Bidiman and I are combing forces for a program session at the 2015 NASPA International Convention. This session is intended for all levels of professionals who want to learn about how to utilize social media tools strategically to engage students. Come join us and/or follow the twitter back channel #SAsocial! Tuesday, March 24, 2015 10:00am - 10:50am... Continue Reading →
I am proud to be selected as one of this year's SAspeaks presenters. SAspeaks talks are similar in style to TEDtalks. They are meant to be short (no more than 15 minutes) and focus on one main idea. This year I am doing an SAspeaks based off of my continuing research on the impact of... Continue Reading →
Any of my good colleagues and friends who are doing research into college students and social/digital technology will tell you that the distinction between formal and informal learning is an important one to understand. Small and Vorgan (2011) state that technology has ushered in “a new culture of communication—no longer dictated by time, place, or even how... Continue Reading →
I was pleased to have one of my slide presentations selected by HaikuDeck as a "Featured Deck." It's a quick and simple short set of slides to give you some reminders of how to interact online as an educator. This was also uploaded and featured as a part of SlideShare's 2015 Upload Campaign.
And now for part two of the yearly tradition, a run down of all the technology-related program sessions at the upcoming NASPA conference. I will be presenting/co-presenting a few (and by few, I mean six... lol). Check them out below. In case you missed the round-up from ACPA, it is here. See you in New... Continue Reading →
Donna is the incoming Vice President of ACPA and someone you need to follow. If you're looking for a deep thought, a quote, or just something to inspire you, Donna can do that. She is passionate about life and about learning and it shows through her tweets. Follow @DeanDonnaLee This is a post from my ongoing effort to highlight interesting and... Continue Reading →
Liking matters on Facebook... and any other platform that uses a news feed algorithm for that matter. When people "like" something, it can mean many different things. It can literally mean you like something. Sometimes it's to indicate thoughts of sympathy or empathy (something that you don't really literally like, per se). Sometimes it just indicates... Continue Reading →
The following is a presentation I gave last year on building one's own "personal brand" online. It was kicking around the archives, so I thought I'd share in case you find it useful.
Every month I like to re-blog a post I find particularly interesting, insightful, or just plain fun. This month's reblog comes from Jess Samuels (@jessmsamuels) and includes an amazing infographic she designed. Some truly excellent work!
I'm excited to take the stage once again to be presenting a PechaKucha style presentation at the 2015 National Convention of ACPA-College Student Educators International. Last year I did a more serious research-focused presentation and this year I'm going the fun and inspirational route. I'll post the video when it's available, but until then, enjoy... Continue Reading →
At the 2015 ACPA and NASPA National Conventions, we've brought together a group of four researchers (1 newly minted doctor and three soon-to-be) who study social media and technology and their effects on college students. In this panel, each researcher will present a brief overview of their work followed by a question and answer session.... Continue Reading →
Josie Ahlquist and I are proud to be collaborating on an exciting session for the upcoming 2015 International Convention of ACPA-College Student Educators International. This session is intended for all levels of professionals who want to learn about how to develop a positive digital presence online and leverage digital and social tools for professional development. This practical session... Continue Reading →
Ed Cabellon and I are excited to be offering up a new collaborative session at the 2015 ACPA Convention. We're both bringing our own unique spins on the topic of how institutions of higher education can ramp up and enhance their social media presences to engage students. Come for a very practical approach to the topic that... Continue Reading →
I am pleased to be presenting on blogging in higher education and student affairs with some amazing colleagues at the ACPA Convention this week and at the NASPA convention later in the month. To go along with our session, we’ve created a resource page. I’ve included it here, but you can point your browsers to SAwrites.com at... Continue Reading →
I have the privilege of collaborating with some amazing professionals on an upcoming session at NASPA: Wednesday, March 25: 9:00am - 9:50am #SAconnect: How to Network Digitally for Professional Development and Relationship Building 209 - Convention Center To preview, build on, and prepare for our session, please join Christina Ferrari, John Rodriguez, Lisa Endersby, Rebecca Windover, and Briana Mathew for... Continue Reading →
I am VERY excited to announce that I have accepted the position of Interim Assistant Vice President and Dean of Students at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. FIT is an amazing world class institution with a vibrant student community in the heart of Manhattan. I am incredibly honored to be working... Continue Reading →
The first ever National Adjunct Walkout Day was this past Wednesday, a day I also happened to be teaching as an adjunct faculty member. I didn’t walk out of my class, but I did use the first few minutes of class to highlight an issue that I think is important: the benefit-less extremely low pay... Continue Reading →
It's been a loooooong time coming... and keeping quiet about it was incredibly difficult... but the time is here to FINALLY announce a new book collaboration between Erik Qualman, myself, Dr. Laura Pasquini, Courtney O'Connell and Jason Meriwether: What Happens on Campus Stays on YouTube So what is this book about? Many of you might already be familiar with Erik... Continue Reading →
Some graduate students at Western Illinois University decided to turn the concept of the selfie on its head. They created the UN-selfie campaign to highlight people doing good deeds in the university community. Faculty, staff and students got involved by tagging tweets and photos of people and social good with the hashtag #WIUnselfie. Check out their... Continue Reading →
When I'm working at my desk, Steve Jobs watches over me. He reminds me to keep things simple and strive for excellence. Since today he would have turned 60 years old, I wanted to share a few of the quotes from him that remind me to stay hungry and foolish.
They're always waiting of you... ready to do the things in your job you don't want to do... it's the Overly Attached Student Affairs Colleague. (A variation of the Overly Attached Girlfriend meme.) Enjoy friends.
