The ultimate mission of student affairs work is to advance student learning. Although this occurs across campus, the professionals that work in residence life are uniquely situated in this process given the relatively high level of contact they have with students. Unlike most faculty members, however, the educational environment created by student affairs and residence life educators... Continue Reading →
I'm excited to share that I have a new chapter out in the most recent volume of New Directions in Student Leadership entitled, Going Digital in Student Leadership. The chapter I co-authored with Dr. Ed Cabellon, titled "Remixing Leadership Practices with Emerging Technologies," presents an overview of the historical trends in and the current state of technology in... Continue Reading →
The 2016 U.S. presidential election was one of the most divisive in recent history. In a recent poll by CNN, 85% of Americans reported believing that the country is more divided than in previous years. As we head into 2017, this division is likely to remain steady and perhaps increase. As a result, college campuses in... Continue Reading →
I'm pleased to be presenting my research at Boston University today. This session provides a more detailed look at some of my research related to college student development in digital/social spaces. Videos from the presentation: More about my research VIDEO: Can We Auto-Correct Humanity by Prince EA VIDEO: Social Media and Ambient Intimacy on Shots of Awe VIDEO: What’s... Continue Reading →
I'm excited to be back in the region in which I got my start. During my graduate student days I was the intern for Alma Sealine when she was GLACUHO President. Fast forward 15 years later and I'm back in the region and presenting three times. Below are the slides from the presentations I will... Continue Reading →
Higher education and student affairs professionals generally prefer the predictable. And yet, when it comes to engagement with students online, social media is the antithesis of control. For this reason, developing an effective digital engagement strategy in residence life, and in student affairs and higher education in general, requires a great degree of trust and a... Continue Reading →
I'm pleased to be presenting at the AIMHO 2016 conference alongside my esteemed colleague, Rachel Aho from the University of Utah. In this session we'll be discussing aspects of research and practice that relate to the developmental challenges and opportunities college students face online. The theoretical underpinnings of this session are drawn from my qualitative study... Continue Reading →
For the second year, I'm pleased to be a member of the faculty for the Lead365 Conference. Lead365is an organization that promotes student leadership development and offers a yearly conference for students and staff alike to learn the latest leadership research and best practices. I am presenting three times at this year's conference. Once for professional staff,... Continue Reading →
I'm happy to be presenting multiple educational sessions at this year's ACUHO-I Business Operations Conference. This session is focused on using social media for student engagement and marketing--a topic I'm frequently asked to speak about. The following page includes the slides as well as further resources that may be helpful. Enjoy! Abstract: The following session will... Continue Reading →
This week has me presenting to members of the Greek Life leadership community at Winthrop University in North Carolina. I am grateful to Pi Kappa Phi and AFA for having me. The Greek community has a unique history and set of needs when it comes to social media. It seems not a week goes by... Continue Reading →
I am happy to finally make my entire final dissertation available for all to download and read. This document represents some of the first qualitative research into how traditionally aged college students use social media and its impact on their development and how they construct identities online. If you want a more detailed description, I've included the... Continue Reading →
I recently came across this graphic posted on TeachThought which comes from the minds of Sylvia Duckworth and Jennifer Casa-Todd (blog). The graphic highlights the distinction between two concepts: Digital Citizenship: Being a good neighbor and responsible ethical partner on the internet and Digital Leadership: Using the internet and social media tools to influence change and improve society Both concepts... Continue Reading →
I'm pleased to be presenting to the faculty, staff and students of Suffolk Count Community College today. As a community college, and an institution with a large number of commuting students, social media and online technologies are an excellent way for engaging and building community with students. At my two sessions today, I will be speaking... Continue Reading →
I'm pleased to be presenting the results of my dissertation research at ACPA this year. This presentation provides a broad overview of my study, its findings, and implications. This is one of the first times I am presenting this material in public and I am super excited about it. If you want to learn more,... Continue Reading →
It's over! It's hard to believe the one of the final steps on my journey is complete. I want to thank everyone for all of their support throughout this process. There are far too many of you to mention individually, but I trust you know who you are and how much I appreciate you. If you'd... Continue Reading →
I've been collecting quotes as of late and I've struck upon a series of quotes about social media that provide a range of opinions and commentary. Take a look at the following for some thoughts about social media and its role in our lives.
