Social Media | OSU Extension Ed Tech

How to Create Your Personal Learning Network on Twitter in 5 Steps

April 3 2014April 2, 2014

One of the themes mentioned throughout the National eXtension Conference last week was the increasing importance of Personal Learning Networks. Many of us who have been using social media for years have tapped into the informal learning that can easily take place in online social spaces – specifically on Twitter. PLN’s help Extension professionals learn from each other, as well as learn from other experts in our fields of work and study.

1. Create a Twitter account if you don’t already have one. Ed Tech Heather Gottke wrote a great blog post on how to get started on Twitter here.

2. Begin following people by adding people you already know; colleagues and clients. Then add people who you know are experts in their field. For example, I follow Mashable and Beth Kanter to get social media info; TechCrunch for general tech updates; Paul Hill for 4-H STEM programming; Mike Gutter for financial education; Let’s Move for nutrition education, and the Pew Research Center and NASA just because I’m a geek. You’ll also want to add CFAES, Keith Smith, and Dean McPheron, to stay up-to-date on our college’s goings-on. Feel free to see who else I follow and add them to people you follow.

3. Organize the people you follow into lists and use a social media managing tool. I use Hootsuite. But some people like Tweetdeck better. Both are free to use the “regular” version. You’ll have to pay to go Pro and get extra perks like analytics, but I use the free version and feel like I have access to everything I need. You’ll need to create your list categories in Twitter.

Once you have “followed” a Twitter account. Click on the settings icon beside the “Follow/Following” button. This will pull up a drop-down menu, as shown below:

Click on “Add or remove from lists”. A separate box will appear asking you to “Create A List” or choose which list to add this person to:

Next, you’ll pull your lists into Hootsuite or Tweetdeck (whichever you choose to use). In Hootsuite, you can do this by adding a stream to your dashboard for each one of your lists. Click on “+Add Stream” and then click on the “Lists” tab (highlighted in yellow below):

Once you’ve added a stream for each of your lists, your dashboard will look like this (if you are as list-happy as I am anyway!):

4. Find more experts to follow by searching and following hashtags. For example, I have found people to follow by searching for #socialmedia, #edtech, #food, #money, #parenting, #4H, just to name a few.

5. Build upon and share what you’re learning by networking with those you follow. Retweet what they’re Tweeting and put their ideas into practice. Reach out to them and start a conversation. Let them know how you’re using their expertise, concepts, ideas, etc. I’ve networked with colleagues all across the country via Twitter and have met some amazing and inspiring people. They’re Educators, Program Specialists, Faculty, and Techies. Once your Personal Learning Network grows, you begin to realize how we can all work together across the nation to make Extension much stronger and our programs more impactful. Cooperating, collaborating, and sharing ideas and resources also reduces our time spent on reinventing something that someone in a different state already does well. Meeting via Twitter can put all of these things in motion.

For more info, Beth Kanter has an excellent blog post on using social media for professional learning here.

Other ideas? How have you built your own Personal Learning Network and who have you included in it?

~Jamie

Getty’s Gift: We Now Have Access to Millions of Free Images for Online Content

March 24 2014March 21, 2014

Well, until now! Getty Images announced this week that they have offered up hundreds of millions of images to content creators, for free. This was so unthinkable, that I didn’t believe it until Mashable.com confirmed it on Facebook. But their explanation makes sense – the images are being used anyway. With the good news, also comes some bad news however. Although you can use the Getty images to embed onto websites, blog posts, and social media posts, you cannot include them in PowerPoint presentations not intended just for personal use (and what PPTs are just intended for personal use, other than the ones my 4th grader creates?!), nor can you include them in any curriculum or resource materials that will be distributed to the public. [Cick here to visit the Getty webpage with info on how this all works.]

To test this process out, I went to Getty’s site and searched for a picture of a sheep. It did take a few minutes before I found a photo that I liked, and that I was “allowed” to use (the embed sign popped up with the other options). Here’s the image:

So there’s obviously some give and take here. While allowing users to embed certain images into their online content, Getty is also identifying the source of the content, and adding in some shareable buttons for good measure. If you don’t mind the way this might look on a blog post, or your website, then Getty could be a good new source of free images for you.

But there are other options out there! Pixabay / Flickrs Creative Commons to name a couple. And their images are already free to download and use.

