Using Social Media to Build Your SoTL Research and Profile: The “What” “Why” and “How”

Technology has caused huge changes in how academic work is accessed and measured. The advent of social media has also changed the way academic works are found and discussed. This session will present a range of popular social media tools and foster discussion on how various tools may be useful for SoTL, as well as for wider research purposes. Throughout the session participants will first be exposed to a number of multi-functional tools and then, through discussion, be encouraged to consider which of these might be most applicable to their own practices and interests. In addition, alternative metrics (which often emphasize data from social media outlets) that are relevant to academics, will also be presented. Participants will be able to: 1) describe tools (e.g. research blogs, Slideshare, Linkedin, Twitter, etc.) that are useful for identifying resources to inform their SoTL interest areas (both peer-review published and more informal); 2) describe tools (e.g. Research Gate, Mendeley, etc.) that facilitate sharing of their SoTL findings and building research networks between individuals; and, 3) become more familiar with alternative metrics (e.g. viewed scores, discussed scores, saved scores), as well as appreciate how these alternative metrics may ultimately affect core metrics based on citations