Robyn Williams Course Coordinator BHSc

The Scene Large number of multidisciplinary units with large numbers, varied topics and a diverse student population 80% of the students are external and very few attend internal classes on campus Unit themes, topics and learning materials are wide-ranging and not easily ‘captured’ Challenge of engaging students or at least contributing to an online learning community

The Action We set up a ‘Health Sciences at CDU’ Facebook page that goes across the 7 units that I coordinate Voluntary ‘opt-in’ by students Not assessed Nothing to do with private Facebook sites Let’s have a quick look… ‘Health Sciences at CDU’

The Outcomes Past students staying connected Student (unassessed) engagement with topics has increased through informal discussion and comments Site is very useful for sharing resources and information Students contributing across units increase interdisciplinary collaboration

The Lessons Need to promote the Facebook page Not for everyone Challenges of social media Be clear about the etiquette Only one of the ways to engage - not a panacea

Thank you and any questions?