I'm INCREDIBLY excited to be presenting with Vernon Wall this weekend to do a combined talk on social justice and social media for both the students and the faculty/staff at Longwood University. I know some people have presented on this topic before, but I think what Vernon and I have come up with is something that is... Continue Reading →
Time for the yearly tradition! A look at the 2015 ACPA conference schedule to identify all of the social media and technology related sessions on offer. There are a lot to choose from this year (including a few go my own... shameless plug). Click on the program titles to find out more. See you in... Continue Reading →
Erica is enthusiastic and always willing to reach out and make new friends. She is heavily involved in the #SAchat community, so if you ever participate in one of the weekly chats, it's highly likely she might be the mysterious moderator behind the account. Check out her blog and give her a follow... Follow @EricaKThompson This is a post... Continue Reading →
I'm having a whirlwind couple of days in Buffalo presenting on a number of topics to the faculty, staff and students at SUNY Buffalo State and the professional in CSPA-NYS. Here are some additional resources that may be of use to those in attendance and others. For the Buffalo State attendees: Need to get up to speed on how to use these... Continue Reading →
In honor of my (now aborted) trip to the Crossroads of America, Indiana, this month’s reblog comes from Michael Anthony Goodman. Reading Michael’s posts is like getting a piece of candy in the middle of the day. I always get a little excited. Check out this post on the app Timehop. I’ve been using Timehop... Continue Reading →
I was featured in a Yahoo Travel article highlighting some of my fun adventures with JetBlue. It's truly been a fun-filled amazing adventure... Link to Original Article Inside the Kooky (and Perk-Filled) World of a JetBlue Superfan Some people become fans of Star Wars or the Seahawks or Taylor Swift. But Paul Gordon Brown’s fandom has taken... Continue Reading →
There is a lot of free professional development available online and ways you can grow your own personal learning network. The following slide deck comes from some of the presentations I give on this topic. Who says professional development has to cost? Enjoy.
I didn't come up with this idea, but I sure wish I had... because it's BRILLIANT. Use a famous student development theorist to say "I love you" to that special student affairs professional in your life. Damien Snook posted these last year, and I decided to re-share his and add a few of my own. Damien's designs... Continue Reading →
I have the pleasure of presenting to the faculty and staff of the University of New Hampshire today on the use of social media in engaging students. Here are some additional resources that may be of use to the UNH staff and others: To see examples of colleges and universities using social media in creative ways,... Continue Reading →
Nuzzel is an amazing little app/web service that helps surface the news your friends and others in your network care about. Log into Nuzzel and connect your Twitter and Facebook accounts. Then, daily, or at an interval of your choice, you will receive an email containing the most shared links of the day from those in... Continue Reading →
Is the university just an act of theater obscuring what is... or isn't going on? Are we caught up in traditions that have shielded us from realizing our own faults? from public criticism? Are we ready for the impending changes to higher education as a whole? Thinking about higher education as a theatrical performance exposes some... Continue Reading →
Click to Expand I tried to capture some of the major publications in student affairs history as well as important moments in the growth of ACPA and NASPA. Think I should add something? Let me know in the comments below. UPDATE: Great feedback from everyone on the timeline. I'm thinking of creating an "Equitable Timeline of... Continue Reading →
Job searching in student affairs? A graduate student, new professional or otherwise? But this book: Job Searching in Student Affairs: Strategies to Land the Position YOU Want by Patrick Love I had the immense privilege to get a preview of this book while Patrick was writing it. I helped with some light editing, advice and... Continue Reading →
I'm excited to be collaborating with Josie Ahlquist on an upcoming Studentaffairs.com webinar, Go Digital In Your Job Search. This webinar is a mash-up of the knowledge Josie and I have acquired over the past few years doing sessions like these at conferences and to graduate programs. It's exciting to see what we have coming together... Continue Reading →
Kristen is a great follow if you want to stay current on tech in higher education and student affairs. Kristen is one of the co-founders of the Student Affairs Women Talk Tech blog, and she maintains her own blog on topics ranging from technology to mental health. Kristen and I serve on the ACPA Task... Continue Reading →
Getting a PhD is not a decision to take lightly. Having been a full-time student for three and a half years now, I wanted to share some of the questions I think you need to ask yourself before you apply and begin in order to be set up for success. If you can successfully answer all of... Continue Reading →
The Student Affairs Collective hosted an excellent Twitter Chat (#SAChat) on resumes last summer. Many of the tweets echoed the advice and thoughts that I've encountered in my teaching of Higher Education Masters students. Below you'll find a curated list of what I consider to be some of the "best tips" and thoughts. You can also... Continue Reading →
I had a lot of fun putting this together! You wouldn't believe how hard it is to get the poster visually right while trying to make sure it makes sense conceptually and theoretically. Too reductionist? Maybe. Areas for improvement? I'm sure. Let me know how you'd try arranging it in the comments below. BUY... Continue Reading →
I have the pleasure of heading to Canada today to present twice at the OACUHO Residence Life Conference at the University of Guelph. Growing up in Rochester, NY, going to Canada feels a little bit like coming home. The first session I'll be doing this weekend is to the RAs and student leader's in attendance... Continue Reading →
Because we built so much fun together last time, let's build another student affairs meme. (photo credit) (photo credit) (photo credit) (Appropriate photo credit was attempted to be given when possible. Photos without attribution come from LEGO or screen captures from The LEGO Movie. These were created by me and LEGO does not endorse this post.)
