One of the areas I will be focusing on during 2011 will be the effective governance of e-learning: trying to balance policies that encourage innovation and change against risk management.
Daniel Fusch, of Academic Impressions, always has his ear close to the ground and has picked up this issue in the following article:
Fusch, D. (2010) Creating a social media policy Academic Impressions, December 20.
Make sure you click on the embedded link in the article to see how ‘Apple made a 9 year old cry.’
The article is more focused on public relations and communications, but similar approaches to policy are also going to be needed for educational applications of social media.
Indeed, I’d really be interested to hear from those of you who have institutional policies in this area: what kind of policies, how do they work, what was the driver behind them, what would you recommend based on this experience?
Dr. Tony Bates is the author of eleven books in the field of online learning and distance education. He has provided consulting services specializing in training in the planning and management of online learning and distance education, working with over 40 organizations in 25 countries. Tony is a Research Associate with Contact North | Contact Nord, Ontario’s Distance Education & Training Network.
