How+can+social+media+integrate+into+community+partnerships+and+institutional+contexts

**How can social media integrate into community partnerships and institutional contexts? Lessons from a national network**

Abby Kiesa, Youth Coordinator & Researcher, CIRCLE/Tufts University [abby.kiesa@tufts.edu] Ariane Hoy, Senior Program Officer, Bonner Foundation [ahoy@bonner.org]



**Keywords:** Social media, online technology, Bonner Foundation, student civic engagement

**Track:** Program evaluation and assessment

**Format:** Team presentation  **Date & time:** Friday 2:00-3:20 **Location:** Salon 2

**Summary:** Social media and online tools are part of the public discourse and often discussed with respect to how young people are spending their time. Research in this area has shown that young people's online activities can lead to civic engagement. But what does this mean for college students and campus-community partnerships? Can college civic engagement offices effectively leverage these tools for student engagement and community impact?

Grounded in developmental theory, the Bonner Foundation focuses on college access and civic engagement by supporting a co-curricular and curricular 4-year model for students to engage in community service, while earning money for college. The Foundation received a Student Social Media grant from CNCS to explore how online tools and social media can be used by campuses to promote community engagement. A portion of their 80-campus network experimented with applying specific tools to service, with the hopes of engaging students and deepening community partnerships. Bonner's evaluation partner, CIRCLE, is a national, non-partisan research center focused on young people's civic engagement based at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University.

A mixed methods approach was used to gather insights from campuses into the most strategic use of various tools for student engagement and partnerships. CIRCLE worked with the Bonner Foundation to understand several points, including: (1) How social media and online technology allowed for innovative work with partners and how partners responded; (2) How social media and online technology influences students' participation; (3) What impact this intensive effort had on campus programs and the national network's capacity.

Examples of how campuses and communities leveraged online tools and social media, several thematic challenges to implementation, and how campuses can promote usage will be shared. Participants will also be provided with take-home tools and examples, including in social media formats.

**References:** Edison Research. (n.d.). Twitter usage in America 2010. Retrieved from <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">http://www.edisonresearch.com/home/archives/2010/04/twitter_usage_in_america_2010_1.php

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Kahne, J., Lee, N., & Feezel, J. T., (2011, February 5). The civic and political significance of online participatory cultures among youth transitioning to adulthood. Retrieved from <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">http://ypp.dmlcentral.net/sites/all/files/publications/OnlineParticipatoryCultures.WORKINGPAP ERS.pdf

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">National Conference on Citizenship. (2008). Civic health index: Beyond the vote. Retrieved from http://www.ncoc.net/97

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">National Conference on Citizenship. (2009). America's civic health index: Civic health in hard times. Retrieved from []

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Pew Research Center. (n.d.). Get the latest statistics. Retrieved from http://pewinternet.org/Data-Tools/Get-The-Latest-Statistics.aspx

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Smith, A. (2011). //The internet and campaign 2010//. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.

**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Please click here to access a PDF of this page: ** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">[|Kiesa_How can social media integrate into community partnerships and institutional contexts.pdf]

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