According to recent statistics from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 41% of U.S. teenagers are on Snapchat (April 8, 2015). Alongside Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat rounds out the Top 3 of teen social media sites. This was also consistent with the college students in my doctoral research who reported the same "top... Continue Reading →
I am excited to be joining my professional colleagues in Colorado for the annual Colorado College Personnel Association Campus. The theme of this one-day drive-in is "Professional Development in the Digital Age," so it's very appropriate that I attend and engage. I will be giving the Keynote in the morning and will alter be serving... Continue Reading →
A friend shared this video with me and... it... is... awesome. The campus police at the University of Delaware created their own music video to highlight their LiveSafe campus safety smartphone app. Making a play off of Drake's music video, "Hotline Bling," the officers created "Copline Bling." It is an excellent example of a fun, yet informative way to... Continue Reading →
I quite simply LOVE this quote. It comes from Sherry Turkle, a sociologist at MIT, writing for the Chronicle of Higher Education in 2004. Turkle is a well-known and respected scholar that has produced some amazing work on the evolving nature of human beings' relationships with technology. (See some of my favorite books of hers below.) The reason... Continue Reading →
LinkedIn is increasingly becoming an essential tool for maintaining professional relationships and networking. When I taught a course on the higher education job search, I tried to find a simple, comprehensive guide to creating a successful LinkedIn profile. There are a lot of them out there, but many are lacking in one area or another.... Continue Reading →
This American Life recently posted a podcast called "Status Update" that delved into the online behavior of three teenage girls who were entering high school. The girls spoke at length about Instagram and the complex rules that govern how they use it, how they maintain their social connections, and the "rules" of the "game" when... Continue Reading →
I came across this excellent Ted Talk by Juan Enriquez the other day. Titled, You Online Life, As Permanent As A Tattoo, this talk explores the idea that all of the digital data collected on you, and to which you contribute yourself through social media, is imprinting you with a permanent "digital tattoo." Traditional tattoos tell... Continue Reading →
Don't want to spend the time reading through 300 pages of my dissertation work on college students, social media, identity, and selfhood? No problem. I pulled out 96 "quotable quotes" from the text. Consider it the "Reader's Digest of Dissertations." Wondering why 96 and not... 100...? I just went through the whole thing until I... Continue Reading →
I say this in my presentations over and over again. It is a message I repeat in various forms: Just because you use social media doesn't mean... you know how to use it well. you understand how it functions. you can use it to accomplish goals. you understand how it impacts yourself and others.... Continue Reading →
Recently, I was selected by LinkedIn to be a "featured follow" on their new app for my work in higher education and technology. As a result of this selection, I have been exploring and engaging on LinkedIn more than ever before. Although I have always been a big fan of the site, I don't... Continue Reading →
Qualitative research requires that one code text (or images, or video, etc.) for themes. Coding is a process whereby you find snippets of text, highlight and/or excerpt it, and tag it with a word or phrase. There are a number of different code types, such as close-text, in vivo, etc. Some can be categories and... Continue Reading →
When speaking about digital and social technology and the importance of leveraging it for career success, I often share this statistic that comes from John Bennett: 80% of jobs are landed through networking and personal relationships. Although I cannot vouch for the research behind it, it's not a statistic I find surprising. As I have... Continue Reading →
An important untapped resource for college student educators on social media is the act of "social listening." The term social listening is borrowed from the world of marketing where companies will search for their names and products via social media to find out what consumers are saying. Social listening on college campuses is very similar. It... Continue Reading →
Given that I speak on social media and college students, it's inevitable that the topic of YikYak on campus comes up. YikYak is an anonymous geosocial app that allows individuals to post and view posts within defined geographic areas. This geo-functionality is one of the reasons it has become so popular on college campuses and at... Continue Reading →
Although not the specific focus of my research, it nevertheless occurred to me that some of the behaviors I noticed students exhibiting in my research followed well known and well established developmental patterns. As a thought experiment, I tried to map some of these behaviors to the classic developmental theories of Marcia Baxter Magolda and... Continue Reading →
I was SUPER pleased to join Tony D'Angelo on The Collegiate Empowerment Show this week. We had a great conversation about my career and life path, my experience with technology growing up and how I turned that passion into the subject of my research. I hope you'll find it an interesting listen. Tony is... Continue Reading →
On his way to class, Greg accomplishes many things. Buried in his smartphone, he dodges fellow students, almost trips up a set of stairs, and ducks a low tree lying tree branch (remember that next time). During his ten minute walk, Greg is listening to a TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson discussing how contemporary schools... Continue Reading →
A simple series of slides giving some pointers and tips that we need to educate student leaders on as it comes to social media. Feel free to use, share and distribute with attribution!
