Emma Jones – @jones23emma
University of Central Lancashire

Social media is increasingly used in education (Sherbino et al. 2015). From supporting the learning environment to networking, research, recruitment and marketing; social media is increasingly being adopted as a cost effective solution for these Higher Education agendas. Although there are reported barriers to the adoption of social media within education (Tutten & Marks. 2012), it is important that Higher Education institutions develop innovative strategies to encompass all facets of contemporary education. Mulvey (2015) discusses setting goals as a university is important in developing enrolment and connection with students. However it is important that a strategy is a holistic one as there are many aspects of social media across higher education. As such, it is not just about the teaching or recruitment or research, it is all of it, which is what we want to explore- a holistic strategy.

At the University of Central Lancashire, the College of Health and Wellbeing Social Media Group was established in February 2014 to help develop the use of social media in ways that would be beneficial for staff and students. The group have developed a college wide strategy which encompasses four key areas- teaching enhancement, retention, recruitment/ conversion and research/ networking. This is our holistic model of social media which incorporates a whole approach to developing social media in higher education. The group are also conducting research around the impact of the strategy for staff and students to explore their use of social media to further develop the strategy. We want to explore and share experiences with other professionals to develop social media use across Higher education.

The workshop aims to design a social media strategy for developing social media across Higher Educational settings. The workshop attendees will jointly develop this strategy, which will be disseminated and published following organised steering groups and social media forums. In the session discussion topics will include key barriers, drivers and research. The attendees will be asked about their own experiences and to share tips and hints of their findings through their own development of social media. This workshop will also open up networking and research opportunities.

References:

Mulvey, J. (2015). What are the best social media strategies for universities? Retrieved from https://blog.hootsuite.com/what-are-the-best-social-media-strategies-for-universities/

Sherbino, J., Arora, V. M., Van Melle, E., Rogers, R., Frank, J. R., & Holmboe, E. S. (2015). Criteria for social media-based scholarship in health professions education. Postgraduate Medical Journal, 91(1080), 551-555. doi:10.1136/postgradmedj-2015-133300

Tuten, T., & Marks, M. (2012). The adoption of social media as educational technology among marketing educators. Marketing Education Review, 22(3), 201-214.