Student Services, Social Media, Yik Yak, and Engagement

Jisc

One of the first UK higher education organizations that I found whilst researching UK HE + technology was Jisc. After attending a couple of their events and connecting with their social media team, I was invited to share my thoughts on social media, student services, Yik Yak, and digital engagement. Here are excerpts and links to those posts:

Enhancing student services with digital engagement

Student services teams that capitalise on the reach and utility of digital channels have an opportunity to enhance their work, create campus connections, and lead the way for successful student experiences.

Yik Yak – the rise of anonymous geo-social connectivity

For now, Yik Yak is the dominant player in the anonymous geo-social mobile app space. Educators should learn how to use Yik Yak today as preparation for the next big thing. I’ve been posting, up-voting, and down-voting on Yik Yak. Sure, the anonymous aspect is a bit different compared to my preferred social media channels, but at least I can be confident that I’m engaging in lifelong learning in the digital realm.

Why educators can’t live without social media

There are enhanced educational opportunities that come from getting digital. Educators who are student-focused will always be ready for the challenges of the present and the opportunities of the future. It’s up to institutions to provide support, resources, and rewards to those who are using social media to benefit the learners that they serve. So let’s get digital in order to get learning.

Catching Up on Inside Higher Ed

Student Affairs and Technology at Inside Higher Ed

Being a blogger for Inside Higher Ed (IHE) has been one of the greatest opportunities in my professional career. Thus far, as the Student Affairs and Technology blogger, I’ve written 346 blog posts in 5 years. The site and its team of reporters, bloggers, and editors is a constant source of camaraderie and support…and when you’re an independent consultant, it’s nice to have at least some connections to a regular business/journalistic operation.

As previously mentioned, it’s been a while since I’ve posted on this blog (today being the exception as I’ve been cranking out post after post after…you get the idea), I wanted to share several of my most recent IHE posts on this blog because I think it’s always a good idea to let one blog know what the other blog is doing…especially when you’re the author. So, get ready, because this is going to be a long post…seriously, this a good one:

Social Media Questions and Answers
Social Media Questions and Answers

CSSA 599 sounds like the name of a new droid for the new Star Wars movie. However, CSSA 599 is a special topics class at Oregon State University. Recently, students from the class tweeted a series of questions about social media/technology and invited me to respond. Giving answers in 140 character bursts makes you be extremely concise with your responses. After ruminating on their tweets/questions, I decided to write up some longer responses.

Pass the cast with Periscope
Pass the Cast Using Periscope

When Periscope came on the social media scene a mere 7 months ago, they made quite a splash. Acquired by Twitter before their official launch, Periscope (a direct competitor with Meerkat) is all about live-streaming mobile video with a social media twist.

Hello is a reintroduction
Hello is a Reintroduction

Sometimes you just need to say “hello.” From Apple to Adele, hello is oftentimes a reintroduction. Lately, it’s been an interesting professional exercise. When work takes you to multiple countries, colleges, universities, departments, disciplines, topics, etc., the act of saying “hello” and filling in the blanks of “what is it that you do?” takes a bit more time/effort than it did when titles were familiar and employment wasn’t the “self.”

Observations From the Frat Subreddit
Observations From the Frat Subreddit

Recently, I’ve been observing the r/Frat subreddit. It’s a fascinating space on reddit. If you work in student affairs, especially Greek Life / Fraternity Sorority Life (FSL), I would suggest that you take a look. The comments/posts are a melange of good, bad, and ugly.

Digital Identity Dev is a Process
Digital Identity Dev is a Process

Our digital identities matter. What we post, share, say, upload, snap, and tweet represents our digital identity. It’s our online presence.

Getting Digital is Required
Getting Digital is Required

When every individual in an organization gets digital, the entire organization benefits. In higher education, being digitally capable has to be required. Most students are paying a lot of money for their higher education. They deserve a tremendous experience. It’s unacceptable for anyone who works in higher education to be anti-technology or digitally underdeveloped. Get digital or get out of the way.

