Online engagement exploring student

behaviour(with social media)

Guy Saward University of Hertfordshire

g.r.saward@herts.ac.uk

Get out of my face

Bring it on

Agenda

The teachy bit

The treacly bit

The techy bit

The Techy bit – thinking about messaging

Messaging 3.0• Term used to refer to new crop of apps, e.g.

whatsApp, snapchat, line, kakao• Beyond social networks

– Facebook / Twitter /LinkedIn sooo 2.0• Way beyond original messaging

– email: old school electronic text, enclosures– sms: short, mobile, instant– instant messaging: free, internet, chat

• But original messaging raises questions of what+why which are just as relevant today

communication

content

freq+sync

size+struct

wikiblog

2Life

forum

email

SMSmicro-blog

eConference

online chat

tumblelog

social bookmark

RSS

Technology Classification (2010)all

communication

content

freq+sync

size+struct

wikiblog

2Life

forum

email

SMSmicro-blog

eConference

online chat

tumblelog

social bookmark

RSS

features• multimedia blog• tumblr/facebookcontent• video, images• low text contentcomms• comments/forum• track back

Technology Classification (2010)

What’s in a 3.0 Message• New messaging has to offer some advantage

– 2nd gen covered different content types

• 3rd generation building on other aspects– WhatsApp : photo, video, audio, group -> cost– SnapChat: photo -> privacy– KakaoTalk: geography -> gaming– Line: API -> desktop (back to 1st gen IM!)

What’s in the simplest message?

Message Features• Content is only part of the message

“Let’s meet, no coffee”• Need to consider (some of) …

– originator– audience– timing– tone– delivery (push/pull/synchronicity ) – invitation (to respond/take action)– conversation

• Tech platform is really only small part of how

The Teachy Bit – how do you use messaging

Why Message (your students)Three different scenarios (content+structure) • Broadcasting assessment info

– via news post, or tweet or paper hand out• Generating/responding to individual requests

– via online forms, email, forum• Feed back/feed forward

– via simple message, or EVS, or online QMP

Any scenario may prompt different issues/choices (snap chat assessment briefing, anyone?!)

The wider conversation• Online xMooc – eXtended, content focussed

– Pedagogy: associative– Messaging: for pacing / expectations (C&G),

feedback on performance (assessment?)• cMooc – connected, interaction focussed

– Pedagogy: social constructivist / situational– Messaging: sharing, reflection, building CoP

• Flipped classroom– Pedagogy: associative– Messaging: content transmission vs

assimilation feedback / clarification

Encouraging Engagement• Old research for StudyNet campus based module

– shows strong correlation between performance and online engagement

• Correlation not causation … but data collection is way of monitoring who may be at risk

Wider Engagement• Work on wider student engagement identifies

three types of engagement:1. In learning2. Rooted in identity3. In structures and processes

• For use of social media for L&T – starting from (2) – trying to harness it for (1) – and build it into (3)

Social Media BackgroundShamelessly borrowed …• Mark Stubbs blog post,

5 top tips to enhance your students’ experience (March 2013)

• Nancy White’s blog posts on online facilitation: (March 2014)

• Lis Parcell’s blog post, Listen, understand, act: social media for engagement (Jan 2014)

• Sally Jordan’s blog ‘e-assessment (f)or Learning’ (March 2014)

• Lots of other “stuff” from JISC, HEA, TEL community

More Backgroud - What’s important

‘Guide on the side’ or‘Sage on the stage’

[pedagogy]‘Digital native’or ‘immigrant’

[skills]

Just visitingor moving in?

[attitude]

Do classifications / typologies matter? Where do you stand?