One thing I have come to appreciate through my research is the varied ways in which people use social media. Each person integrates and makes meaning of their social media presences in their own way. However, there also seem to be some trends in ways people interact. The following infographic struck me as surfacing... Continue Reading →
The Conversation Prism is a beautifully designed infographic, now in its fourth iteration, that provides an overview of social media sites and presents them as a taxonomy. Different sites are categorized according to their main purpose and/or use. Not only is the prism beautifully designed, but it also offers a great resource for individuals hoping... Continue Reading →
Using social media is a great way to increase the attendance and engagement of students at your events. When I consult with colleges and universities, event promotion is one of the top ways in which social media is used. Unfortunately, however, many institutions are still using social media as just a replacement for the flier. Social media... Continue Reading →
I'm grateful to be joining the faculty of the LEAD365 Conference today to present to some exception student leaders and leadership educators. Designed for undergraduates, graduate students and professionals, Lead365 is committed to preparing collegiate leaders to effectively serve, producing individuals well-equipped for the work force, and inspiring service to humanity. So what am I... Continue Reading →
Mike Arauz has a great presentation on SlideShare about the "spectrum of friendships" on social media. Specifically, he asks, "What can brands learn from people who are good at making friends on the internet?" This spectrum can also be applied to the world of higher education where institutions seek to promote students' sense of belonging and... Continue Reading →
I have the privilege of sharing my time and space today with the staff and students at the University of Delaware. There are two workshops I'll be giving which are both revamped presentations with a lot of new content arising out of my research. Hopefully you will find the information helpful as well. In particular, one... Continue Reading →
It's time for a yearly update! My advice for the digital #SAgrad of 2015... So you've recently started your journey towards a Master's degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs. CONGRATULATIONS! As a former instructor in a number of these programs, one of the topics I like to review with my students is how they can... Continue Reading →
So this is how it started... I came across this article describing some social media craziness involving a man in the UK, who parlayed a rivalry between two mobile phone companies into the offer of free pizza for a year. So of course, knowing my relationship with JetBlue, I decided to be a bit funny and... Continue Reading →
Integrating digital and social media tools into RA training programs can be an exciting and innovative way to hold your RAs' attention. Below are some useful sites, apps, and services that you can use and some examples of how to use them. Have other ideas? Poll Everywhere http://www.polleverywhere.com Poll Everywhere allows you to set up online polls... Continue Reading →
I have the pleasure of presenting to the faculty, staff and students of Indiana University Southeast today on the impact of social media on college student development as well as college students and their digital reputations. Here are some additional resources that may be of use to those in attendance and others. For faculty and staff attendees: To... Continue Reading →
The following post originally appeared on the ACPA Digital Task Force Website. I'm excited to announce that I will be a part of round 2 of this effort. Specifically, I will be continuing my collaboration with Erik Qualman and others to develop educators guides and supplemental materials for the book to which we contributed,... Continue Reading →
Last Friday, I *gave* one of the four mini keynotes at the NEACUHO 2015 Annual Conference. Unfortunately I couldn't be there in person, but I did record the following to be shown in my absence. In it, I explore why, as educators, we seem to experience such paralysis and paranoia when it comes to... Continue Reading →
Over the weekend, I had the privilege of speaking to the New Student Orientation Leaders at Keene State College in New Hampshire. They were amazing, as orientation leaders always are, and made me feel welcome. (Even singing me a special birthday song!) In preparing to talk to these student leaders, I reflected on my own... Continue Reading →
If you aren't following the NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) blog, I highly encourage you to do so. You don't even need to work in Career Services to benefit. There are great tips here for your own job search or general work with students. Check out the following post about writing LinkedIn summaries.... Continue Reading →
As my friend Keith said, "The circle completes itself." When I started traveling and interacting with JetBlue on Twitter, I never intended nor thought my journey would take me here... and yet, nevertheless, this week had me heading to JetBlue's Long Island City headquarters to present to the crew members of JetBlue. I had the opportunity to... Continue Reading →
I had the opportunity to present with #SAgrad superstar, Craig Bidiman, on how colleges and universities can leverage social media as a means of engaging their students. The following video comes from the 2015 NASPA conference and gives a broad overview of the philosophy, approaches, and mindset departments must take to go beyond seeing social... Continue Reading →
*but it can enhance it if used smartly. Usually, rants about how "social media is making us antisocial" and "social media is ruining our ability to enjoy the 'real' world" drive me INSANE. Unfortunately, many who take this track use it as an opportunity to assert some moral high ground.. that by giving up social... Continue Reading →
