Creating Community: Technology Solutions By: Katie Cole, Lauren Perelli, Susan Schmidt and Julie...

Creating Community:Technology Solutions

By: Katie Cole, Lauren Perelli , Susan Schmidt and Julie Shenk

Who do we represent?

Graduate students enrolled in the MLS/MIM programs at the Shady Grove Campus of the University of Maryland

What is the problem?

A minimal sense of community among students.

Students don’t know all others students in the program (other than those with whom they share classes)

Students don’t know which other students share their program interests (which other students might be interested in the same concentration, share work interests/experience, etc.)

No means of meaningful communication between students exists – there is no obvious forum for directly sharing information and experiences and exchanging ideas

Limited sense of engagement with program -- students are not clear on the mission of the Shady Grove programs and their role in enhancing that mission

Problem

Problem, Cont.What is the motivation?

Community in this situation can be defined as a group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists

Having a strong sense of community can improve the quality of life of students and fosters social interaction, networking, and support

Encouraging a sense of community among students can support the iSchool commitment to “creating a diverse and inclusive community of students.”

Ourselves, as members of the student population

Who is asking us to solve the problem?

Constraints No budget for project

Proposed solution must be acceptable to school administration

Proposed solution must be accessible and usable by all students

Students must be aware of proposed solution so that it is utilized

Solution should, if possible, incorporate existing communication platforms

Solution should be easy to maintain and kept timely

Solution should be designed to foster interest and engagement

There are limited opportunities for community-building at the physical campus site, as most MLS/MIM students are full-time professionals who are only on campus one or two times per week at most for classes (or they may be taking classes online or at College Park)

Evaluation Criteria Can the proposal enhance the sense of community among

students? Does it allow the exchange of ideas and experiences

between students? Does it allow students to know who comprises the

community, i.e., who their fellow students are? Does it promote community engagement through

promotion of the program’s mission and encouragement of student participation in that mission?

Is the proposal accessible to and usable by all students?

Is the proposal acceptable to the program administration?

Evaluation Criteria, Cont. Does the proposal expand on current communication platforms?

Is the proposed solution easy to maintain and kept timely?

Is the proposed solution designed to foster interest and engagement?

Does the solution promote information sharing in a comfortable and discreet environment?

Is significant work involved in terms of responsibility for content and standards?

Can the proposed solution be easily and successfully promoted so that students and administrators are aware of its existence?

Is there a monetary cost to the solution?

Proposed Solutions LISTSERV

Discussion Board

Facebook

Blog

Proposed Solution #1 LISTSERV

Email list management software.

Developed by Eric Thomas in 1986 who later founded L-soft in 1994.

L-soft is an internationally known company.

3,700 Companies and organizations use it! NASA ABC News About.com Microsoft

Julie

Features List Owner

Web Archives which are searchable All list types.

Administrator Multiple License Size Virus Protection Spam Control

Users Subscribe or unsubscribe at any time. Commands

Unsubscribe-SIGNOFF ISCHOOLDISCUSSION List of archives- INDEX ISCHOOLDISCUSSION List in digest form- SET ISCHOOLDISCUSSION DIGEST

Julie

iSchool LISTSERV Individual Program Lists: MLS-Students LISTSERV and School Library Media

LISTSERV.

Ischooldiscussion:

Open to anyone

Messages can be sent to [email protected]

Is moderated so any messages sent need to be approved.

Students have to subscribe themselves.

Ischoolannouncements:

Used for official announcements or news from the iSchool such as “News from the Deans Office.”

Only some faculty and staff have permission to post to it. If students wish to post to it, messages need to be sent to Mary Carroll-Mason for approval.

Students are added automatically

Julie

Evaluation Does allow for community engagement through informing of various

activities such as iClub meetings or the Internship/Job Fair held April 19th.

A great tool for mass communication among students, faculty, staff and anyone associated with the school.

Accessible to students, faculty and staff who often use it.

Accepted by the administration.

It is maintained and kept up-to-date with current iSchool happenings.

Easy to promote and expands on current platforms.

Julie

Limitations Not an active discussion limiting student to student contact

Not visually attractive.

Workload for moderators could be heavy

Cost There is a licensing agreement costs. Ranging from least expensive $450 to

the most expensive $11,900.

Julie Shenk

L-Soft International, Inc. (n.d.). CataList . Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://www.lsoft.com/ scripts/ wl.exe?qL=ISchool+&F=L&F=T

L-Soft, International, Inc. (n.d.). LISTSERV Email List Management Software . Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://www.lsoft.com/ products/ listserv.asp

M. Carroll-Mason (personal communication, April. 20, 2012).

Trend Micro, & MAPS. (n.d.). Application Note: Guidelines for proper mailing list management. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://www.mail-abuse.com/ pdf/ AN_ListMgmtGuidelines_052604.pdf

University of Maryland LISTSERV Server (14.5) (Fwd. personal communication, April 10, 2012).