Get Digital or Get Out of the Way: Overcoming Our Collective Fear of Technology

NASPA - Get Digital

December 8, 2015 at 1:00pm ET.

***Registration and more information***

Inspired by my “Get Digital” post, I’ve asked three amazing higher education leaders to give their thoughts on why student affairs is so afraid of technology…from social media, to hiring decisions, to the future of the profession, this panel is going to cover a lot of ground and cause some radical critical thinking to take place!

This panel discussion features three higher education/student affairs experts and will cover key issues in how student affairs practitioners construct, create, and manage technology-related projects, strategic communications, and digital initiatives.

Technology and social media are essential components for today’s student affairs practitioner. However, fear of technology and/or a lack of competency can lead to issues with efficiency, communications, action, success, and organizational development.

This panel will make you think about the future of student affairs and engage your critical thinking skills via intellectual prognostication of the following topics:
Continue reading Get Digital or Get Out of the Way: Overcoming Our Collective Fear of Technology

Why Digital Identity Matters: Strategies and Concepts for Student Services

AMOSSHE digital identity webinar

UPDATED: See below for the full video of the webcast as well as the slide deck from the presentation.

I’ve been working with AMOSSHE – the UK’s Student Services Association – to put on a series of continuing professional development webinars (in the UK, professional development is typically called “CPD”).

More than 100 attendees participated in the first webinar that I did with AMOSSHE…and we’re going to do the exact same webinar one more time to make sure that everyone gets a chance to participate (and because the recording didn’t work* during round #1).

The webinar is happening on Thursday, December 3, 2015 and is titled: Why Digital Identity Matters: Strategies and Concepts for Student Services

This free interactive webinar for Student Services professionals explores how you can use social media to improve student engagement and enhance the student experience. The session helps you develop a strategic communications framework, and identifies tools, sites and apps for social media success.

***Register for the webinar***

More info about the webcast:

Continue reading Why Digital Identity Matters: Strategies and Concepts for Student Services

Webinar: Yik Yak on Campus – What You Need to Know About the Latest Anonymous Social Scene

Yik Yak on Campus: What You Need to Know About the Latest Anonymous Social Scene

Update: I’m giving a webinar on Wednesday, February 18th, at 2PM Eastern Time on Yik Yak on Campus: What You Need to Know About the Latest Anonymous Social Scene.

I’ll show you how Yik Yak works, provide examples of cyber-bullying AND positivity in actual mobile posts, and outline a strategy for anonymous-mobile discourse at your campus.

Students are quickly flocking to this application, posting anonymous “yaks” and engaging in good, bad, and ugly communication. A number of institutions have seen high-profile incidents involving the app in recent weeks including sharing of sex tapes, hate speech and harassment and threatening to commit a violent crime on campus.

Colleges and universities from across the United States are struggling with how to respond and whether or not there is value in being present on the platform.

What you will learn:

  • The history of Yik Yak and why it was geo-fenced at high schools.
  • Strategies for engaging your students via Yik Yak in a positive way to encourage positive change on campus.
  • Examples of troubling, real campus crises triggered by “Yaks” across North America and discover the practical ways to respond if similar “Yaks” appear on your campus.
  • Social media guidelines — for applications even beyond Yik Yak — that you can successfully adapt, construct and engage the campus community through your own social media standards.
  • How you can use Yik Yak as a social listening channel to explore your own campus themes and learning opportunities.

Once again, I’ll be partnering with PaperClip Communications for this webinar. Check out their site for more information and to register.

More info about Yik Yak: A recent post that I wrote about Yik Yak and why it is causing so many issues at campuses in the United States.

On “Side Hustles” and Being Your Own Boss

podcast with Eric Stoller

Every time I make it “around the horn” to celebrate another successful year of consulting, speaking, and writing, I get a bit reflective about the journey. As if on cue, Dustin Ramsdell from the The Student Affairs Spectacular Podcast, invited me to do an interview about my endeavors.