Do you use other royalty free image sites not mentioned here? List them in the comments!

~Jamie

Quick Byte: Digital Footprint

March 5 2014March 5, 2014

In order to help share information I thought it might be interesting to shake things up with some quick information that you can use immediately! Today- is the digital footprint. Follow along with the steps and learn first hand what a digital footprint is, and how it works.

Open your computer internet browser and choose a search engine. Any search engine will most likely do.Let’s start with these first three steps:

Type your first and last name in the search box, and maybe the town you live in if you think that your name is considered to be “common” ie: John Smith.
Read the first page of results from the search engine.
1. Are you surprised by what you see?
2. Is there anything that would make you vulnerable to online predators?

The information that you are seeing is called a digital footprint. A digital footprint is the data that an internet user has left behind. The information can range from social media, to content submitted online, or cookies that your computer has saved from your web searched. This information can be found through search engines online. Simply by typing your name any person can look up information about you (or someone who shares your name).

What can you do to protect yourself from your digital footprint…

Do not give or post personal information such as full birthday, address, phone number, or ID number.
Be aware of what you post. Information can be found and used against you later.
Ensure that your social media only allows your friends to see your profile.
Do not post things to bully, humiliate, or intimidate others.
Once posted, things can almost never be fully removed.
Think before you post!

Why does my digital footprint matter?

People can judge you by the content you post online.
Employers will often search for you online to learn more about you.

Digital footprints can be a positive tool for professionals marketing themselves or their business. Digital footprint is not a negative term, but a descriptive term.

Think of one thing you are going to do to downsize your digital footprint.

Beyond Facebook: Apps to Know (Part 2 of 2)

February 10 2014February 4, 2014

Here is the second part of the Beyond Facebook: Apps to Know. Below I will highlight more social media platforms that you can explore and get to know. To read up on the first 6 applications explored visit here: https://u.osu.edu/extensionedtech/?p=379

7. Vine:

Vine is a mobile app owned by Twitter that enables its users to create and post short video clips. The service was introduced with a maximum clip length of six seconds

Uses: Similar to youtube in the fact that it is a video, but more information to show fun moments, or share things that people couldn’t be at.

Watch out for: Appropriateness of videos shared should be monitored.

8. Tumblr:

Tumblr is a microblogging platform and social networking website founded by David Karp and owned by Yahoo! Inc. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a short-form blog. Users can follow other users’ blogs, as well as make their blogs private.

Uses: Microblogging pictures and short content, similar to wordpress, u.osu.edu and blogger.

Watch out for: Privacy settings should be reviewed to ensure that content is not being shared with unwanted parties.

9. Google+:

Google+ is a social networking and identity service that is owned and operated by Google Inc. Google has described Google+ as a “social layer” that enhances many of its online properties, and that it is not simply a social networking website, but also an authorship tool that associates web-content directly with its owner/author.

Uses: They are aiming to give a complete package of good products with google + Often used more with businesses, or professionals, young adults have not adopted this platform as much yet.

Watch out for: Privacy settings should be set up to protect information about location, or identifiable traits.

10. Google+ Hangouts:

Google Hangouts is an instant messaging and video chat platform developed by Google. It allows users to chat, share their desktop, share documents, and chat!

Uses: Works to allows multiple users to participate in a web conference format with voice, and optional video. Gives many options for productivity.

Watch out for: Without video the experience isn’t quite as fun. Worth buying a web cam for!

11. LinkedIn:

LinkedIn is a social networking website for people in professional occupations. It is mainly used for professional networking.

Uses: Primarily the professionals’ version of facebook networking. Allows users to post portfolio and resume.

Watch out for: Your own appropriateness of content that you share, and what kind of information you share.

12. GroupMe:

GroupMe is a mobile group messaging app owned by Microsoft.

Uses: Allows users to connect to one another in a group format and have a conversation.

Watch out for: Users without a smartphone will be charged for each text sent – or standard messaging rates do apply.

13. EverNote:

Evernote is a suite of software and services designed for note taking and archiving. A “note” can be a piece of formatted text, a full webpage or webpage excerpt, a photograph, a voice memo, or a handwritten “ink” note. Notes can also have file attachments. Notes can be sorted into folders, then tagged, annotated, edited, given comments, searched and exported as part of a notebook.

