Engaging Today's Learners: Leveraging Social Media Platforms

1. Active Learning Institute Educause Solutions in Action “Reaching and Engaging Today's Learners”April 20, 2009 Barbara Knauff, Senior Instructional Technologist Academic Computing, Dartmouth College Our Next Speakers: Erin Long Instructional Designer, The Penn State University Allan Gyorke Education Technology Manager, The Penn State University The Schreyer Blogging Initiative

2. Reaching and Engaging Today’s Learner Erin Long & Allan Gyorke The Pennsylvania State University

3. The Schreyer Blogging Initiative

4. The Schreyer Blogging Initiative Problem: Tried to coordinate bi-weekly face-to-face meetings through email. Failed miserably. • Students do not check email daily • Hard to determine scheduling • Not “immediate” enough for students involved Solution: Facebook to the rescue! • Students admitted to checking email a few times a week • However, they check Facebook a few times an hour

5. The Schreyer Blogging Initiative

6. The Schreyer Blogging Initiative Result: Everybody’s happy! • One place to go for information • Best to go to where the students are • Eliminates some administrative overhead • By using groups, we don’t have to “friend” students Future Uses… • Division of Undergraduate Studies is working on making their own group to reach incoming students.

7. Other Ways to Engage… Texting – replaces Web forms Twitter – immediate back channel YouTube – course work and responses Live Question Tool – involve the students in the lecture For more information… Erin Long – erin@psu.edu Allan Gyorke – allan@psu.edu