Tag: strategy

PhD

Thriving… Not Just Surviving in Your Ph.D.

Laura Pasquini

Today is the start of the UNT Learning Technologies (#untLT) Doctoral Fall Writing Boot Camp (October 17-18, 2014). This program has been developed by our department to support our doctoral researchers in their dissertation progress. Currently a number of doctoral researchers are writing and working in the LT Agora with snacks, support, and relevant available resources.

DocStudents

I am looking forward to joining the “Doctoral Campaign Strategy Meeting” tonight on a panel this evening with our faculty, including Drs. Cox, Ennis-Cole, Knezek, Tyler-Wood, and J. Wircenski. (Drs. Allen and Warren will participate remotely if they are able). This Q & A session will provide some advice and give some ideas for not only how to “survive” but also thrive in doctoral research regardless of the phase.

This presentation is a remix of @drjeffallen ‘s wisdom/advice

I like to use the phrase thrive not survive, to for the doctoral process. There are a number  a number of supportive strategies and ideas to get to the PhD finish line, including:

  • Making a habit of WRITING & scheduling only #ShutUpAndWrite session
  • Social, emotional & mental support
  • Identifying champions in your department, on campus & in your discipline
  • Outlining the major professor-advisee working relationship – needs & expectations
  • Using the advice of your committee wisely
  • Organizing your research materials & literature review effectively
  • Mapping out your data collection process
  • Attending to your personal-wellness & well-being
  • Connecting to a cohort of scholars in your personal learning network
  • Giving up something, to get something to finish your dissertation
  • Understanding how you work best
  • Consulting & using the resources available
  • Focusing your efforts wisely

Want to learn more? I will be sure to post notes and advice from our panel of professors and doctoral researchers who attend. What is YOUR advice on how to THRIVE in a doctoral program and through the dissertation process? Please share!

UPDATE (post-panel):

Doctoral Strategy Panel - Group Photo

From left to right: Drs. Cox, Ennis-Cole, Knezek, Pasquini, Tyler-Wood, and Wircenski.

Tweets, questions, notes & resources from the panel session that evening on @Storify.
Training & Development

Social Media to Support Your Organization

Laura Pasquini

Last week I was invited to participate in the Southlake Chamber of Commerce’s UNT Professional Develop Fridays. I wrapped up the series by discussing how to effectively plan and organize social media resources for to build a community for businesses and organizations in the city.

This workshop focussed on strategies and practical applications of how social media platforms can be utilized to enhance organizations, with regards to:

  • Effective communication and marketing methods
  • Customer engagement and community development
  • Development of a communication strategy to support organizational goals
  • Implementation of social media tools to enhance goods & services

We discussed how their organizations in Southlake could “get social” (Twitter notes from the session: #SocialSouthlake) by connecting business strategies to broader communication plans and community management ideas.

Discussion points from this workshop included:

  • Be an active participant in social media platforms – explore before you plan
  • Set goals that are realistic with social media – pick 1-3 platforms to start with and use them well.
  • Map out a strategic plan for social media implementation (see worksheet) connected with your business plan.
  • Research your community and partners in the industry – get to know your audience and others participating in your potential community
  • Consider methods that build and growth your community offline and online
  • Designate a community manager, or a few to lead your development and planning
  • Identify champions from your community, i.e. individuals who are active participants from within the community, who will support your social media implementation and growth
  • Plan content directly connected to your purpose and mission
  • Effective methods to measure and track progress related to goals

 

Additional resources from this session can be found here: http://bit.ly/SocialSouthlake

Thanks for the invite @Southlake_CC … be sure to keep it social. 🙂

Social Media

Curating Tweets: Social Media Content and Marketing Planning

Laura Pasquini

With the 2014 CASE Social Media Survey results recently published, I thought I’d curate a few of my tweets shared regarding social media content creation and marketing practices. Although this sounds similar to my dissertation research on social media guidance, it is not. This exercise was to provide a few quick resources for an education organization as they redesign their communication (social media, publications, website, etc.) plan and develop a more effective social media content calendar (Example 1 or Example 2).

calendar

Content Creation

 

Content Sharing Strategy

 

Social Media Marketing 

 

SEO & Metrics

 

Email

 

Facebook

 

Twitter

 

Blogging & Blog Content


A number of these are relate to content sharing, marketing & targeting an audience; however this is not an all inclusive list. I have not included using other social media platforms, like YouTube, LinkedIn, or Instagram, or even provided “suggested reading” books and articles on this topic (yet).

For now, if you have any tweets and websites about said topic, please feel to comment on this post or UPDATE THIS GOOGLE DOCUMENT if you have suggestions. Please feel free to add to and share!

Social Media

Do You Have Social Media Goals?

Laura Pasquini

After participating in today’s Social Media Metrics in Government Using GSA Guidelines webinar hosted by Hootsuite, I began to think more about the WHY and HOW social media guidelines and policies develop. This session discussed how the government developed their guidelines around their GSA social media goals which were connected to their strategic communication plan and web presence.