When I'm speaking and consulting, I frequently get asked by clients what the most platforms are and which one's they should be on. The question is actually more complex than just finding the most popular platforms. In part, your question should be: What do you want to do and what is the best social media... Continue Reading →
What do our college student development theories look like when we give them a digital update? How might social media be changing the ways students develop and understand themselves? What are the implications for college student educator practice? The following was originally presented at the 2015 NASPA Convention as a part of the SAspeaks series.... Continue Reading →
When I had the opportunity to take the big stage at a recent conference and discuss my philosophy on life, I knew I had to talk about my relationship with JetBlue! And now you can see it, too. It was titled, "My Improbable Love Affair with JetBlue, and What it Can Teach You About Loving... Continue Reading →
Today is the day! The "What Happens On Campus Stays on YouTube," the book to which I am a contributing author, is available for shipping! A great work geared towards college students that helps them understand their digital identity and the potentials and pitfalls of interacting online. You can order yours on Amazon now! Want a peek inside... Continue Reading →
Can Facebook get you fired? You bet it can. This is the story of Kevin Colvin, a bank intern. Kevin needed to "go out of town" suddenly and sent his boss the following email: Well, the "something that came up at home" was actually just a party that Kevin wanted to attend. He posted photos... Continue Reading →
I have the pleasure of presenting to and consulting with the faculty, staff and students of Indiana State University today on the use of social media in engaging students. Here are some additional resources that may be of use to those in attendance and others. For faculty and staff attendees: To see examples of colleges and universities using... Continue Reading →
I appeared on a HigherEdLive broadcast along with co-guest, colleague, and friend, Vernon Wall, and host Heather Shea Gasser to talk about social media and its intersections with social justice and change. Vernon and I talked about our collaboration on a combined social justice and social media training as well as recent events in higher education surrounding the use of Yik... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
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.
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 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 →
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 →
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 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 →
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 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.
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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!
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
“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 →
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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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
Tweet http://youtu.be/fBLuzUk5NII (One of my colleagues and friends, Paul Eaton, wrote a great blog post about Bronfenbrenner's applicability to online/social media spaces. I also wanted to have a go at the topic, so I purposely didn't re-read his post until after publishing this one... and there's agreement... but with a twist... read on...) Urie Bronfenbrenner's theory of... Continue Reading →
I had the incredible privilege of presenting on technology and social media to the student affairs staff at American University in Dubai (AUD) last week. Presenting internationally comes with its own set of opportunities and challenges, particularly as it relates to talking about social media and technology. I wanted to share three takeaways I had in... Continue Reading →
YikYak is a new social app released earlier this year that is quickly becoming popular amongst high school and college students across the United States. Its goal is to serve as "a local bulletin board for your area." It uses geolocation on one's smartphone to allow one to post short statements that are broadcast and searchable... Continue Reading →
A really great and useful piece by Josie Ahlquist on how to clean up your digital presence for a job search and then how to leverage it. Josie does some amazing research on college students and social media use. Her entire site is definitely worth a look.
LMU Graduation. Photo Credit: Anthony Garrison-Engbrecht
I write this post to the class of 2014 college graduates. Putting in four years to earn your undergraduate (or five…or six) I’m sure ready to go put that degree to work! You have the grades, the extracurriculars, internships, and even great references. But in todays fiercely competitive economy there is no guarantee that you’ll even get an interview.
Nope, many of those times I listed above are given. The leadership roles, high GPA, service projects, etc. Still nothing.
I have watched recent alumni take jobs at coffee shops after graduation, as I wonder if they can afford their student loan payments. Yes watch out, those payments kick in six months after walking across that stage.
Okay deep breaths, hope is not lost. You got this! Social media isn’t just for Instagramming your bling’d out graduation cap or staying in touch with your fellow…
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"Digital Identity Isn't About (A Separate) Identity At All" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEaPb2NQqbE The video of my PechaKucha presentation on the big stage at the 2014 ACPA-College Student Educators-International Convention, is posted on YouTube! Woot! Check out the annotated slide version here. View it below. And see more from other presenters here.
