Email isnt the only communication channel through which Flinders communicates with its students. Finding and following key social media accounts can be a way to stay up-to-date with what is happening at Flinders but in channels that you find more rewarding. Reading time for this post ~ 1 minute.
One of the challenges of being at university, especially a university like Flinders with a pretty big community and diversity of people, is staying up-to-date with what is happening.
Email remains a primary communication channel, but most people I talk to have email fatigue, leading them to miss a lot of information that comes in via emails or email newsletters.
In my many years of exploring productivity and efficiency systems, I’ve not really come any perfect sytems for staying on top of what is happening. I think this is a mix of a) there is way more useful information than time to consume it and b) the information landscape is constantly changing so most methods end up breaking at some point.
Rather than specific systems, I focus on a few simple rules. For example, I try to review my email subscriptions every few months and delete those I am not reading. I also make sure that if I am subscribed via email to a specific oganisation/individual/service I also look to see if they have other social media outlets (e.g. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn). That way I am more likely to be alerted to cool stuff because it appears in multiple feeds.
Recently, Mel, the manager of the Student Learning Support Service directed me to a video they had just made about Maths and Science Anxiety
The video itself is great. It delves into some really useful and interesting territory around growth and fixed mindsets and how these relate to how we approach topics where we doubt our abilities.
Watching the video alerted me to the Student Experience YouTube Channel. They’ve been publishing videos for a couple of years now, with a focus on (surprise, surprise) the student experience.
Their video library includes information videos (with a focus on content from orientation), tips videos on navigating university systems and common challenges, and videos featuring key people and supports at Flinders.
If YouTube is a channel you engage with regularly (it is my most used social media channel), consider subscribing to their channel. Subscriptions are currently pretty low (mid 100’s) suggesting not many students have discovered this useful source of Flinders wisdom.
That’s why I am telling you about it 🙂 [the advice is the same for Flinders staff as channels like this can be useful for staff to stay informed]
What Flinders-related social media channels have you found that have been helpful to you in staying up-to-date? Sound off in the comments below.
Take care peeps…