Last year, the White House initiated the "It's On Us" campaign to help bring awareness and seek a solution to on-campus sexual assault. It also proactively seeks to change the cultural attitudes on campuses that lead to environments where sexual assault is permitted. The George Washington University heeded this call to action and created a series of... Continue Reading →
From the first ACPA PechaKucha session, to its adoption as a conference-wide event, a number of faculty have begun to utilize the presentation style as a class assignment for their students. For a few years, I have avoided assigning this to my own students. I thought it was just too hard. That it required too advanced a... Continue Reading →
Heather and I are ACPA leadership buddies. She was the Coordinator of Commissions when I was starting as the Coordinator of Standing Committees and now she is the Director of Membership Development and I am her elect. There are numerous points of overlap in our professional journeys and also in our professional interests. Heather is... Continue Reading →
Starting PhD work isn't something to be taken lightly. First, there are the logistics: Is it the right time in your career to start a PhD? Do you have the time and money to dedicate to it? What program do you chose? For what purpose? Are you seeking an executive-type program or a research-focused program?... Continue Reading →
I have the immense pleasure to be presenting at my alma mater today, the State University of New York College at Geneseo. They asked me to do a presentation to their Resident Assistants that's spin on my blog post "RAs Are Not Educational Experts." Geneseo's residence life program utilizes a model similar to that of... Continue Reading →
I'm presenting locally today, and I am grateful to the staff of the University of Rhode Island who are playing host to me. We'll be talking about how to ramp up their social media presence and also how social media may be impacting the student experience. Whenever I speak to audiences on these topics, I... Continue Reading →
I'm a big fan of the website SlideShare. Think of it as the YouTube of presentations. You can upload your slides from a presentation to share them with others. I was recently selected to be a "Keynote Author." This is a designation given by SlideShare to select users who are recognized as "top content creators." I'm... Continue Reading →
As odd as it may seem, Jason and I didn't really meet and become friends until last year. Odd, because he's an online rockstar. He blogs, he tweets, he does a little bit of everything. Jason and I serve on the ACPA Presidential Task Force on Social and Digital Technology. I'm also immensely pleased to... Continue Reading →
I am pleased to be speaking with the staff at NYIT today on how they can take their social media engagement to the next level. NYIT is increasingly making a name for itself and social media is one of the strategies by which they're doing it. One of the questions I am posing today is, "What is your... Continue Reading →
You might think of LinkedIn as just a tool that you use to create a profile, network, and search for jobs. LinkedIn, however, is making a big push into higher education using its treasure trove of data to help institutions engage with prospective students and alumni. Want to know how many people working for Google... Continue Reading →
Help pay back my student loans! Some people asked for it, so I made it available. BUY this as a poster or BUY this as on a mug! The paid version uses a sharper, higher resolution file. There are multiple price points, qualities, and sizes.... All proceeds go to my student loans. Thanks! MORE available in my store!
Once a month I re-blog a post that I find interesting and want to highlight. This post comes from one of the students in Dr. Jerry Kane’s ISYS 6621 course, Social Media for Managers. It’s a fun look at the selfie phenomenon and what some may consider precursors to it.
Semi-weekly, I try to highlight innovative and interesting uses of social media in the higher education and student affairs space. The following is a review of all those highlighted in 2014. Follow along in the new year with new spotlights.
Out of a total of over 150,000 views, the following are my most visited blog posts from 2014. First up the top 5 funny posts, followed by the top 5 of my more serious content.
Semi-weekly, I try to highlight higher education and student affairs professional to follow on Twitter and online. The following is a review of all those highlighted in 2014. Follow along in the new year with new spotlights.
I have been on SlideShare since 2010 and am a big proponent of the platform. Think of it as the YouTube of presentations. This year I was designated a "Keynote Author" by SlideShare which saw the traffic to my content increase SIGNIFICANTLY. The following is a review of my most viewed presentations from 2014.
Semi-weekly, I try to highlight apps, web tools and websites that could be of use in the education space. The following is a review of all those highlighted in 2014. Follow along in the new year with new spotlights.
Dr. Laura Pasquini has been a good friend of mine for a very long time... since we worked at Miami University almost a decade ago. Although we didn't know it then, she and I share a research interest in all things Ed-Tech. She's incredibly knowledgeable, travels the world, and maintains a blog where she shares... Continue Reading →
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJANw2WzfEE As many of you know, a couple of months ago I had my dissertation proposal hearing. For social science dissertations, after one completes their first three chapters, they present it to their committee for approval. The first three chapters typically include an introduction, a review of literature, and your methodology (how you intend to... Continue Reading →
We all get newsletters, promotions, and list-serve emails sent to our inbox every day. Remember that one item you bought from that one website one time? Now you get their daily emails. It’s information overload. Sometimes managing the email glut is as simple as going through an unsubscribe spree every few months, but other times... Continue Reading →
In 2010, Yale University produced this highly slick and fun admissions video to highlight the many features of its campus. They used the highly shareable strategy of creating a "musical" about their college. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGn3-RW8Ajk Of course, video memes almost always spawn parody and satire. This was the response from Harvard's comedy news show On Harvard... Continue Reading →
PechaKucha is a special style of presentation that privileges short, powerful messages. I've been experimenting with this style of presentation for almost 5 years. In 2013, I along with a few colleagues were the first to bring this presentation style to student affairs in a session entitled, "The Future of Student Affairs in Six Minutes and Forty... Continue Reading →
paulgordonbrown: Once a month I re-blog a post that I find interesting and want to highlight. This post comes from Patrick Love. It’s a great reminder for the experienced job searcher and a great crash course for the new one. It has some not-so-standard advice you might hear about your resume. Originally posted on Patrick Love's Life: I... Continue Reading →
Brian is a new professional at Michigan State University that blogs about higher education, student affairs, web 2.0, LGBT issues and general life inspirations and observations. He's thoughtful, has some great insights, and is also your "go to" if you want to see tweeted pictures of cute animals (and who doesn't?). Check him out and give him a... Continue Reading →
It's been a while since my last new set of memes... this time I give you... The Von Trapp family singers...