Uses: Notetaking and collecting of documents in a way that is similar to a box, but allows for the creation of notebooks instead of documents and folders. Users can share information with anyone, including non EverNote users.

Watch out for: Free version is usually enough for the regular user, but sometimes you need the paid version to get what you need.
Please note that we do not endorse any of these applications on behalf of the university. The purpose of this post is to give informative information about applications you may come across in the work environment. All opinions stated above are my own (Watch out for..)

As you can tell, there are a lot of applications out there. If you have suggestions for other apps that you use for work, fun, or otherwise, please let me know at gottke.4@osu.edu.

Beyond Facebook: Apps to Know (Part 1 of 2)

February 6 2014February 4, 2014

The art of keeping up to date with social media, and knowing what the next best thing might be is nearly impossible. But I hope to highlight some of the social media apps that I have seen with increasing popularity with youth and adults alike. While these apps may never peak your own interest, understanding how they work can help all of us to have positive conversations with others (especially youth) about how we leave a digital footprint, and how our actions now may haunt us later. Social media applications (apps) are simply a tool – how we decide to use them can make them “good” or “evil”.

1. Twitter:

Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables users to send and read “tweets”, which are text messages limited to 140 characters. Registered users can read and post tweets, but unregistered users can only read them.

Uses: Personal Learning Networks, news updates, learning about a hobby, trade, or skill, interact with like minded professionals from around the globe

Watch out for: Some content can be inappropriate for youth, constantly changing so hard to find things from even an hour before if you do not re-tweet it, lots of new language and terms to learn (tweet, re-tweet, mention, etc)

2. Pinterest:

Pinterest is a pinboard-style photo-sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, and hobbies. Users can browse other pinboards for images, “re-pin” images to their own pinboards, or “like” photos.

Uses: Useful for finding information about activities for programming (recipes, gardening, crafts, games), visual learners will find content more appealing, suitable for those who like to sort and organize information in notebook format.

Watch out for: Can easily spend too much time looking, or get distracted easily. Also need to verify information with a reliable source if not provided.

3. Snap Chat:

Snapchat is a photo messaging application (“app”). Using the app, users can take photos, record videos, add text and drawings, and send them to a controlled list of recipients. These sent photographs and videos are known as “Snaps”. Users set a time limit for how long recipients can view their Snaps 1-10 seconds after which they will be hidden from the recipient’s device and deleted from Snapchat’s servers..

Uses: Take pictures of events as they happen to share with only a group of people who share the application on their phone.

Watch out for: Gives a false sense of security, users often forget that it disappears but still can be captured with other cameras or software. No way to archive pictures for printing or later use.

4. Kik:

Kik Messenger is an instant messaging application for mobile devices. Kik offers swift text messaging service and also allows users to share photos, sketches, voice messages, and other content. Kik Messenger requires users to register a username as form of identification.

Uses: Notify a specific group of people of an upcoming meeting or gathering. Usually used for more informal groups, or non-business.

Watch out for: Is only rated for users who are 17+. Works in the same way as Snap Chat, but also allows to share more multimedia.

5. Whisper:

Whisper is a free iOS and Android mobile app, which allow users to send messages anonymously and receive replies. Users post messages which are displayed as text superimposed over an image, similar to greeting cards.

Uses: Share information in a “meme” format that you wish to remain anonymous.

Watch out for: Is only rated for 17+. Content can be sexually explicit at times, and not appropriate.

6. Instagram:

Instagram is an online photo-sharing, video-sharing and social networking service that enables its users to take pictures and videos, apply digital filters to them, and share them. A distinctive feature is that it confines photos to a square shape, similar to Kodak Instamatic and Polaroid images, in contrast to the 16:9 aspect ratio now typically used by mobile device cameras. Users are also able to record and share short videos lasting for up to 15 seconds.

Uses: Post pictures to show information to people about where you are, or what you are doing, without “clogging” up your facebook newsfeed.

Watch out for: Check privacy settings, and be careful about what kind of pictures are shared and if their information helps to locate someone (or stalk).
Please note that we do not endorse any of these applications on behalf of the university. The purpose of this post is to give informative information about applications you may come across in the work environment. All opinions stated above are my own (Watch out for..)