Obviously this webinar had a focus on measurement and assessment for social media use using both free and paid tools, like Hootsuite; however it offered some sound advice to organizations that are just developing social media guidance or for those who are re-thinking their social media policy. Instead of starting with a policy, strategy, or guideline list of what to do or not do, it would be more helpful for institutions to think through the WHY of social media. This process provides organizations focus, sets out objectives, and creates a rationale for social media use and how these goals might be measured and assessed. For example, the GSA wanted to use social media and social data goals, included:

  • Be more effective in how they distribute critical information to citizens & communities
  • Engage citizens to help shape to public programs
  • Better inform strategies leading to greater efficiency
  • Increase use of innovative tools and services to further development

It is important to consider your institutional goals when organizing your social media guidance, here a few suggestions given from the webinar – but I am sure your organization has many others.

Internal Considerations:

  • Collaboration
  • Knowledge sharing
  • Cost saving & cost avoidance strategy
  • To be transparent
  • Talent acquisition

External Considerations:

  • Citizen engagement – Active use and participation (2-ways)
  • Promote services and resources
  • Provide customer service – feedback
  • Provide real-time resources – expand upon current communication channels

Here are a couple of examples shared from the GSA for their use of social media goals:

Example of Goals for Using Social Media in Government

Another reason to consider developing social media goals before establishing your guidelines is to consider how you will evaluate social media use for your organization. Social media management of your resources is critical. To help assess social media engagement and use it will be helpful to align your goals to evaluation as part of your strategic communication plan. Social media analytics and metrics through different 3rd party tools and social dashboards; however what will be relevant for your organization to track and use for assessment purposes. You want to connect your goals to your key performance indicators (KPI) and desired evidence-based outcomes.

Planning for Measurement

One example was the use of hashtags from the Twitter for Public  Health case study to outline a clear system for planning social media management. This public health group utilized a hashtag, #SM4PH, to build hype around the start of a regular, organized Twitter chat and to launch a hashtag for community development. Their goal was to measure the impact of the hashtag use, conversation, and community involvement before, during, and after this first chat to assess the long tail of this campaign.

Does your organization or institution have social media goals? How do these goals support your social media spaces? How do you assess and measure your social media goals? Let me know.

Reference:

Macey, B. (2013, November 14). Social media metrics in government: Using GSA Guidelines – Webinar. HootSource. Retrieved from http://blog.hootsuite.com/social-metrics-gsa-guidelines/

UPDATE 11-19-13: If interested, this webinar is available for viewing on demand.

MOOC, Web Design

#EDUSprint 3 – Creating the IT Architecture for the Connected Age

Laura Pasquini

Here’s the recap for the last EDUCAUSE webinar of the EDU Sprint series: #EDUSprint 3 – Creating the IT Architecture for the Connected Age. Today’s session talked about the role of IT on campus, technology planning, and the infrastructure of IT services for digital learning.

#EDUsprint 3 - Is IT Creating a New, Connected Age?

The session discussed the processes, management strategies, and governance structures from the following higher education leaders on the panel:

  • Tracy Futhey, Vice President, Information Technology and Chief Information Officer, Duke University
  • Tracy Schroeder, Vice President, Information Services and Technology, Boston University
  • Ethan Benatan, Vice President, Chief Information Officer, and Chief Strategy Officer, Marylhurst University

Many spoke about how their IT unit is thinking deeper about services to connect to learning and the needs on their campus in a holistic manner. Tracy Futhey shared her ideas around IT services, and how we not only need to consider location within the organization, but more about the delivery and methods for our IT units.

IT Services

Although there was talk about campus-wide strategy, I rarely heard much about bringing others around the table for this discussion. Much of higher education still operates in silos, so the full potential of connectedness and planning technology in learning cannot just occur in an IT unit, academic department or business solutions. I think that more administrative leaders need to bring faculty, staff, graduate students, undergraduate students, IT developers, and external shareholders together for these strategy meetings. in higher education. As our campus environments change, so does the IT needs and services to support learning and engagement.

I did appreciate when Tracy Schoeder shared about the Digital Learning Initiative and Technology Planning at Boston University. Although emerging technological trends evolve, I think that planning and assessment need to be part of the regular planning cycle.

Strategic IT Planning - The BU Example #edusprint I also appreciated that BU puts a focus on the human aspect of their planning, and not just the IT solution. Organizational structures should be assessed and reviewed for the IT architecture, to meet the needs and understand the institutional goals for learning.

Human Architecture for Digital Learning @ BU

Finally Ethan Benatan, started with a few predictions on how IT will change, be challenged, and move in the future – which is always a difficult task. I did appreciate that he shared a design process… and that it was just that – A PROCESS. There will not be a single solution to each campus environment, and it takes some agility and insight to move your higher education institution in the right IT direction and continue to assess your needs.

Here are some new links & reads from the session in no particular order:

Did you miss the last of the 3-day #EDUsprint? No worries. Here are a few resources for you:

You’re very welcome. Happy learning!