Here are some quick tips on how to increase the visual impact of your slides through typography. Including: Understanding the types of fonts Using color Breaking up and placing text Text size and bullet points Integrating text and images
At least that I know of. Yesterday, I went to a Facebook friend's profile and noticed that we no longer friends. The last interaction we had was last week in some Facebook comments regarding an article I posted on issues of race in America. It wasn't an article about Michael Brown or Eric Garner, but a post by... Continue Reading →
More and more institutions are beginning to create "social media directories" or landing pages that catalog all of the different social media presences of their departments and offices. Harvard takes this one step further with their creation of a multimedia landing page that incorporates video, audio, photos, iTunesU podcasts and audio all into one page.... Continue Reading →
Forget transferring a gavel, this is the 21st century. Now we transfer Twitter accounts. The @ACPAprez account transfers from President to President every year during the Annual Business Meeting of ACPA-College Student Educators International. ACPA, one of the comprehensive professional associations in student affairs and higher education is an excellent account to follow, but don't... Continue Reading →
I had the pleasure of being on the Student Affairs Collective's Podcast series this week. Dustin and I talked about blogging, what I do here on this site, and few other things. It was super fun. Check it out below... (Original post here.)
This week's tool is simple, but it does one thing very well. ClickToTweet is a website that allows you to generate links that, when clicked on by a user, present a pre-written tweet. In other words, if you want to promote something, and want the people tweeting your stuff to include a specific sample message or set... Continue Reading →
You interact online and through social and digital media, but do you reflect about how, why and in what way you choose to use these tools? The following is from a new presentation I've developed that challenges college students to reflect on three questions: Who do you want to BE? How do you want to ACT?... Continue Reading →
Oregon State University encouraged students and alumni to post pictures of a cut out of their famous "Benny the Beaver" mascot in various locations and tag them on Flickr with the hashtag #BennyOnTheMove. It's a great way to spread pride, a little bit of joy, and increase brad recognition. Of course, although OSU used Flickr,... Continue Reading →
Hello friends and supporters! I'm running for a position on the Governing Board of ACPA-College Student Educators International. The Director of Membership Development works to retain and recruit members and advance ACPA's services and professional development efforts for members. If you're a member of ACPA, please consider voting for me. My bio/application details are below. There... Continue Reading →
Not my normal kind of post, but something fun I've been playing around with for a while. There are a number of sites out there dedicated to "Starbucks' Secret Menu" or drinks that one can make by combing syrups and ingredients in unique ways. Below you will find the recipes I have experimented with and... Continue Reading →
Having a social media presence is increasingly becoming a requirement for any organization. I was interested in how the professional associations in higher education and student affairs engage online, so I decided to take a look at their Twitter presences and put together a ranking of the "most influential" associations. The metric I chose to... Continue Reading →
The University of Houston is a leading institution in engaging with their students on social media. The following text and images come directly from the page they label "Why Follow UH?" which gives a number of great examples of how they're engaging their students. Check out their social media pages to learn more about what they're... Continue Reading →
As one of two of the comprehensive student affairs professional associations based in the United States, NASPA is one of the organizations you need to follow. You can also follow Kevin Krueger, the current president of NASPA, who tweets under his own @NASPApres account. Follow him to stay abreast of some of the goings on in Washington, as... Continue Reading →
Is there something that can be described as the "online culture?" I don't think so, but I do think that technology is structuring the way we think and interact and I do think that there are cultural norms broadly perpetuated and upheld. Online culture, although diverse, still maintains persistent themes. In describing how this first... Continue Reading →
TED-Ed comes from the creators of TED Talks as a means of turning any YouTube video into an interactive lesson. Choose a video and build discussion boards, multiple choice and open-ended quizzes, and links to additional resources. TED-Ed is a simple platform with few but straightforward features. Because TED-Ed lessons are bite-size pieces of content, they are... Continue Reading →
This isn't a social media example, per se, but it is a great example of deploying digital technologies to offer opportunities for guests and prospective students. Northeastern University utilizes a platform from YouVisit to power it's virtual video tours. They're engaging and feature a real tour guide. YouVisit also maintains a list of other colleges... Continue Reading →
I have the pleasure of presenting at the NASPA Region I Annual conference today. The topic? How might we re-envision Student Development theory for the digital age. Below you will find an abbreviated version of my presentation. Some additional resources that might be of interest include: My past posts related to digital identity and identity... Continue Reading →
Currently working at the New York Institute of Technology, Ann Marie has specialties in women's and gender studies, leadership, and social media. She constantly tries to ask the unasked question and always has something interesting to say. You can also follow her blog. She also contributes to a group blog, Firestarters at NYIT, a "place for innovators, disruptors... Continue Reading →
List.ly is a social list making and content curation site. If you're trying to crowdsource a list on something (ex. the best photography sites? your favorite eggplant parmigiana recipes? best restaurants in Boston?) then Listly can help. With Listly, you set the topic, and then add links to items you want included on your list.... Continue Reading →
Lately I find myself increasingly frustrated. In particular, I'm frustrated by one strain of rhetoric that has increasingly crept into the public discourse. It is the idea that the acceptance of any social/government assistance is inherently a "hand out." That somehow, our societal care for one another should only be expressed through private giving. That... Continue Reading →
The study abroad space is ripe for social media efforts. With students dispersed across the globe, communication is easier through social media. Additionally, with these once-in-a-liftime opportunities come some great photos and stories. Media that can aid in getting other students excited about a study abroad experience. Mississippi State University held photo and blogging contests... Continue Reading →
I've talked about how much I enjoy the content curation site, Paper.li. Here are two examples of a Paper.li that I created for the higher education and student affairs masters students I teach. These sites pull content from social media postings that contain specific hashtags and format them into a visual newspaper. Once a week a new edition is dynamically created... Continue Reading →
If you want to follow someone who follows his heart and travels the world, Michael Anthony Goodman is the perfect add for your Follow Friday. Michael has a background in student affairs, but recently left his job in Indiana to head to China. He is an incredibly gifted writer who is able to give voice to... Continue Reading →
If you establish a hashtag for a campaign or program at your university, you'll want to know how it's used and what people say, right? Enter "Hachtracking." This web tool does exactly what its name suggests, track the analytics of a hashtag. This can be tremendously useful for assessment efforts and to gauge the success... Continue Reading →
With the 2014 election behind us, you know what that means... time for 2016! With that in mind, here are a few student affairs text exchanges with Hillary... (Not familiar with this meme? Read up on its history.) See Also: Student Affairs Problems? Thanks Obama!
