Our online behaviour is far from virtual–it extends our offline lives. Much social media research has identified the positive opportunities of using social media; for example, how people use social media to form support groups online, participate in political uprising, raise money for charities, extend teaching and learning outside the classroom, etc. However, mirroring offline experiences, we have also seen social media being used to spread propaganda and misinformation, recruit terrorists, live stream criminal activities, reinforce echo chambers by politicians, and perpetuate hate and oppression (such as racist, sexist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic behaviour).
Caroline Haythornthwaite is Professor, School of Information Studies, Syracuse University, with former academic positions at The University of British Columbia, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an earlier career as a programmer and systems analyst. Her research focuses on how the Internet and information and communication technologies support work, learning and social interaction, including research on social media, e-learning and learning analytics, and online crowds and communities.
https://haythorn.wordpress.com/Stephanie Teasley is Research Professor and Director of the Learning, Education & Design Lab (LED), School of Information, University of Michigan. Her research has focuses on issues of collaboration and learning, looking specifically at how sociotechnical systems can be used to support effective collaborative processes and successful learning outcomes. As Director of the LED lab, she leads learning analytics-based research to investigate how instructional technologies and digital media are used to innovate teaching, learning, and collaboration.
Panel Speakers:The panel will be led and moderated by Caroline Haythornthwaite and Stephanie Teasley. We will present an introductory framing of the panel and the topic of Women in Social Media: Safe and Unsafe Spaces followed by short presentations by panel members Ingrid Erickson, Libby Hempfill, and Alyssa Wise. Stephanie Teasley will moderate a Q&A period consisting first of questions to panel members to address women’s experiences with social media as well as in academia or other work environments, and then opening up the Q&A session to the audience for further discussion.