Final Case Study Findings: Creating a strategy and tiered approach to dissemination considered best practices

The purpose of “Consuming Research: A Case Study on Research Dissemination Innovations and Best Practices” commissioned by the Information and Communication Technology Center was to understand the potential for Advanced Education Technology (ATE) Centers to harness social media platforms and technologies to communicate and engage with key audiences with regard to research and information dissemination.

The ICT Case Study Team used surveys, unobtrusive research and interviews with several ATE Centers to document the current social media practices of ATE Centers. Using this information and the best practices of the benchmark organizations, the Team proposes several best practice recommendations for ATE Centers and use of social media for information dissemination.

New Media Platforms Currently Used by ATE Centers

ICT Case Study Research Assistant Gregg Tobin discusses the platforms currently used by ATE Centers and shares industry best practices for using those platforms.

YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/user/ICTCaseStudy#p/a/u/0/kReLqNHCKVk

Are Search Engines Ignoring Your Blog? 6 Steps to Optimize Your Post for Search Engines

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can be tricky to get the hang of, but once you learn the basics, moving forward isn’t too complicated.  The article 6 Ways To Optimize Your Blog For Search Engines from the Social Media Examiner starts at the beginning and lists what is important to remember when writing SEO copy. There is a fine line when you are writing for both a machine and people, that could mark your blog as spam, but this article gives tips to keep your blog on the right path.  The article includes different tools that can help you determine keywords, such as Google Wheels , or All-In-One-SEO Pack for use with WordPress, just to name a few. Whether you are new to SEO or an old pro, you’re bound to find useful information in this article.

Looking to Make Your Blog More Interesting? 5 Tips That Can Help!

An ICT Case Study of 37 Advanced Technology Education centers indicates 21% of all ATE Centers are using blogs to disseminate their information, but are those blogs really getting the attention they deserve? The article 5 Ways to Make Your Blog Post Outstanding from the Social Media Examiner gives some great tips that every blogger should know.  With tips ranging from, how to educate and engage an audience, to learning how to write content a real person will want to read and a machine will pick up through a search engine, it’s a nice reminder of what a blog should include .  Although “there is no such thing as a perfect blog post” this article might help you get a little closer to it.

Websites Are Dominant Dissemination Platforms for ATE Centers, But New Media Platforms Are Also Popular

Based on research of all 37 Advanced Technology Education Centers, more than 90% of ATE Centers use their website for information dissemination, yet only about half of the centers use integrated new media tools for the same purpose.  This research component of the ICT Case Study used unobtrusive data gathering to evaluate how ATE Centers are using their websites and observable methods of utilizing new media to disseminate information.  The  research also assessed observable levels of audience engagement, the variety of platforms used, and disseminated content posted to those platforms.  Results are based on the observations of ICT Case Study Project Manager, John Garvey; Research Manager, Dave Sweeney; and Research Assistant, Gregg Tobin.

Using New Media Tools for Dissemination: Practical Advice from Ann Blackman

While at the Hi-Tech 2010 Conference in Orlando, Florida, Ann Blackman from the Convergence Technology Center took a couple of minutes to discuss how she to disseminate curriculum and professional development information. Included in her practical advices is the benefit of linking social media platforms so that updates occur simultaneously across platforms, resulting in consistency of message and and efficient use of time. Ann also talks about how she’s  how she’s able to engage multiple audiences using these tools.

Hi-Tec Survey Shows ATE Centers Want Engagement, But Aren’t Receiving It

The following is a summary of the results from the HI-TEC survey, which studies the material dissemination practices and new media use of several ATE Centers and Projects throughout the United States. Results were collected from representatives of ATE Centers and Project at the HI-TEC conference in San Francisco, CA from July 26-29.

Hi-Tec 2010: Discovering How Some Centers Use New Media Tools for Information Dissemination

Research for the ICT Center Case Study on Dissemination included attendance at Hi-Tech 2010 in Orlando, Florida, where – we asked attendees to complete a brief survey about how they’re using new media tools for information dissemination. (View a photo set on the ICT Center Case Study Flickr site.)

Many ATE centers are using new media platforms — one of several observations from the Synergy Conference

As part of the work associated with the ICT Center Case Study on Dissemination – “Consuming Research: A Case Study on Research Dissemination Innovations and Best Practices” – Dave Sweeney attended the Synergy Conference in San Francisco as a guest of the ICT Center. Synergy is funded under a grant from the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program. The Synergy Collaboratory supports Research Practice and Transformation in technology education in community colleges with a focus on equipping NSF funded Advanced Technological Education leaders and program participants to better realize the potential scale and impact of their centers and projects.

Social Media and Information Dissemination: Boldly Going Where Everyman Already Is?

“…the very purpose of the ICT Center Social Media/New Media Information Dissemination Case Study is to understand the potential to harness these new media platforms, and others, to communicate – and receive feedback – on very detailed research and critical information..”