I recently came back from the 2014 National Convention of ACPA-College Student Educators International... and it was AWESOME. The Convention Team really took to the challenge of "reinventing" the conference experience into something new. As a leader in the Association, I left the experience proud of what my colleagues had accomplished and excited that ACPA has become a... Continue Reading →
My research passion is about college students and how social media and technology impacts the developmental process. Unfortunately, I’ve found a lot of the discourse in student affairs around this subject to be lacking. When you attend a conference session or read a thought piece centered around this topic, they often focus on marketing, technological tools, and... Continue Reading →
Being an instructor in the Higher Education Master’s programs at Boston College and Merrimack College, and as former Res Lifer, I’ve always been interested in how to advance student learning outcomes through the use of technology and social media in classroom and training environments. I’ll have the opportunity to present on both at the upcoming... Continue Reading →
This is a story of one man's love affair with an airline and how, on one special Valentine's Day, they exchanged two special gifts. I fly JetBlue a lot and often tweet them here or there to ask a question, express an opinion, or just share them in a mention to my followers. Anyone who's... Continue Reading →
(UPDATE: JetBlue also gave me a very special Valentine's Day gift.) 🙂 For those of you that know me, you know I love the airline JetBlue and I fly them a lot. I’ve even achieved “Mosaic status,” JetBlue’s designation for frequent frequent fliers. During one of my most recent trips, however, I was reminded just... Continue Reading →
I'm excited to have the privilege of speaking to and presenting a number of sessions at the Wisconsin College Personnel Association (WCPA) Fall Conference this week. For those of you that follow my blog and research, many of the topics I'm covering should be familiar to you. As I evolve, however, so do my presentations.... Continue Reading →
I'm excited to be the opening keynote at this year's #SATechBOS Unconference. The event utilizes as a unique format that encourages peer-to-peer learning and interaction. It's a pretty interesting concept and a new take on the sometimes stale traditional conference format. Wikipedia describes it as follows: An “unconference“ is a participant-driven meeting. The term “unconference” has... Continue Reading →
Last week, StudentAffairs.com published a piece I wrote entitled, An Experiment Using Twitter in Teaching a Student Affairs Practicum Course, in their Journal of Technology in Student Affairs. (Please check it out and let me know what you think!) In one of the later paragraphs of the piece, I wrote about my plans for teaching... Continue Reading →
Last week I had the privilege of being invited to speak to the amazing staff at Johnson & Wales University in Denver and also do a five-hour consultation on their social media efforts. I have done a number of social media consults for departments, and other campus entities, and one of the questions that always... Continue Reading →
Facebook Graph Search proves just how important building up your social network contacts can be. This new search feature, which has been slowly rolling out over the past few months, allows one to make “micro-level” searches. For instance, you can search for “my friends that like Lionel Richie” or “my family that visited Peoria.” These... Continue Reading →
I’m not completely above baiting people with key buzzwords on occasion to get more traffic. Bacon? Check. Cats and Kittens? Check. George Takei? Oh my! And Star Wars? What a Wookie. This semester I had the incredible experience of taking MI621: Social Media for Managers in the Carroll School for Management at Boston College. I... Continue Reading →
Last week I started an experiment called the “6 Degrees of Esther Lloyd-Jones Project,” a play on Six Degrees of Separation and the popular “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” game. I was motivated by the desire to see how small the student affairs profession is and discover the power of crowdsourcing on the internet. It’s... Continue Reading →
In his 1989 work, The Great Good Place, Ray Oldenburg floated the idea of our needing a “third place.” Our first place is our home, where we live. Our second place is our work, where we spend a large portion of our time. Our “third place,” however, is an informal space that brings us together... Continue Reading →
One of the more interesting phenomena I’ve come across in some of my research on college student interactions through social media is something I call the “Cult of the Like.” The “Like,” or the “Favorite,” or whatever your preferred social media network happens to call it, is a way of indicating agreement, acknowledgement, or affinity... Continue Reading →
Social media and Web 2.0 technologies have changed the way we collaborate and come together for collective action. Additionally, they are enabling us to achieve feats of unprecedented size and scale. They are helping us search for cures to cancer, they have allowed us to create a comprehensive world encyclopedia, and they have even toppled... Continue Reading →
I had the privilege of giving two presentations at the 2013 Dalton Institute on College Student Values at Florida State University in Tallahassee. The theme of this year's institute was "Character in an Age of Self-Promotion: Exploring the Role of Social Media on College Student Development." Obviously, perfectly suited for me and my research passions. 🙂 The abstracts and... Continue Reading →
I’m an insider, but an outsider. As a PhD student studying higher education, and as someone who has worked in colleges and universities his entire life, I’m completely comfortable in the classroom and in being surrounded by students. This semester, however, I’m an immigrant in a foreign land. I’m taking a course in the business... Continue Reading →
It’s that time of year! Time to train the staff, open the halls, and start welcome week. I wanted to share one of my favorite tools, Poll Everywhere, and give you some suggestions on how to use it in creative ways with your events, student staff trainings, educational sessions, and in the classroom. Poll Everywhere... Continue Reading →
On occasion I’m asked to sit down with student affairs professionals and departments to consult on their social media presence. What always strikes me about these conversations is that many view social media as merely a new form of advertising. Social media is actually far more complex and possesses a different set of rules in... Continue Reading →
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