Loyola University of Maryland started this very simple effort to promote their institution and develop a sense of community and belonging amongst their students. By creating pre-formatted Facebook cover photos, they are making it easier than ever for students to show their pride. Check out their landing page. Images are updated yearly for incoming classes... Continue Reading →
In honor of Halloween... a few thoughts and memes... If it can't breathe underwater, you can't have it in your residence hall room, folks.... Work in Residence Life? Well apparently you've got the skills to survive a zombie apocalypse, CLICK for this post from Charlie Potts: Not in residence life? That's ok. Jess Samuels put together this... Continue Reading →
In honor of the election next week, this Thursday's funny post takes a political turn... Do you have student affairs problem? THANKS OBAMA! Man... he's responsible for everything! (Find out more about the history of this meme here.) See Also: Student Affairs Texts from Hillary
Paper.li is a tool I've been using for a while now in my classroom. The web service provides the ability to create automated weekly or daily "newsletters" that aggregate content around a particular hashtag or search term. Enter in a search term or hashtag and Paper.li will aggregate links shared across Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube... Continue Reading →
This Thursday, I will (finally) have my dissertation proposal hearing. This means I will present my proposed dissertation research to my committee and seek approval to move forward into the data collection and analysis phases. Proposals generally include the "first three chapters" of a dissertation. These chapters are typically an introduction, a review of literature, and a research... Continue Reading →
Snapchat is an odd social network/chat app to be using for engagement with your students, but a couple of institutions are trying it out. Most recently, the University of Michigan joined the University of Houston beginning efforts in this uncharted territory. With Snapchat being one of the most popular apps for students in the 18-24 year... Continue Reading →
Amma has an amazing ability to perfectly summarize anything she hears into 140 characters or less. If you want to follow the best live-tweeter in student affairs, Amma is it. Amma also maintains a blog, and frequently writes and speaks about introversion and about how humor can teach you about your work. Follow @AmmaMarfo This... Continue Reading →
Michael Kors was fun, but let's get back to the critical-but-affirming nature of Tim Gunn. This is the last one... as I think I've beat this meme to its death. 😉 Original memes below the fold, but onwards to the new advice Mr. Gunn has to give: If Tim Gunn was a student affairs professional, this... Continue Reading →
If you're hosting an event or conference, you may want to display live tweets with a specific hashtag for all attendees to see. There are a number of high quality paid options out there, but also some that are free. Below you'll find some examples of "twitter walls" that I've had various success with using.... Continue Reading →
I had the immense privilege of being one of the keynote speakers at the 2014 ACPA Residential Curriculum Institute talking about how residence life professionals (and actually, any student affairs professional) can integrate social media into their student learning efforts. I wanted to provide a sample of the slide deck I used as well as some... Continue Reading →
The use of first-person student blogs on admissions websites isn't new, but Cornell University has given broad latitude to its student bloggers to share their uncensored experiences. From the blog landing page, one has links to student blogs on independent platforms including Tumblr, Instagram, WordPress, and others. It's a refreshing take on student admissions blogs that... Continue Reading →
If you're reading this, you probably follow Ed already, but if you're not, do it right now. Ed was one of the early adopters of Twitter and has an expertise in social media in higher education and in college student union work. He's also been the initiator of a number of initiatives including #SAgrow, for... Continue Reading →
I've always been a fan of someecards. Below find cards fit for the student affairs professional and office. Some are my own, some are others from the site.
When transitioning your residence life program to a residential curriculum model, it becomes increasingly important that you hire professional staff with the requisite skills and competencies to enact the curriculum. Although these skills are desirable in any residence life professional, they take on added importance in a residential curriculum. Some of the competencies required of staff... Continue Reading →
In honor of Careers in Student Affairs Month (CSAM), I asked my colleagues to complete the following sentence: I received approximately 100 responses. Doing a back-of-the-napkin qualitative coding and analysis for themes (completely non-scientific on a non-scientific sample), the chart below represents the most common responses. Not surprisingly, "learning and growth" and "making positive change" rose to... Continue Reading →
When you have exciting news to share with your students, do you stop to think "maybe we should tape this?" A number of college athletics teams are capturing moments such as when they are able to offer their students scholarships. Below are two examples of capturing these moments and sharing them with the internet. What... Continue Reading →
Dr. Cindi Love is the new Executive Director of ACPA-College Student Educators International. Cindi brings some excellent perspectives on social justice in higher education and what we can do to affect change. If you want to stay current on happenings in Washington impacting higher education, or just need a dose of inspiration, Cindi Love is... Continue Reading →
Ryan Gosling is the perfect student affairs boyfriend and he continues to show us why... Find out more about the history behind the Ryan Gosling "Hey Girl" meme.
