#SMCEDU Chat Recap: Overcoming the reluctance to participate
#SMCEDU is a part of Social Media Club, a nonprofit organization that is working to promote media literacy and connect people to share what they are learning about social media./>/>/>
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During this week's #SMCEDU chat, we explored the reluctance to participate in social media.
This reluctance goes beyond the educational applications of SM, but is certainly prevalent within the walls of higher education.
As I wrote in the topic presentation post, I'm working on a project that provides a social media platform for use by educators and their students, and for faculty use within and between departments.
The most obvious challenge I've seen is the lack of true conversational participation: while the platform has provided a source for people to receive updates and new information, it lacks the engagement found in vibrant communities, the conversation that ignites and inspires new connections and possibilities...in other words, it's still a one-way broadcast channel.
I'm wondering why that is. I'm not sure if it has to do with cultures within different institutions, the growing pains of trying something new, shyness, lack of understanding, or a combination of these and other factors. Whatever the case, I'm learning that when it comes to introducing social media, this will be a major challenge.
Tonja Deegan of EMU might have said it best when she tweeted the similarity between encouraging engagement online and becoming comfortable to socialize at a party: "it takes time, but show them how to do it and keep at it."
In the same vein comes this blog post, which compared the introduction of social media in classroom settings to coming out with a new product. Adoption and use will take encouragement, support, and "advertising awesome efforts."
For now, we'll maintain the course we've plotted: to find and promote the educators, students, and schools that are pushing the envelope and writing the curriculum for what social media education means today. We'll keep sharing the lessons, and keep looking for more.
Thanks to everyone who participated in this week's #SMCEDU chat, we do it every Monday at 12:30pmEST! If you have any topics you'd like to suggest for discussion, please send them to SocialMediaClubEDU@gmail.com />/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>