Julie

Proposed solution #2 Discussion Board

An online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages

A single conversation is called a thread, and each posting can be replied to by an unlimited number of people

Becomes hierarchical (branching) as new threads are begun and postings are made in response to existing posts

Messages are archived, at least temporarily Message board may need a technical administrator, and

postings may need approval of a moderator Accessible via web-based interface; depending on the design, a

user may subscribe to a conversation and have new posts sent to them via email

Susan

Value to CommunityMessage Boards can be valuable communications and community-building tools:

They allow users to talk to each other and administrators as equals on topics related to an organization’s mission

They can enhance face-to-face networking They provide a “location” where members gather

and chat in nearly real time and are easy to follow

Susan

Creating and sustaining a successful discussion board requires planning, commitment, and marketing:

Need an organizer, moderator, and possibly technical administrator

Should make direct contact with potential members and encourage participation – wide participation encourages a sense of ownership

Should provide access to member lists and user profiles – members can’t engage if they don’t know who is in community

Need to clearly identify community purpose and target audience; theme/subject matter must be interesting so that members are not likely to tire of content and broad enough to support multitude of interactions and conversations

May want to include special features from “experts in the fields” (instructors or administrators in this case

References:

Resource: Using Message Boards to Build Community: Bring people to your online community. Retrieved from:

http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/webbuilding/archives/page9405.cfm

Hosting: Online Moderator Guidelines and Community Building Tips. Retrieved from:

http://www.well.com/confteam/hosting.html

vBulleting Community Forum FAQ. Retrieved from:

https://www.vbulletin.com/forum/faq.php?faq=vb3_board_usage

Susan

Feasibility of Discussion Board Allows student-to-student communication through discussion

Can be a forum for exchange of ideas and experiences

Student profiles could be posted as a discussion thread

Can promote a sense of inclusiveness and community

A discussion board already exists on the ELMS

Susan

Feasibility of Discussion Board, Cont. Students use ELMS discussion boards already in their MLS/MIMs class

pages (so therefore accessible and usable), and site is restricted to students

Proposal would expand on existing discussion board platform

There is no cost involved

Can be promoted by faculty/staff/students

Discussion Board Limitations A student-to-student message board is technically feasible but would

involve policy decision by Dr. Diker to allow for it Would have to be moderated since as it would be a component of the UMD

site (might be possible for the iSchool graduate assistant to be moderator) Can’t be a real-time discussion (because of moderator review) It is technically possible to post student profiles and pictures on the ELMS

space, but it would involve policy decisions about how specifically to do that and what would be allowed

Not visually appealing or engaging

SS

References:

V Diker and Melissa McDonald (personal communication) Susan

Proposed Solution #3: Facebook

Facebook is a social networking web site

Personal Profile – are created by individuals to share information with the online community (Techsoup)

Pages – are created by organizations to communicate with large audiences that like them (Facebook)

Groups – are a closed space for a limited group of people to communicate about shared interests (Facebook)

Some positive features:

Free to join and maintain (except for staff administrator’s time)

Anyone can view a page, only individuals with accounts can post on pages

Visually attractiveKatie

Anatomy of a Facebook Page

Things the iSchool likes

Number of people who “like” the

iSchool

Posts by other people/pages about

the iSchool

You could post something on the

iSchool’s wall

This whole area is called

a “wall”

Current Page for the entire iSchool: http://www.facebook.com/iSchoolUMD

Mass communication from the iSchool on Facebook:

People who have “liked” the iSchool page receive updates

Administrator of the iSchool page can make posts, monitor posts, and remove inappropriate posts or discussions

How the iSchool can communicate with students:

Status updates Share text, photo, video, or hyperlinks Comment or respond to status updates

Post on another individual or organization’s page,

Send direct message out to followers

Ask people vote on an answer in response to a question

Create and invite users to an event

Features of Facebook

Katie

Evaluation

Ways Facebook can encourage community engagement:

Asking direct questions and encouraging members to provide feedback

Interact and join conversation on other organization’s pages (Techsoup)

Student-to-student interaction:

Facebook members can post on the iSchool’s page

View other members Facebook pages to see common interests

Deterrents to developing a Shady Grove iSchool Facebook page:

Need for a unified media strategy to communicate with the iSchool – breaking off a separate group may fragment the audience

Need for additional administrator from the iSchool staff (Mary Carroll-Mason, personal communication, April 20, 2012)

Katie

Final Thoughts on Facebook

Would students feel comfortable interacting with faculty on Facebook? Building a community assumes all or most students and faculty at the iSchool

use Facebook and feel comfortable interacting with others on an academic level

Other concerns about Facebook as a community building environment: Lower scores in areas of student motivation, affective learning, and student

views of teacher credibility were seen in one study when teachers disclosed high levels of personal information on Facebook (Heacock, 2011)References

Facebook. How are Pages different from groups? Which one should I create? Retrieved from:http://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=155275634539412.

