My take aways since I began delving into this subject are these:
Phew, there’s a lot to learn!
There are a lot of questions to consider as I think about bringing Social Media (and more technology in general) to our Student Services/Academic Advising department.
- Is it going to be accessible? Are they good resources for all students, or just the privileged? Who is our target group and what do they need? Will the info be helpful or extraneous
- What is our objective? What’s the point of doing this?
- Do we have the time/staffing/resources to make it worth it? Will the benefits outweigh the costs?
- What technology are we already using, and what could we do better? What’s working well? What’s not working?
- What are the desired outcomes for our department? What data do we need to gather to have proof that what we do works? How would we gather that?
- Is it going to be secure? Is FERPA being met?
- How would we advertise? Would we need flyers, posters? An FYI announcement?
Some things I know for sure are that I want to find a way to bring student services online, in order to help as many students as possible. We’re a small department, and anything to help students outside of the capabilities of our packed schedules would be a benefit. “When used correctly, social media can be a powerful communication tool.”[1]
[1] https://studentaffairscollective.org/your-second-self-social-media-and-online-expression/