Haiku Deck is a free web-based presentation software platform that makes it easy to create highly visual slide decks. Haiku Deck doesn't get caught up in the camera panning zooms and crazy animations of Prezi, but instead focuses on high quality images and simple text. Access to these images is built right into and included with... Continue Reading →
In the spring of 2012, I had the immense privilege of taking Dr. Jerry Kane's ISYS: Social Media for Managers course. One of the assignments for this course includes bi-weekly blogging by the students. Although I am no longer in the course, I continue to check out the class blog on occasion and I came across... Continue Reading →
This college President is way cooler than your college President. As a part of his inauguration, incoming Columbia College President, Dr. Scott Dalrymple, challenged his students to the game, Madden NFL '15. The prize if a student emerges victorious? He'll but their textbooks for the year. Let's hope he doesn't lose to a student int... Continue Reading →
I love Patrick Love. The current Vice President of Student Affairs at NYIT, Patrick has been a leader in higher education through roles as a scholar, a speaker, and a disruptor. It is perhaps this last quality that makes me appreciate Patrick the most. He is constant striving to look at things in new ways and... Continue Reading →
HESA 401: Icebreakers HESA 403: The Art and Science of Table and Chair Re-Arranging HESA 410: Ordering Catering for Groups HESA 414: Crafting for Beginners - Bulletin Boards HESA 435: Managing Email, Managing Your Inbox HESA 440: How To Fit 10 People in a Hotel Room Meant for 4 HESA 480: Shopping on a Budget HESA... Continue Reading →
The new social network "Ello" has been getting a lot of press lately, so I thought this Wednesday's spotlight might be a good time to share some of my experiences with it. Is it going to be an EdTech tool any time in the near future? Absolutely not. Is the rise of interest in it... Continue Reading →
There are a handful books that I refer to as my "life changers," or works that had a profound impact on me and my thinking long after I finished reading them. One of these works is Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin Abbott. Flatland is not only wonderfully geeky and nerdy, but it also forces one... Continue Reading →
It's somewhat of a rarity to find faculty involved in university social media efforts, but extremely rare to find a content that is exclusively focused on faculty. Lehigh University put together a gem of a video with professors reading negative reviews of their teaching from the website RateMyProfessors.com. The video is a play off of Jimmy Kimmel's popular... Continue Reading →
Since it's my first Follow Friday post, it's only fitting I start with the woman who inspired me to begin this process. Josie Ahlquist is a Doctoral student in higher education, and a researcher and speaker on social media and college students, particularly as it relates to leadership and student self-presentation online. Josie shares her knowledge... Continue Reading →
Ever wondered what the profession of student affairs would look like rendered in Lego? Wonder no longer. (photo credit) (photo credit) (photo credit) Inspired in part by @LegoAcademics: https://twitter.com/LegoAcademics/status/510435214758518784 https://twitter.com/LegoAcademics/status/507173810106560512 https://twitter.com/LegoAcademics/status/498819905085800448 https://twitter.com/LegoAcademics/status/497816847384059904 (Appropriate photo credit was attempted to be given when possible. Photos without attribution come from LEGO or screen captures from The LEGO Movie.... Continue Reading →
For my first Wednesday spotlight, I wanted to showcase a tool I personally use in my teaching and presentations, Poll Everywhere. Poll Everywhere allows individuals to create quick polls, quizzes, and interactive message boards that can be integrated into presentation software for gathering feedback on the fly. Individuals can access and answer the polls via... Continue Reading →
The following are books on topics related to social media and tech are works I've either recently read or are on my reading "to do" list... let me know if you have any recommendations!
The fraternity brothers of Delta Sigma Phi (Beta Mu chapter) at Transylvania University produced this viral video, "just for fun." But it was also a great way to showcase their organization and prepare for recruitment. They received wide press coverage (example, example) and appeared on a local news station to explain their goals and process.... Continue Reading →
I have the immense privilege of serving alongside some incredibly talented individuals on the ACPA Digital Task Force. I wanted to share a recent post by a member of my subgroup, Jason Meriwether, of the "Informed and Responsible Engagement" team. Our goal is to develop resources for both students and educators on how to promote positive,... Continue Reading →
[ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ] Hipster University is pleased to announce it's annual Fall Student Involvement Fair! It will be held Sunday, September 21 outside the Strokes Student Union. The Dollar Shave Club will be on hand to provide free razors and shaving butter to all those in attendance! Additionally, everyone's favorite consignment and vintage furniture shops,... Continue Reading →
So you've recently started your journey towards a Master's degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs. CONGRATULATIONS! As an instructor in one of these programs, one of the topics I like to review with my students is how they can begin to network and gain valuable professional development... digitally... and often for free. Going digital... Continue Reading →
This marks my 100th post since I began blogging approximately 2 years ago and I thought it marked an excellent time to look back, share some stats and highlight some of my most popular posts. The total number of hits my blog has recorded to date: 78,891 The highest number of hits in a single... Continue Reading →
He is your inner monologue that you hide to provide the veneer of positivity in everyday situations... He is the Student Affairs Grumpy Cat. BOOM!