Here’s the full audio interview where I go into detail about my journey as a student affairs professional / higher education consultant. I manage to throw in some thoughts on work/life balance as well as some insight into what my typical day is all about.


Spoiler alert: life is great, work and life aren’t a dichotomy, and it’s been 4 years since I started doing this work full-time. Thanks Dustin for giving me some time on your show.

[image credit]

Dear Microsoft: Children of the 90s Were Not Born Yesterday

You might not remember us, but we met in the 90s.

Microsoft’s new ad for Internet Explorer wants to capitalize on our collective nostalgia. Hungry Hippos, floppy disks, Oregon Trail, snap bracelets, bowl haircuts, and slow Internet access. Microsoft just doesn’t understand that while we may fondly remember the items in the ad, we are never ever going to associate Internet Explorer in the same vein. The end of the ad shows Microsoft’s Surface tablet as if browsing via IE on Surface could bring back some sort of mythological experience of yesterday. I loved the ad until the big reveal. All of those memories that it triggers somehow feel betrayed by a company that is completely out of touch with those of us who exist in 2013. A companion website was created to coincide with the ad: “The Browser You Loved to Hate.” Why would they ever want to remind us that “back in the day,” we rushed to Netscape and warmly embraced Firefox. Anything but IE was better than suffering through the default browser on a Windows PC. In 2013, Chrome and Safari have captured our clicks. Microsoft has tried dubstep in previous ads to appeal to our cool sides while this ad appeals to memories that aren’t exactly friendly to good old Microsoft.

With the closing tagline, “Reconnect with the new Internet Explorer,” Microsoft is asking us to do something that feels hollow. Why should we reconnect with something that even Microsoft acknowledges that we “used to hate?”

#ISTE11 and Emerging #EdTech

The 2011 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Annual Conference and Exposition is the largest education technology (EdTech) event in the United States. In this recap video from the conference, attendees share their thoughts about why they attended ISTE and what they think is the future of EdTech.

It was my first time attending an ISTE event and I was greatly impressed. Educators + Solution Providers + Technology + Strategy = Awesome!

For more info about ISTE, check out my ISTE recap post at InsideHigherEd.com

Disclosure: My attendance at #ISTE11 was supported by the Adobe Education Team.

Delicious.com still tastes good

Well, Delicious doesn’t really have a taste per se…it’s a website. However, users of the site were pleased to find out this week that Yahoo! had sold Delicious:

“Yahoo! is excited to announce that Delicious has been acquired by the founders of YouTube, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen. As creators of the largest online video platform, Hurley and Chen have firsthand expertise enabling millions of consumers to share their experiences with the world. Delicious will become part of their new Internet company, AVOS.”

If you’re wondering why the sale of Delicious is important, feel free to surf over to a blog post that I wrote for Inside Higher Ed. I currently have more than 3,800 bookmarks in Delicious. It is my brain’s external hard drive. I use Delicious to keep track of a variety of sites that I come across.

When it was announced last year that Yahoo! might be closing down Delicious, I was devastated. The news this week is terrific because it means that Delicious should be available for several more years. For users of Delicious, the utility of the site is tremendous. Long live Delicious!

QR Codes + Mobile Content = Win

banana republic QR code

Here’s a quick tip for marketing folks who are using QR Codes:

I received a personalized mailing from the Banana Republic a few days ago. On the last page of the mailer was a QR Code. I scanned the code and it took me to this YouTube video:

If you’re going to use QR Codes, please send folks who take the time to scan the code to mobile optimized web content. Taking me to a YouTube clip after I scanned the code was a great way to keep me interested. If I scan your QR Code and it takes me to a regular, non-mobile-optimized site, what’s the point? QR Codes only work if the content that is being delivered is relevant to me and my mobile device.

I’ve seen several QR Codes on posters recently. The codes grabbed my attention because they were prominently placed, but the post-scanned content was just a standard site. Remember, QR Codes + Mobile Content = Win.