Cooper-Taylor Training

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In case you’ve missed it there is a new report out “Engaging The New Influencers” from Edelman.

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In June 2009, Edelman convened 100+ professors of communication, journalism, business and pubic relations to discuss how companies and organisations effectively engage with their stake holders through social media. Here are some of the bits that I found applicable to education (bits in italics are my commentary):

1. Go where the people are: don’t expect them to come to you
   So that’s (e)Learning then
   
2. The digital era demands more active media users, which presents an opportunity for academia to integrate social media more into its curricula.
   More active, interactive learning!
3. Organisations can leverage social media to engage employees on any initiative, whether through knowledge-sharing, storytelling or connecting on a network to increase involvement and forge a sense of community.
   So the Vice-Chancellor will have twitter linked to their FaceBook account?
4. Digital communication is well-established and here to stay
   Faculty will have to embrace digital aspects of learning/teaching
5. In Asia one in three people access the Internet by mobile devices
   Our (e)Learning is already behind the times
6. Academic curricula should incorporate what the most appropriate social media tools to use are for specific tasks.
   Our students will need these tools as part of their working life. Faculty need a lot of professional development.
7. Every single website in the coming decade will have some sort of social functionality to it … and those that don’t are going to be at a disadvantage
   So what does your institution’s website look like. Time to engage with your readers!
8. Academia needs to better adapt to the media changes today to help develop the communications workforce of tomorrow.
   Listen up faculty, the way we teach has to change
9. Core skills – using text, photo slide shows with audio and video
   Faculty if you can’t do this now you need some PD. Sign up for the next course
10. Core skills – critical thinking, identifying a problem, taking a risk, offering a new solution
    Are you teaching problem solving or just expecting regurgitation of  facts?
11. Core skills – knowing how to compare content and determine which content is trustworthy
    Do you encourage students to collate information from lots of different sources (including the web) and justify their choice?
12. Core skills – social media principles so students can understand how to apply specific tools to a broader purpose
    A thread through the whole report then – students need social media skills to succeed in the workforce.