Presentation delivered at the GMU Faculty Orientation. August 2012. Department of Modern and Classical Language.

1. Esperanza Román-Mendoza
George Mason University
eromanme@gmu.edu
http://twitter.com/eromanme
http://eroman.wordpress.com
Faculty Orientation
August 22, 2012 – George Mason University

2. Introduction
Digital Identities
New Trends in Higher Education
What we do…
… can we do with technology?
Resources

3. Getting to know each other
Digital Identities at GMU

4. http://mcl.gmu.edu

5. http://spanish.gmu.edu/basic-spanish-program

6. http://mcl.gmu.edu/people/eromanme

7. http://briansolis.com

8. Portfolio Digital. A. C
B. Robin’s students

9. S. Joseph

10. Okey for them, but why me?

11. With a digital presence
 Students can easily contact us.
 Students become aware of our areas of expertise.
 We increase our visibility to the new
administration and other GMU units.
 We are more likely to establish contacts with
colleagues from other universities.
 We can provide a centralized access to resources.
 We give a response to new trends in Higher
Education (technology-enhanced
teaching, service and communication)

12. New trends… maybe not that new
 Students are more and more demanding in terms of
online communication with their teachers.
 Students are getting used to other ways of sharing and
getting knowledge.
 Students are increasingly looking at the Internet for
information about their teachers:
 http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/
 https://twitter.com/#!/GMUStudentMedia/gmu-professors
 New President´s emphasis on online communication
and transparency.
 Institutional “pressure” to innovate in IT.

13. President Cabrera s Twitter Page

14. President Cabrera. Washington Post Interview. August
19th, 2012. http://wapo.st/NUvjnL

15. Twitter sign up

16. Study Abroad Facebook Page

17. But not only at GMU
 Teaching with Twitter: how the social network can
contribute to learning. June 11, 2012.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/higher-education-
network/blog/2012/jun/11/teaching-with-twitter
 Social Media Ruminations. July 29, 2012.
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/student-affairs-
and-technology/social-media-ruminations
 Social Media in the business of higher education. The
Huffington Post. June 6, 2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-james-michael-
nolan/social-media-in-the-busin_b_1607245.html
And many more…

18. Can I use social media in a non-disruptive
way?

19. How do we describe our work?
 Teachers
 Effective, honest, respectful, fair, thorough, enco
uraging, inspirational…
 Scholars
 Serious, accurate, profound, ethical, diligent, ing
enious, insightful, objective…
 “Service providers”
 Collegial, hardworking, generous, collaborative,
considerate, polite, supportive, reliable, accounta
ble…
Inspired by Brooks. Criteria for University Faculty. 1976 http://www.cs.gmu.edu/~offutt/thoughts/GoodFaculty.txt
I also recommend: Wycoff s Advice on the care and feeding of a professor. http://www.cs.gmu.edu/~offutt/thoughts/care.pdf

20. Ideas for social media integration
 Use technology to work more effectively
 Presenting lectures
 Enhancing communication with students
 Managing and updating teaching materials
 Helping students succeed in class.
 Use technology for professional
advancement.
 Use technology to support institutional
growth.

21. Student challenges
 Lack of academic and personal preparedness.
 Financial obstacles.
 Wrong expectations about course/major/university.
 Colleges often do not deliver the type of education
students need/expect.
 Lack of flexibility from the college side.
 Scheduling conflicts.
 Changes in family or job circumstances.

22. Hints
 Prepare informational materials and study
guides accessible to all students which
address most frequent challenges but
remember that a conversation may be more
productive than a brochure. Conversations
also happen online.
 Monitor student progress by other means
(surveys, blogs, etc.) in addition to grades.
Follow-up.

23. Professional Advancement
 Collaborate with professionals all over
the world.
 Share teaching and research materials
with other professionals in your field.
 Get invitations to conferences.
 Keep up with professional development
opportunities.

24. Institutional Growth
 Provide opportunities for open and honest
discussion about the role of higher education
in the society, and how students’
expectations compare to those of professors
and administrators.
 Report clearly the pro´s and cons
encountered in your courses so other
instructors can learn from your experience.
 Participate in the institutional debate
knowing what social media integration
requires from faculty and students.

25. In conclusion
 There is a pressure from students to communicate
with their teachers in a different way.
 Administrators also wants us to increase the use of
technology in teaching, scholarship and service.
 Having a digital presence may help university
professors do their work better at these three levels.
 Using social media, as any other type of
technology, has to be done within a context and
with a clear goal in mind.

26. Create a
learning
and working
are proud of
environment
colleagues that you,
your
students,

27. Thank you very much
for your attention

28. Resources
• Blogging services (Blogger, WordPress)
• Wiki services (Wikispaces, PbWorks) and other tools to
collaborate online (GoogleDocs, Vyew, Stixy,
ReviewBasics)
• Social Networks (Ning, Facebook, MySpace)
• Social Tagging (Delicious)
• Concept Maps (CMap Tools)
• Digital Storytelling (Aviary Tools)
• Chats (Zoho Chat)
• Brain Storming (Wridea)
• Survey and questionnaires creation services (Surveygizmo,
Formspring)
• Microblogging (Twitter) for education (Edmodo)

29. Resources
• Text and multimedia repositories with comments and group
creation capabilities (Flickr, Scribd, Slideshare,
VoiceThread, Podomatic, Odeo)
• Book, scrapbooking and journal publishing (Youblisher,
Calameo, YouTellYou, Loggel, Mixbox)
• Photo editing (Fotoflexer), visual utilities (Tagul)
• Database creation services (Zohocreator)
• Timeline creation services (Dipity)
• Slide shows and animation creation services (Animoto,
Prezi)
• Screencasting (Screencastle)
• Virtual Worlds (SecondLife)