I took Dr. Jerry Kane's ISYS6621: Social Media for Managers course at Boston College back in the Spring of 2013. One of the assignments for the course is to give a brief, 5-6 minute, presentation about a social media trend or case study. At the beginning of each semester, he has previous students come in and share their's... Continue Reading →
In keeping with my goal to re-blog the posts of others that I find particularly interesting or illuminating, I wanted to share the following post that comes from my home institution, Boston College. Being a researcher of social and digital technologies in the higher education space, I am immensely privileged to be at an institution... Continue Reading →
Ryan Gosling is the perfect student affairs boyfriend. He understands the unique issues in your job. He's a feminist and fights for social justice. He reads student development theory in his spare time. He's sensitive and always there to support you. Therefore, on this Friday, I give you a little bit of love... If you... Continue Reading →
I'm excited to share that I will be one of the keynote speakers at the 2014 ACPA Residential Curriculum Institute alongside Karen Inkleas (of leaving learning program research fame) and Patty Perrillo (ACPA Past President). As one of the premier and most popular Institutes ACPA offers, the Residential Curriculum Institute (RCI) provides participants a step-by-step process... Continue Reading →
Back in July, I was honored to be asked to serve on ACPA-College Student Educators International's Presidential Task Force on Digital Technology. After meeting in person with many members of the team, I can say with confidence we're on to something new, exciting and different. In my role with this group, I co-chair the Informed... Continue Reading →
The viral rise of the ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) Ice Bucket Challenge on social media has started a lot of discussion about what social media activism campaigns mean and what they truly achieve (or don't). The ALS Challenge isn't the first of these types of campaigns to go viral and prompt discussion around these topics... and... Continue Reading →
I created this presentation back in 2008(?) for RA Training to help my RAs understand how the educational purpose of residence halls has evolved over time and where, as student staff, they fit into that history. I recently came back across it and thought I'd put it up on the web as a video for others... Continue Reading →
In my original post (included at the end) I included a challenge to residence life pros and resident assistants to tweet me their own emoji. Here's what they sent: Submitted by @KMcCarthy8185: Submitted by @dougtate: Submitted by @Jen_Cox: I made this one:Submitted by @TorryBruce: Submitted by @icehockeystick: Submitted by @awall13: Submitted by @cm_ferrari3: Submitted by @TorryBruce: Submitted by @ValerieHeruska: BUY this as... Continue Reading →
Who says you can't use social media for social good? I'm sure you're familiar with the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge by now. Wanting to challenge my JetBlue Twitter friends, I decided to do it with a twist. The VIRTUAL ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. It started with this: https://twitter.com/paulgordonbrown/status/501765339907366912 Marty St. George, Senior Vice President of... Continue Reading →
I got challenged to do the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge from my good ACPA friend, Melissa Jones. Challenge accepted and executed (see animated gif), but I also went a bit further. See photos below. 😉 To pay it forward, it's an ACPA-College Student Educators International THROWDOWN. I challenge the current, past and vice presidents of... Continue Reading →
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS OLD AND THE CASE IS NO LINGER AVAILABLE. SAD FACE. A LOT of people compliment my iPhone case and ask me where I got it from. Literally, I get inquiries about it almost daily. So, given the interest, I wanted to share it with you all. I'm a minimalist when... Continue Reading →
Date: November 3, 1990 Time: 8:34pm Location: Bayside Hall room 231 Responding Staff Member: Richard Belding Residents Involved: Jesse Spano, Zach Morris, Samuel "Screech" Powers, A.C. Slater RD Richard Belding received a call to the staff duty phone at approximately 8:34pm from Resident Samuel "Screech" Powers. Resident Screech stated that he had recently come back from... Continue Reading →
“Door decs” with your name on it… Crafting in the lobby… An icebreaker where you rhyme your name with a vegetable… free pizza... all cliché ways a college Resident Assistant (RA) goes about building and maintaining community. Of course, the RA position is far more complex than the stereotype that often gets portrayed, or the hokey... Continue Reading →
A gift to my friends in Residence Life. May August treat you well! xoxo Pb BUY this as a poster! Or a greeting card. Help fund my doctoral dissertation! The paid version uses a sharper, higher resolution file. For the poster, there are multiple price points, qualities, and sizes.... All proceeds help fund my dissertation.... Continue Reading →
Once a month, I’ve made it a point to highlight the posts from other bloggers that I believe deserve wider recognition. This month I wanted to share a resource that that Dr. Laura Pasquini put together for her dissertation work. It includes a database of higher education policy/guideline documents on social media use. For professionals and administrators looking to shape institutional policies and guidelines regarding social media implementation across campus, this can be an invaluable resource for benchmarking and guidance.
