While I am using this blog as an efficient communication tool, you can use sites like this--as well as Facebook and Twitter--for marketing your courses and for monitoring your student's opinions on your class.
You would be amazed what you may find your students saying about you online.
Of course there are cautions. Beware of HIPAA when posting call information or photos in case studies. I would also recommend avoiding becoming too "virtually" involved with your students via Facebook or Twitter. Some contact is good; too much blurs the line that could come back to bite you.
Finally, just to demonstrate the power of what one person (or band) can do, consider the video "United Breaks Guitars." Musician (and volunteer firefighter) Dave Carroll brought giant United Airlines to its knees with this video after United broke his guitar and refused to pay for it. So far 9,174,325 people have watched the video.
Don't ignore the power of the Internet in your classes--and use it wisely.
Being a little behind the technological times, it has taken me a bit to figure out how to post comments. Now that I understand a little better how to use this, I definitely see it as a valuable tool when teaching (and FREE is alwasy good!!) The one thing I would share with my classmates (and Dan as well) is that when using technological supports, it is a good idea to have a "user guide" available for the students and if expecting participation, follow-up with students if they haven't posted comments. The problem may be they don't know how and may be afraid to ask.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the resource Dan. I like it!
Stephanie
Thank you, Stephanie. Good point!
ReplyDelete