As you can tell, there are a lot of applications out there. If you have suggestions for other apps that you use for work, fun, or otherwise, please let me know at gottke.4@osu.edu.

Effectively Using Social Media with Facebook Groups

February 4 2014

Frequently the question comes along that many Extension professionals wish to build an online presence or gathering place for their clientele. The good news is, if you follow the outlined steps below, it is possible to build a positive page that will connect interested parties together. Once connected, following a number of steps can lead your group in the right direction to being a frequently visited social hub, versus being a tumbleweed in social media. The following directions start with you already having a personal facebook profile to begin with. If you do not have one, please contact an Ed Tech and we can help get you started – or attend one of our fantastic Social Media Workshops listed at this website – https://u.osu.edu/extensionedtech/2013/12/10/announcing-social-media-workshop-opportunities-in-2014/

The steps listed below are taken from screenshots of my facebook as of the last week of January 2014. Remember, Facebook changes often so this will soon be a rough outline.

The first thing you will want to do is to look at the main home page. This is the page that will show the news feed to the right, and then on the left a list of links including your pages, and groups that you currently follow or are a part of. At the bottom of the group section there is a link that says “Add Group”. Click that link, and then click on the Create new group button on the following page in the upper right hand corner.

After clicking to create a new group, you will see a box pop up with fill in the blank information. You will then be able to name your group, add members, and determine your privacy settings. The three options for privacy are open, closed, and secret. If you want the group to be open to the public (ie: Van Wert County 4-H) you could make it a page, or make it an open group. However, if you are working with youth, or people who may not wish for their information about meetings to be public (ie 4-H club Facebook groups) I often suggest that the group be secret. That means that only members of the group can see posts, or find the group. If the group is closed, it can be found, but only members can post to it. This setting can be changed if you decide differently later.

The next decision you make is a fun one! A window should pop up and ask you what kind of icon you wish to have for your group. This is also a feature that can be changed if you wish to at a later time. The screen will refresh and then show you the group homepage. You can see an example of that to the right of the icon screenshot. As a member you have a number of options – including posting messages, pictures, asking a question, or uploading a file.

One of the special features of the group option is that you can ask a question. Members can reply with comments, but if you wanted to find out what kind of pizza to order for your next meeting, you could list options and ask all the participants to vote. It is a fun and different way to grab the attention of those in the group.

Another special feature is the add file button. From here you can post documents for members to review, or remind them of meetings with a listing, or contact information. The ability to communicate and provide access to this information is very important to those who may have a different schedule than 9-5pm.

The best advice that I can give people using groups is to explore the options, and test the waters! Not all groups need a Facebook groups page, but there are many groups that could benefit from the added communication. Below are the top ten things you can do to use your new Facebook Group effectively! This list has been generated for volunteers, especially those who interact with 4-H clubs, but can be adapted for almost any organization.

1.Explore other counties, states, or groups ideas for community service, fund raising, projects, or craft ideas.

2.Promote & show off your club to the community & public relations

3.Reminders about county or club deadlines.

4.Resources for 4-H projects

5.Parent communications

6.Information is accessible 24/7

7.Announcement changes about venue, time, or weather related.

8.Share pictures, or new released – using photo albums and notes on Facebook.

9.Group project help or steps to take before the next meeting.

10.Share County posts and updates so members see them again!

I hope you have the opportunity to dive into Facebook Groups! If you have questions, or concerns please feel free to contact me at gottke.4@osu.edu.

Facebook Has Changed its Newsfeed Algorithm…. Again.

January 16 2014January 15, 2014

According to many sources, including this one, Facebook has once again kept everyone on their toes by changing how they determine which posts actually show up in a person’s newsfeed. But there is actually a silver lining in the changes for Extension folks – Facebook has declared they will give more “credible” and “high quality content” posts the upper hand; meaning posts linking to blog links or news articles will win the battle over silly memes and over-shared photos (“Back to the Future” date pic anyone?!?). We’ll have to see how this plays out, but I think it definitely could help our cause instead of hurting us. Although promoted posts (i.e. paid-for ads) will always appear in a newsfeed more than any other post… and this has many beginning to think that Facebook is morphing into a giant commercial (but that’s a discussion for another day.)