Facebook. Maryland's iSchool. Retrieved from: http://www.facebook.com/iSchoolUMD. Heacock, C.R.A. (2011). Too Much Information? How Teacher Self-Disclosure on Facebook Influences

Students’ Opinions. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest. UMI Number: 3439053.Techsoup. Facebook. Retrieved from: http://npsocialmedia101.wikispaces.com/FacebookV Diker, Melissa McDonald, and Mary E. Carroll-Mason (personal communication)

Katie

Proposed Solution #4Blog

The blog must be interactive and informative It must allow users to post comments, images, links The posts must share information on a subjects relevant to theme of the blog Each allows blog creators to build social networks and relations with other

users

Features necessary to the success of any blog Blogroll: where many blogs list links to similar blogs directly on their site Pleasing appearance and layout Comments Easily navigable/easily accessible posts Links, videos, images, podcasts, Twitter/RSS feed Subscription enabled (Email, RSS, Twitter, Facebook)

Lauren

Implementation Possible Blog Platforms:

Blogger (Google)

LiveJournal

Movable Type (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/)

Typepad (compatible with Movable Type)

WordPress

ExpressionEngine

TextPattern

Tumblr

Weebly

Jux* http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/jux_reinvents_the_blog_as_a_full-screen_experience.php

Methods for evaluating and choosing a blog platform: Affordability

Flexibility

Usability

Technical Help and Support

Free storage space

Deterrents, when compared to other forms of social media: time-consuming

must remain current to maintain and grow viewership

Niche v. non-niche blog

Lauren

The Shady Grove iSchool Blog

Current Blog Site for the Shady Grove iSchool http://support.google.com/blogger/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=42348

The Shady Grove iSchool BlogTopics

in order to appeal to the diverse range of Shady Grove iSchool students,

the blog should feature varied topics that also provide updates on new

happenings at the Shady Grove campus and within the iSchool in general

Field trips

Speakers

Student recognition

Networking

the blog will be advertised through listservs, the iSchool website, and

possibly the dean will include it in her regular announcements

TechnoratiLauren

References Seven Blogging Tools Reviewed: A detailed look at the top blogging tools and

key considerations for nonprofits. Retrieved from:

http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/webbuilding/page5516.cfm

Be A More Productive Blogger. Retrieved from: http://www.to-

done.com/2005/05/be-a-more-productive-blogger/

10 Ways Nonprofits Can Use Blogs. Retrieved from:

http://www.netsquared.org/blog/britt-bravo/10-ways-nonprofits-can- use-blogs

Better Blogging, Part One. Retrieved from: http://www.imjustsharing.com/tag/pros-

negatives-blogging/

V Diker, Melissa McDonald, and Mary E. Carroll-Mason (personal communication)

Lauren

Evaluation Criteria

LISTSERV Discussion Board

Facebook Blog

Allows student to student communication

2 5 5 5

Helps students to know one another 1 3 5 4

Accessible and usable by students 5 5 3 5

Acceptable to administration 5 3 3 5

Expands on current platforms 4 5 5 4

Easy to maintain up-to-date content 2 4 4 3

Visually attractive and engaging 1 2 5 5

Comfortable information sharing 5 5 2 4

Workload for administering 3 3 3 2

Easy to promote 5 5 5 5Cost 2 5 5 3Totals 35 45 43 45

Key: 1 Poor - 5 Excellent

SummaryEach of our proposed solutions has equal strengths

Discussion BoardFeasible and clearly navigableFosters a sense of inclusiveness

FacebookHighly interactive—users can participate in conversations and directly

response to users’ comments Provides regular updates

LISTSERVClosely moderatedReaches a large audience

BlogVery informativeAllows for focused topics

Our Final PickWe considered the positives and negatives of all four and

decided that a blog ultimately offers the best overall potentialOur Criteria

Level of EngagementFlexibilityAcceptable contentEasily maintainedVisually appealingLow cost

Monday, April 30, 2012

MLS at Shady Grove Student Profiles

Use this site to tell others in the program about your area of interest, background, and goals. Find others in the program who share your interests.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Student Profile: Jane Austin

Program area of interest: Archives, records, and information managementCurrent program status: I’m in my second semester in the Shady GroveProgram, currently taking Information Access Services

Experience: Before enrolling in the Shady Grove MLS program, I wasprimarily educated at home. I have dabbled in writing – primarily works of romantic fiction. I enjoy documenting the social Interactions and moral hypocrisy of my cohorts.

Goals: Hope to complete the program by the Spring of 2014. Seekinga position as an archivist in a quiet country setting.

Our Final Pick: TakeawaysBlog:

Versatile—supports various multi-media types (links, videos, images, podcasts)

Appearance can be altered to fit the blog’s missionAccessible and educationalEncourages user feedbackAffords administrator a greater degree of control