Nov. 29th #SMCEDU Chat: Horizon Report Preview & How to Keep up With it All

Cross-posted to: http://smcedu.ning.com/profiles/blogs/nov-29th-smcedu-chat-horizon

Earlier this month the New Media Consortium posted a preview of the 2011 Horizon Report to its website (each year, the Horizon Report identifies a number of emerging technologies expected to change the way we learn and teach). As I skimmed through the 2011 Horizon Report Preview, I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that I don’t know enough about technologies such as Augmented Reality, Game-Based Learning, Gesture-Based Computing, and Learning Analytics. I kept thinking that while educators were busy discussing blogging, microblogging and social networking technologies, the tech industry had already moved on to new projects, leaving us academics scrambling to make sense of yet the latest round of developments. And I also felt pressure – pressure to catch up, learn more, and start experimenting with these new technologies.

Most of us know first hand that keeping up with the latest technologies can sometimes feel like a full time job in an on itself. As a social media professor and researcher, I am in a privileged position in that I get to roll that work into my normal work schedule. It is part of my job to stay abreast of these developments. Not every educator gets to do that though. If we are striving for true social media integration across the curriculum, we are asking educators from all kinds of disciplines to become immersed enough in these technologies to figure out their pedagogical uses. Is that a realistic expectation given their teaching, service and research workloads?

• Can we really expect educators who don’t study and teach technology as a content area to keep up with all this?
• If so, how would we do it?
• Is the amount of work involved in staying abreast of the latest developments in the social media world too much for educators who may be overextending themselves already?
• What are your strategies for balancing the workload and keeping up with all this without letting it take over your real life?

What do you think? Join the #smcedu chat this Monday, November 29th at 12:30 ET and share your views on this topic with the SMCEDU community!

The Importance of Social Media

With the changing dynamics of the market, a company should do everything possible to stay connected to the customers round-the-clock. Not because it wants to, but because it needs to stay connected. 

Social Media lets a company feel the pulse of its market in real time. Here are the advantages of Social media which every company’s marketing team must be aware of –

It is all about connecting

There is no better way than letting your customers know that you are just a click away from them. Modern customers need assurance that they are treasured and social media lets a company do just that. Customer feel more involved with the company’s daily activities. They feel that they are part of the company and it is this feeling that drives brand loyalists.

Knowing Competitors

There are two reasons which may bring you in to social media. One is either some of your competitors are already in to it or you want give a head-start to your business. Social media platforms enable you to keep a tab of your competitors’ development in real time and gives you a chance to woo some of its customer in to your fold.

Averting Disasters

If your company is still not in to social media, then you are sitting on a ticking time-bomb, and before you know it, your company is as good as dead. Any company, no matter how big or small, needs social media for its survival.

Creating a Brand identity

Being in various social media platforms establishes your company to be the “It” company. More and more customers will come flocking to your fold with digital coupons you sent them out over social media. All in all, it will be a win-win situation for you.

To know more about social media, stay tuned to this blog.