Periscope as a New Technology to Integrate in Higher Education Classrooms?

Since I joined the faculty ranks back in 2006, my preferred (and the students' preferred communication methods) have continued to evolve. For example...

2006-2010 - The preferred communication method in my classroom was Yahoo Instant Messenger.
*I linked Yahoo IM to my Blackboard courses as an embedded widget.

2010-2012 - The preferred communication methods in my classroom were Twitter and Google Voice for text messages.

2012 - 2015 - The preferred communication methods in my classroom were Twitter, Google Plus Groups, Google Voice for text messages, and Facebook groups (graduate students and undergraduate students).

Fall 2015 (and beyond) -  The preferred communication methods in my classroom will be..Google Plus, Google Voice, and potentially Periscope (a interactive live stream technology for conferencing and establishing social presence).
*I always strive to remain ahead of the social media learning curve (I have to do so for my role with the Texas Social Media Research Institute @TSMRI) and for my retention duties at my university.

It seems that technologies such as Periscope will continue to evolve and gain popularity. I enjoy recieving Periscope notifications and I value interacting with key bloggers (and conferences) through this communication technology. Here's some more information on Periscope.

Huffington Post - "How Periscope is Changing the Game"

Entrepreneur.com - "5 Brands Can Use Periscope and Meerkat"
*I know this link is a branding specific link, but higher education can utilize live streaming technologies for conferences and marketing their programs.

Which higher education (#HigherEd) communication technologies do you integrate in your courses? How do you link these with your university's content management system or your syllabus? How do you introduce and provide training for students utilizing these communication technologies?

Sincerely - @drjtedwardsTSU

Free Webinar Opportunity from Inside Higher Ed - "Diversity in the Student Body"

If you are looking for a webinar focused on student diversity in higher education, look no further than one of the most important news resources in higher education, Inside Higher Ed. I've been reading this resource since receiving my word magnet from Inside Higher Ed at my first ACPA conference back in 2008!

Scott Jaschik and Doug Lederman will lead this webinar (sponsored by Pearson). 

Register for the webinar here - https://events-na3.adobeconnect.com/content/connect/c1/1002564123/en/events/event/shared/default_template/event_landing.html?sco-id=1592580467&campaign-id=Insider&_charset_=utf-8.

If you attend this webinar, please let me know what you think about the content.

*This blog post is just a resource, it is not a sponsored post. :)

Call for Speakers - University of North Texas Law Conference (March 21-22, 2016 in Denton, TX)

Neat Opportunity from the University of North Texas 

Save the Date!

The 20th annual UNT Texas Higher Education Law Conference will be held March 21-22 in Denton, Texas, on the campus of the University of North Texas. Easter is the Sunday after conference week, and most Spring Breaks are concluded.

We are reading and in many cases acting upon your feedback from the recent 2015 conference. Some announcements about that are forthcoming.

We will begin this summer and fall to focus intensively on the 2016 program, but don't let that stop you from suggesting topics and speakers NOW.  Send to me at Marc.Cutright@unt.edu<mailto:Marc.Cutright@unt.edu> .

Thanks for your continuing interest and support.

PS  About $20,000 in scholarship aid from the conference will be committed this week to roughly 35-40 students.  You make that possible. Thank you.

Marc Cutright, EdD

Associate Professor of Higher Education

Director of the Higher Education Development Initiative

Fulbright Scholar to Uganda 2013-14

University of North Texas

1155 Union Circle #310829

Denton, TX 76203-5017

904-369-7875 (office)

Sincerely - @drjtedwardsTSU

55 Higher Education and Social Media Ideas! #55HigherEd from the SxSWEdu Conference!

In March, I was very fortunate to attend the SxSWEdu conference in Austin, TX. I attended sessions hosted by the TAMU system, the Gates Foundation, and several university colleagues from other institutions. This year marks my second year of attendance and I have to tout that this is the best year so far!

This year, we presented a session titled, "#55HigherEd Ideas and Resources" and we had participants from high schools, community colleges, universities, foundations, and associations. The ideas presented in the session were recorded via Twitter and via a Google Document!

Here's our tagboard from the session (the tweets): http://tgb.io/55HigherEd/219916

Here are my notes from the audience members attending the session!

1 - Reaching Current Undergraduate Students via Social Media

- Create a hashtag for recruiting students and engaging other departments to communicate with them.

- Place your twitter handle on your email signature line.

- Create professional groups for like-minded students on Facebook.

2 - Recruiting and Retaining Faculty and Staff on Social Media

- Create secondary social media posts of positions to recruit faculty and staff (without publishing on higher education.)

- Focus on faculty and staff members's secondary interests (what they like to do outside of the typical workday).

- Post a video about the staff environment and the benefits/ How they match 401Ks. Two weeks off during Christmas break.

- Utilize Flickr accounts, seeing the attire of the workplace.

- Focus on Faculty Student Success Stories - Faculty will have a different focus.

3 - Student Engagement and Social Media

- Post Lists Focused on Your Community (i.e. - Things to do in Alpine - Going out to the Sul Ross Campaign (students and their parents)).

- Form a Twitter Debate - Two teams. Limited numbers of tweets.Number of favorites within a certain time frame.

4 - University Recruitment and Social Media

- Create Buzzfeed-like videos focused on your university. For example, the top 10 reasons why you should join the teacher education program.

- Connect with Community Colleges via the University Account

5 - The University Classroom and Social Media

- Insert a Twitter Widget on Blackboard

- Creating Instagram account for your department.

- Remember to be more proactive with social media listening.

- Have a social media policy on your syllabus.

- Create expectations of social media posts. Twitter and instagram. Tagboard. Giving students a visual for students and other.

- Post student group projects to LinkedIn. Becoming references to one another.

- Have Pop-Up Sessions from One Class Session to the Next - Group work and generating ideas. Great for problem based learning. Ideas would come through and everyone would have everyone's idea. Other classes could add to that.

6 - University Marketing on Social Media

- Push for a social page on the website to list all of the university's social media accounts.

- Engage the internal departments.

- Ask students how they discovered your university.

- Practice social media listening. Create a search focused on your college or university's name.

- Find student social media ambassadors for your university. They will be the ambassadors to start the #besomebody

Next Year!

When the call for sessions is available, I will definitely submit another session (Vote for the @TSMRI Session)! This was one of the best conferences this year and I hope that I will continue to connect with my colleagues from other institutions and foundations throughout the year.

In June, we will start our #55HigherEd chat on Wednesdays in June at 8pm on Twitter! Join us! 

Sincerely - @drjtedwardsTSU