Category: Twitter

Every now and then, I like to check out educational “trade” publications for articles on the pros and cons of new technology in the classroom.  On The Chronicle of Higher Education, I found a piece by Rachel Herrmann entitled “Why Your Department Needs Social Media.”  Herrmann,  a Ph.D. lecturer at the University of Southampton in England, gives a faculty member’s perspective on the best ways for instructors to utilize applications such as Facebook and Twitter to better communicate with students.

Herrmann gives some very concrete first-hand examples of how using social media enables her to post information about upcoming events, announce details regarding grants and share photos of faculty-student social functions.  Likewise, she mentions how students give her feedback about their accomplishments and receive live-Tweets of major lectures and recruitment-day information sessions.  Herrmann does admit that there are a number of university policies and administrative oversights that slow down the process of establishing a faculty social media presence.  She goes on to offer several suggestions (fewer rules, a department social media manager, etc) to make the overall process more efficient.

After reading this article, I thought about what many of the students I have talked to in the Student Success Center at the Community College of Denver have mentioned regarding communicating with their instructors.  Few to none of these students mention their instructors connecting with them on any social media platform whatsoever.  In addition, many of the students say they have, at times, a difficult time getting a simple email response from their instructors regarding an assignment question.  I realize many of the instructors are temporary/part-time adjuncts who can only commit so much of their time for the amount of money they receive for their efforts.  Plus, both instructors and students are entitled to a certain amount of privacy.

Social media can be an effective tool of group communication, but that effectiveness is dependent on the pro-active engagement of all the people in the group.  Maybe things are different in England, but I’m sure here in the United States, educators want to find the best ways to reach their students.  Just not 24/7.