How the Newsfeed is Connecting Campuses and Building Communities

Most art majors would want to know about the new gallery opening next Friday next to the coffee shop everyone loves. And not to mention, wine was being served (for those 21 and over, of course!). But they never even knew about it.

Whether it’s a new art gallery opening around campus, a fundraiser being sponsored by Delta Gamma, or just a simple due date changing on a class assignment, the way students discover and consume information is completely different than the way they did just a few years ago. Why? Ask Apple and Facebook. :) Students simply aren’t getting the right information at the right time in the channels they are consuming content in today.

But, the newsfeed is changing that by changing the way campuses communicate. It’s revolutionizing how entire academic communities are staying connected and informed. Here’s how.

The Newsfeed and Notification Generation

If your university’s idea of notifying students of important information and events resides in mass emails to their university-issued .edu email address, you need to keep reading. While it may seem like you’re keeping students informed by blasting off emails, you should check your open rates to see if that’s working. Email doesn’t work the way it once did. Students rarely check email, and frankly, they forget to.

While they might gloss over emails or paper packets, the newsfeed allows students to quickly scan all the updates from their classes and communities. Students want the same engaging user experience they get with social media. They stay informed through push notifications and scrolling through newsfeeds.

Getting the Attention of Millennials

It’s no wonder “text neck” has become a common medical ailment. We are always looking down at our phones. And it’s not just students. Consider your daily mobile usage habits. It’s hard to get the attention of students today when they’re always on their phones. So, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. Give them content how they want it and in a way they’re comfortable with — their smartphones.

Now That You’ve Got Their Attention…

Keep it. Faculty, administrators and other leaders can communicate directly with students by posting announcements that students will actually see via the Notebowl Bulletin (i.e. Newsfeed). Drive even more engagement with comment and sharing options enabled. Notebowl offers features that harnesses the power of familiar social tools to keep students engaged with the entire campus experience from classes to sporting events.

What’s Next?

It’s true that academia typically isn’t an early adopter of new technology, but think about all of the possibilities that lie ahead with keeping campuses connected. Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, algorithms designed to serve up content based on students’ behaviors and interests. The newsfeed could provide course recommendations, clubs, custom majors and more — all based on a variety of available data points and continual machine learning. The possibilities are vast.

Reunited and it feels so good! But, was the campus community ever really disconnected in the first place? Perhaps it’s just a matter of the right information not getting to students at the right time, in a way that aligns with how they communicate today.

Whether it’s through a simple integration with a social learning platform, or implementing a new standalone learning management system, schools today need to modernize their EdTech to keep the academic community engaged in today’s always-connected and evolving digital world.