The Research – a bit sticky

Outcomes to date• Student survey

– integration attitudes, usage follow-up– focus groups

• Social media (faceboook) safety• Staff survey

– integration attitudes• StudyNet -> Facebook/Twitter integration

– Module sites– Programme pages

• Classification– 5 types, based on socMed usage + attitude

From Refuseniks to Integrationists

“just don't - facebook are data thieving monkey scum! don't help the data miners” (sic)

Staff

Students

“real people in real life!:-) all of them… or more of them?(sic)

For separatists, more use of social networks doesn’t mean more desire for VLE integration

Use of social networksAgreement on VLE

integration

Combined Dataset (2012)

Top 3 UH Staff Issues (from 2012)

I don’t have a Facebook/Twitter account

<= skills concerns

I don’t want to use my account<= privacy concerns

I don’t have the time<= efficiency concerns

Student focus group (2013)Key findings • diverse media range/hierarchy, e.g. FB=> anyone ,

text/mob=> friend, email=> close friend• mixed messages on Facebook as study

aid/distraction• mobile/alerts is key benefit for study related

messaging

Key issues include privacy, inclusivity, focus, e-safety

Student Survey (2013)Changes from original survey (2012)• more likely to use Twitter (59% vs 44%) • more likely to use tablet (34% vs 18%) or

smartphone (84% vs 73%) for socNet access• less likely to report using other networks/devices

outside of the main categories explicitly surveyed

Other socNec/msg apps reported (unasked) include: instagram (11), linkedIn (3), pinterest, skype & tumblr

Note: socNet use is general, not specifically academic. Compare 59% to 3% for student Twitter use in Germany

UH Online CSIT BSc – Social Networks

Source: M. Lilly, 2014, “Experiences of a programme tutor for an online distance learning programme in Computer Science”, UH LTI seminar

UH Online BSc – Learning Interactions

Source: M. Lilly, 2014, “Experiences of a programme tutor for an online distance learning programme in Computer Science”, UH LTI seminar

• CSIT students prefer interaction with:– content > tutors (slightly) > peers=> xMooc over cMooc?

Future Work• Classification

– machine learning validation– identification of association rules (e.g.

multi-networks => separatist? fb addicts => integrationist?)

• Facebook/Twitter integration– more detailed analytics

• Staff survey– issues for social media (formal, online survey)

• Student survey (? would be useful?) => msg 3.0 apps, focus groups, KIT

Personal Reflections

The Plus Side – New Ways to Engage• Facebook polls - Like, Share, Comment• Online assessment• Gameification• Badges• But do

they work?

The Down side – Info Overload

1 Mooc, first activity, 12 hours30 emails

Mobile learningPlatform fragmentation

ConclusionsMessaging purpose should drive method (for me!)• Broadcast => get msgs to where the students are

(StudyNet+fb+twitter)• Personal contact => set rules + audit trail

(skype, email)• Supervised learning => provide accessible, safe

online space (StudyNet + fb? + twitter?)• Peer (assisted) learning => find their own space

(messaging 3.0?)Role for social media - but only a means, not an end

Bonus slides

Constructivist, Communities of Practice, eTivities …Chickering and Gamson (1987) good practice……encourages student-faculty contact…encourages cooperation among students…encourages active learning…gives prompt feedback…emphasises time on task…communicates high expectations…respects diverse talents /ways of learning

=> online? => social

media?

Online for good practice

E-Tivities• Accessing the course

• Intros / messaging

• Learning resources

• Building discussions

• Sharing / linking

=> Easy in our VLE (see previous)=> Harder outside

Google analytics

Social media tools

Delicious

Who’s joined/following the course?• Facebook insights / query• https://

www.facebook.com/search/234897186606847/likers

Who’s accessed what resources?• Google analytics – post processes, anonymiosed

Who’s talking about it?• Twitter queries, #hashtags, @messages

http://topsy.com/s?q=UniofHerts

Who’s talking to who?• Facebook graph queries -

http://graph.facebook.com/220745824653347 https://developers.facebook.com/tools/explorer

discuss

Social Media Updates: Consuming RSS

student

student / staff

feed

publishnotify

RSS

RSS Graffiti

twitter.com/uh6com0265

Twitterfeed

facebook.com/uh6com0265

VLEdiscuss

student

student / staff

feed

publishnotify

RSS

twitter.com/uh6com0265

Twitterfeed

facebook.com/uh6com0265

Multiple platforms

RSS Graffiti

dlvr.it