During the course of my dissertation research, a few events connected to the scope of my study, and directly to the social media documents I was gathering. I ended up building a database of 250 post-secondary education (PSE) institutional guidelines and policies to completely understand HOW the PSE sector is ACTUALLY “guiding” social media. More importantly my research uncovers the organizational identity and cultural values of social media among 10 different countries. {More to be shared post dissertation defense June 12, 2014.}
If you are interested in either research around policies and/or social media impact to organizations, specifically post-secondary education, then you most likely heard about the Kansas Board of Regents approval to amend their policy manual back in December 2013 to outline “improper use of social media by University of Kansas faculty.” If not, I have an article and infographic of the timeline of events for you:
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Martin Trow characterized higher education systems as being on a march from elite systems of higher education, educating just a few, towards mass and universal systems, educating the many. Massification is a phenomenon that has impacted higher education worldwide particularly since the 1960s. Today, these trends continue. By 2025, the total demand for a college... Continue Reading →
The power of digital technology allows one to impact others and make connections in sometimes unexpected ways. My “love letter” to my dissertation struck a chord with many and inspired Doreen Hettich-Atkins to write her own "divorce" letter to her dissertation. The PhD journey is intensely personal, but there are always unspoken common experiences that anyone who has... Continue Reading →
Miss the first day? See a twitter recap here. https://twitter.com/MikeLynch09/status/495172369372430336 https://twitter.com/ThomasAKelley/status/495177440411783168 https://twitter.com/satechBOS/status/495188651899645952 https://twitter.com/ammamarfo/status/495189651528114177 https://twitter.com/EdCabellon/status/495200372429185024 https://twitter.com/katie_collins/status/495206634738941952 https://twitter.com/KMcCarthy8185/status/495207229638070272 https://twitter.com/MikeLynch09/status/495207590092374016 https://twitter.com/ThomasAKelley/status/495209036959457280 https://twitter.com/katie_collins/status/495210610897211392 https://twitter.com/MikeLynch09/status/495213796127162368 https://twitter.com/jasonrobert/status/495226820112179200 https://twitter.com/EA_Clark/statuses/495232419801624576 https://twitter.com/jessmsamuels/status/495237504908656641 https://twitter.com/ammamarfo/status/495238978980044800 https://twitter.com/jasonrobert/status/495239535471906816 https://twitter.com/jasonrobert/status/495240156698660864 https://twitter.com/katie_collins/status/495240377809768449 https://twitter.com/KMcCarthy8185/status/495241267165822977 https://twitter.com/ammamarfo/status/495242048556265473 https://twitter.com/katie_collins/status/495242911622373377 https://twitter.com/jasonrobert/status/495242988436860929 https://twitter.com/ThomasAKelley/status/495244139316125696 https://twitter.com/katie_collins/status/495245011400024066 https://twitter.com/katie_collins/status/495245489307406336 https://twitter.com/KMcCarthy8185/status/495247354778648576 https://twitter.com/katie_collins/status/495247605597995010 https://twitter.com/katie_collins/status/495248061053300736 https://twitter.com/katie_collins/status/495248294210449408 https://twitter.com/satechBOS/status/495250309347037184
https://twitter.com/ThomasAKelley/statuses/494800374575161344 https://twitter.com/EdCabellon/status/494821667864985603 https://twitter.com/satechBOS/status/494839861518798848 https://twitter.com/Jim_Gresham/status/494841738322665472 https://twitter.com/ammamarfo/status/494893492037230592 https://twitter.com/paulgordonbrown/status/494893886142423040 https://twitter.com/ammamarfo/status/494894153374121985 https://twitter.com/paulgordonbrown/status/494894459197587456 https://twitter.com/AdamGismondi/status/494894866367664128 https://twitter.com/KMcCarthy8185/status/494896466394370048 https://twitter.com/katie_collins/status/494895639445389312 https://twitter.com/_mikefox/status/494897232135479296 https://twitter.com/saladbar15/status/494896976681779201 https://twitter.com/ammamarfo/status/494897410431537152 https://twitter.com/ValerieHeruska/status/494898484659896321 https://twitter.com/KMcCarthy8185/status/494898646165774336 https://twitter.com/AdamGismondi/status/494898693728792577 https://twitter.com/_mikefox/status/494899733492936705 https://twitter.com/saladbar15/status/494900120035786752 https://twitter.com/bethanytuller/status/494900208351051776 https://twitter.com/katie_collins/status/494900183063605248 https://twitter.com/ammamarfo/status/494901032091410432 https://twitter.com/paulgordonbrown/status/494901757802467328 https://twitter.com/reyjunco/status/494902748488663040 https://twitter.com/reyjunco/status/494907360914460672 https://twitter.com/KevinRGuidry/status/494913660641640448 https://twitter.com/paulgordonbrown/status/494904515351814144 https://twitter.com/ammamarfo/status/494903425357053952 https://twitter.com/katie_collins/status/494903608723656704 https://twitter.com/ammamarfo/status/494903761811562497 https://twitter.com/ammamarfo/status/494904934333427712 https://twitter.com/MikeLynch09/status/494905437729206272 https://twitter.com/katie_collins/status/494907475095592961 https://twitter.com/josieahlquist/status/494904135821443073 https://twitter.com/JoJo_Jac/status/494915937980936193 https://twitter.com/ammamarfo/status/494917898339885056 https://twitter.com/ammamarfo/status/494920247259176960 https://twitter.com/KMcCarthy8185/status/494920858893582336 https://twitter.com/katie_collins/status/494923674982825984 https://twitter.com/MikeLynch09/status/494926704797048832 https://twitter.com/trishofthetrade/status/494927180258754561 https://twitter.com/ammamarfo/status/494928786077790209 https://twitter.com/AdamGismondi/status/494933477243228161 https://twitter.com/_mikefox/status/494935014677970944 https://twitter.com/katie_collins/status/494936770971451393 https://twitter.com/paulgordonbrown/status/494939666010083328 https://twitter.com/SimmonsCollege/status/494941751979675648 https://twitter.com/ThomasAKelley/status/494927186823225344 https://twitter.com/Kristen_Abell/statuses/494945106797932544 https://twitter.com/ammamarfo/statuses/494945452958449664 https://twitter.com/ammamarfo/status/494949233947332609 https://twitter.com/ammamarfo/status/494952539247628288 https://twitter.com/ammamarfo/status/494953778823839744 https://twitter.com/EdCabellon/statuses/494950877720231936
Social media can be used for a lot of purposes: providing an update on a moment in your life, letting other people know about an event or cause, or sharing an interesting article you've read... all great uses... but social media can be used for so much more. Social media starts off as a novelty. You... Continue Reading →
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