managing your online presence - promoting digital literacy

“Managing your Online Presence” Promoting digital

literacy Sam Oakley,

Deputy Subject Librarian Swansea University

s.l.c.oakley@swansea.ac.uk

Our students (mis)use of social media hit the headlines this year...

EPIC FAIL

Not just for those students but also for the university’s reputation

“Digital Literacy =

digital tool knowledge

+

critical thinking

+

social engagement”

(Josie Fraser, in The Guardian, 15 May 2012)

- “Send for the librarians!” -

If a digital literacy issue at our institution is hitting the headlines, maybe we (the library) could help?

“Librarians can

(and should)

teach

undergraduates

social media

awareness”

“This is the kind of thing academic libraries should be offering IF this isn’t already catered for elsewhere in the University”

Tweet by Ned Potter (‘The Wikiman’), 16.5.12

Is there a

demand?

This is what happened at Swansea when we

tried it out......

Original inspiration from

a blog post by David

Hopkins on a session

he had run....

Tiggerish

enthusiasm....

met with interest &

encouragement

(e.g. from

Careers)...

a team of librarians

set to work

Your (next) employer could be watching you!

“What’s Your E-Reputation? Managing Your Online Presence”

Hand-on session

Wed 2nd May, 1-2pm

DISASTER!

The date =

Varsity Match!

Not enough

booked on to run

- The End? -

Things are taking off...

• Session for final-year social work students

• Part of new Study Skills module for nurses

– Social media use is a big issue for public sector workers

• Interest from other subject areas

– Demand coming from academics?

• General session to run again next term –demand from students?

So what do we teach them?

(There’s a link to our stuff at the end)

First we scare them with a few social media horror

stories....

Then we

help them:

tools, tips

and

strategies

to take

control of

their social

media use

...and we tell them all the benefits of using social media for job

hunting, professional development and current awareness

That’s all very well but

why

bother?

(I’m busy)

It’s a fun topic!

And easy to teach.

Great for collaboration

(Careers, e-learning,

academics, students

union)

Engage with key

issues:

•Employability

•Student Experience

•Digital Literacy

Demand from

academics:

health & social care,

business,

law, teaching....

The Library can be seen to

offer a solution to a very

visible problem for the

university

We use social media & we know

the benefits (information literacy!)

as well as the issues

(Badge available at Zazzle)

Our Stuff:

Images used under Creative Commons

courtesy of: LorenJavier, tinoubao, jurvetson, Libertinus, Country_Boy_Shane, kamshots, solaro and xraydeltaone on Flickr

http://tinyurl.com/samoakleygreg2012

Thanks to my fellow

librarians Katrina Dalziel, Elen Wyn Davies, Susan Glen & Bernie Mathias who helped develop & publicise the session!