Facebookers still do have somewhat of a say in what shows up in their newsfeed… as long as they’re willing to take some extra steps. Individuals will need to go to their favorite pages and make sure a box marked “Follow” is checked.

This will ensure the page’s posts (most of them anyway) show up in the newsfeed on a routine basis. If you are an administrator of a Facebook page, you should let your followers know that these settings have changed and prompt them to take the extra step to “Follow” your page. Like the example from a National Weather Service page, below:

We’ll continue to keep an eye on the newsfeed algorithm and how it’s impacting posts. Until then, how you noticed a difference in how many people your posts are reaching? How have you circumvented this issue in the past?

~Jamie

Reporting Your Good [Tech] Work: Facebook Impact

December 11 2013December 10, 2013

One of the most commonly asked questions during this time of the year the past several years has been: “How do I report my social media and/or tech use in my work?” While we still do not have official step-by-step guidelines on how to do this in RiV, there is helpful information on where to report most tech-related work in RiV, as well as suggestions on what should be reported. This information is below:

Where in RiV to report your Facebook efforts:

If Facebook presence is part of a program, then impact data should be included under that Program.
If Facebook presence is separate from any program or project, then it should be reported under “Multi-media, Databases, and Websites” as a website

3. What data to report:

Reach
Engagement (post clicks, likes, comments & shares). This can be reported as general “engagement” or you can separate out post clicks, likes, comments, and shares and report those separately.
Audience demographics (optional)
Detailed information from posts that had the most reach and/or engagement (optional)

4. Where to find the data to report:

Facebook fan page Insights (find the link on the admin panel of your page) ***see yellow arrows in the image below***

The handy visual graphs of your Insights only go back about 3 months. To retrieve a year’s worth of data, you will need to download your data by clicking on “Export Data” up on the right-hand corner of the Insight page. Choose the dates you need (1/01/2013 – 12/30/2013 if you are exporting for the entire year). You will want to choose “Page Level Data”. Then click on “Download”.

This will download your data in an Excel spreadsheet format. Highlighted below are columns – “Daily Page Engaged Users” and “Daily Total Reach” – you will want to total (“Sum” tool in Excel) and report in RiV. Both of these columns are included in the “Key Metrics” tab (1st Tab in the Spreadsheet). Don’t forget to also report your total number of page “likes”.

You may also wish to report demographic information regarding your Facebook audience. This information can be found in an easier-to-use and view format in your Facebook page insights. On your Insights page, click on “People” (under yellow arrow in the image below). This tab will show you who your page fans are – who “likes” your page. You can view gender, age, and location demographics from this tab. I would suggest adding the percentages of each of these to your RiV report.

One final piece of data available to you that you may want to include in RiV is the impact of Facebook posts that did particularly well. The image below is of a post from the FCS Facebook page on Thanksgiving that reached a large amount of people (when compared to normal posts on that page). I would suggest reporting the topic, type of post (text, photo, etc.), reach, post clicks, and engagement level for one or two of the posts over the last year that had the most impact/engagement.

After you’ve gone through the above steps for your Facebook data, your RiV report description may look something like this:

“The OSU Extension Family & Consumer Sciences Facebook page had a total of 591 fans by December, 2013. Eighty-five percent of page fans were female, with 13% being male. Most page fans live in the city of Columbus, Ohio. Seventy five updates were posted to the Facebook page in 2013 and reached over 121,000 people. More than 25,000 people engaged with the page’s posts. One post that was particularly well received, wished followers a Happy Thanksgiving and was posted during National Family Week. It provided tips on how to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal with family and reached nearly 375 people, had 6 click-throughs, and engaged 23 users who liked, commented, or shared the post.”

Of course, the amount of impact data you can garner from the Facebook Insight Excel sheet is mind-boggling, so the sky is the limit on how much additional data you could report in RiV… but the above “template” will provide the basic impact information needed to show your efforts and impact in an online environment. I really hope this “how-to” is helpful!

If you’ve already been reporting your technology-related work in RiV, how have you reported it? Share your insights so that others can benefit! Comment also if you have questions about how to report your Facebook work in RiV that this post may not have answered. I’m happy to help!

We’ll post two more “how-to’s” for your blogging efforts and Twitter efforts soon.

Happy RiV reporting! 😉

~Jamie