"How does social media affect working life in Higher Education? How are universities harnessing its power to aid student learning? This innovative collection brings together academics and those working in professional services to examine these questions and more. The diverse and expert contributors analyse the many ways social media can be used to enhance teaching and learning, research, professional practice, leadership, networking and career development. The impact of social media is evaluated critically, with an eye both to the benefits and the problems of using these new forms of digital communication. This is the first volume to give such detailed attention to this area of high interest. Its innovative approach extends to its creation, with contributors found via their presence on Twitter. The short and impactful chapters are accessible while retaining an academic focus through their application of relevant learning theories and educational context. Social Media and Higher Education is essential reading for any professional working in higher education, including lecturers teaching education courses. It is also significant for researchers looking at more recent developments in the field and what it means to work in a modern higher education environment."--Publisher's website.

Social media is a multi-faceted tool that has been used by educators and/or their students in ways both beneficial and detrimental. Despite the ubiquitous nature of this tool, there is much research still needed on the multitude of ways that social media impacts education. This book presents research on the influences of social media on education, broadly construed. Specifically, the research included in this book is categorized into four broad areas, examining the educational influence of social media on youth and college students, professional development in content areas, higher education learning, and social justice and activism. Chapter authors emphasize the opportunities of social media use in education and provide recommendations for how to address challenges that may arise with social media integration into the teaching and learning setting. These authors also advocate for use of social media to grow and enhance professional interaction among educators, moving beyond the social aspect of these platforms to advocate for educational and societal change. Individuals working in K-12 schools, teacher education, teacher professional development, and higher education, including pharmacy, nursing, dental and medical education, as well as those in other educational settings can use these findings to support and guide integration of social media into teaching and learning as well as their professional practice. Endorsements for Social Media: Influences on Education "Anyone attempting to understand these issues and the emerging, critical role of social media in education today should read the excellent edited book Social Media: Influences on Education. I’ve been monitoring educational media and technology research and practice for the past 40 years. In my view this book is an important contribution to a current perspective on social media and its impact from preschool to higher education and professional studies in general and social justice issues specifically." Richard E. Clark, Emeritus Professor University of Southern California "Social Media: Influences on Education is an essential book for those seeking to understand the relationship between education and social media or to conduct social media research in education. Griffin and Zinskie have collected a variety of essays showcasing approaches to researching social media from qualitative interviews with teachers, to meta-analyses of nascent literature, and research within the platforms themselves. Providing a well-rounded introduction to the field, this book provides a foundation for those interested in understanding and exploring the impact social media has had on elementary, secondary, and tertiary education." Naomi Barnes, Senior Lecturer Queensland University of Technology, Australia "Social Media: Influences on Education is a must-read for anyone interested in social media's impact on education and social justice. Grounded in the latest research, Griffin and Zinskie offer an informed, critical perspective on key issues – children’s social media use, cyber-harassment, misinformation, social justice through social media, professional networking, and more – as social media pervades every aspect of our lives. Educators, parents, students, activists and social media users everywhere, if you’re invested in education and social justice, this book is for you!" Christine Greenhow, Associate Professor Michigan State University

How are widely popular social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram transforming how teachers teach, how kids learn, and the very foundations of education? What controversies surround the integration of social media in students' lives? The past decade has brought increased access to new media, and with this, new opportunities and challenges for education. In this book, leading scholars from education, law, communications, sociology, and cultural studies explore the digital transformation now taking place in a variety of educational contexts. The contributors examine such topics as social media usage in schools, online youth communities, and distance learning in developing countries; the disruption of existing educational models of how knowledge is created and shared; privacy; accreditation; and the tension between the new ease of sharing and copyright laws. Case studies examine teaching media in K-12 schools and at universities; tuition-free, open education powered by social media, as practiced by University of the People; new financial models for higher education; the benefits and challenges of MOOCS (Massive Open Online Courses); social media and teacher education; and the civic and individual advantages of teens' participatory play.

As higher education institutions adapt to an increasingly digital world, it is imperative that they adopt technological techniques that allow them to establish a digital presence. Academic e-branding involves managing a university’s brand and image to promote and build the reputation of the institution, especially in regards to its student and faculty research and achievements. Without a solid digital presence, higher education institutions may struggle to remain competitive. Improving University Reputation Through Academic Digital Branding is a critical scholarly publication that explores digital branding and its role in establishing the reputation of academic institutions and programs. Featuring a range of topics including digital visibility, social media, and inclusive education, this book is ideal for higher education boards, brand managers, university and college marketers, researchers, academicians, practitioners, administrators, and students.

Given the ubiquity of online technologies in the lives of high school and college students, universities are increasingly turning to social media for the purpose of organizational communication. This book shines a light on these practices in order to better understand how platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat are being used within the realm of student affairs. Each chapter will explore a different dimension of student affairs (e.g., admissions, career services, student health services) to provide an overview of key challenges and how new social media tools can be used to solve them. By providing examples that illustrate these evolving trends, this book is intended to help higher education professionals develop creative social media solutions that are appropriate for their own situations as they seek to strategically integrate social media into their student affairs efforts.

Open inquiry and engagement with a diverse range of views are long-cherished and central tenets of higher education and are pivotal to innovation and knowledge creation. Yet, free inquiry on American campuses is hampered by a climate that constrains teaching, research, and overall discourse. In Unassailable Ideas, Ilana Redstone and John Villasenor examine the dominant belief system on American campuses, its uncompromising enforcement through social media, and the consequences for higher education. They argue that two trends in particular--the emergent role of social media in limiting academic research and knowledge discovery and a campus culture increasingly intolerant to diverse views and open inquiry--are fundamentally reshaping higher education. Redstone and Villasenor further identify and explain how three well-intentioned unwritten rules regarding identity define the current campus climate. They present myriad case studies illustrating the resulting impact on education, knowledge creation-and, increasingly the world beyond campus. They also provide a set of recommendations to build a new campus climate that would be more tolerant toward diverse perspectives and open inquiry. An insightful analysis of the current state of academia, Unassailable Ideas highlights an environment in higher education that forecloses entire lines of research, entire discussions, and entire ways of conducting classroom teaching.

"The emergence of the networked information economy is unleashing two powerful forces. On one hand, easy access to high-speed networks is empowering individuals. People can now discover and consume information resources and services globally from their homes. Further, new social computing approaches are inviting people to share in the creation and edification of information on the Internet. Empowerment of the individual -- or consumerization -- is reducing the individual's reliance on traditional brick-and-mortar institutions in favor of new and emerging virtual ones. Second, ubiquitous access to high-speed networks along with network standards, open standards and content, and techniques for virtualizing hardware, software, and services is making it possible to leverage scale economies in unprecedented ways. What appears to be emerging is industrial-scale computing -- a standardized infrastructure for delivering computing power, network bandwidth, data storage and protection, and services. Comsumerization and industrialization beg the question "Is this the end of the middle?"; that is, what will be the role of "enterprise" IT in the future? Indeed, the bigger question is what will become of all of our intermediating institutions? This volume examines the impact of IT on higher education and on the IT organization in higher education." -Web site blurb.