November 27, 2013
Leila Khauli
Hanna is a full time Instructor of Marketing Management at AUB’s Sulaiman S.
Olayan School of Business since the year 2000.
She holds a Masters of Business Administration with a specialization in
Marketing and Econometrics from Bowling Green State University in Bowling
Green, Ohio.
From A Hashtag to a Course
Interview with Leila Khauli Hanna, a pioneer in social media adoption in the Lebanese classroom Leila Khauli Hanna is a full time Instructor of Marketing Management at AUB’s Sulai…
Interview with Leila Khauli Hanna, a pioneer in social media adoption in the Lebanese classroom
Ms. Hanna
has taught courses at the Undergraduate and Graduate level in the fields of
Marketing and Economics in the US, Lebanon, and France. She has introduced and coordinated several
highly specialized and cutting edge courses at the school and was nominated
three times for the teaching excellence award at AUB. Her research interest
lies in the Creative Industry of Lebanon and the Digital Transformation of
businesses in the region.
Ms. Hanna was
the first to introduce full-fledged social media integration into her courses
in Lebanon. Her students use these tools to communicate with her and each
other, to stay up-to-date on topics related to the course work and discuss the
class online. You can follow her marketing communications course and social
media course on Twitter on #mktg225 and #mentoringSM respectively.
Q: How do you integrate social media in your
courses and how effective is it?
A: I
found that integrating social media into my courses is a very effective
communication tool especially that it is very accessible. In my opinion, it is
way better to embrace technology and make use of it rather than fight it
especially since millennials spend hours online and check their smartphones
several times per hour, even when they are accomplishing other tasks. Using Analytics from social media platforms
allows me to track what the students are reading, when is the best time to post
an article for them to read, etc.. More importantly, students read more and
perform better on assignments and exams. They are definitely more engaged in
the course.
Q: Why did you feel the need for social media when there
are other online platforms such as Moodle to interact with the students?
A: I
use both. Moodle is an excellent closed forum that I use as the formal platform
to archive, store, grade, give exams and evaluate. The social media platforms
are a good place to communicate efficiently and to curate articles for students
to read in real time. So Moodle is the storing location in a way, while the social
media platforms are the "live" communication tools.
Q: Did you face any difficulty convincing students or
administration of your teaching method?
A: Not at all, my convener and dean encouraged me and my colleague Dr. Nelson King when we first introduced the idea of a course on Social Media in Business and saw the potential. Eventually we moved from a course hashtag #mktg225, which was originally part of the marketing communications course, to a full-fledged course on Social Media in Digital Business: #mktg227. We were among the first to offer such a course in the region. I have over 2100 followers and counting. My followers include students, ex-students and other stakeholders such as ad agencies and companies that comment and follow the course closely.
A: Not at all, my convener and dean encouraged me and my colleague Dr. Nelson King when we first introduced the idea of a course on Social Media in Business and saw the potential. Eventually we moved from a course hashtag #mktg225, which was originally part of the marketing communications course, to a full-fledged course on Social Media in Digital Business: #mktg227. We were among the first to offer such a course in the region. I have over 2100 followers and counting. My followers include students, ex-students and other stakeholders such as ad agencies and companies that comment and follow the course closely.
They are
hiring my students immediately and we are showcasing the students work in mentoringsm.org to
brand the students’ work online. At the beginning the students resisted having
twitter accounts; they did not know what it was all about, but now they come to
the course with their own accounts.
Q: Do you think the education field is behind in social
media integration in Lebanon and across the globe?
A: In
Lebanon, all the fields are behind in social media, not just education, due to
the lack of know-how, the weak infrastructure and the high cost of Internet in
Lebanon.
Q: What are the best social media tools for teachers?
A:
All platforms can be used for a specific objective. Having a presence online as
an educator requires a strategy too. Each platform has its own content and
specific objectives. I particularly like Learnist: it is a platform designed
specifically for educators. You can check the course’s Learnist here: http://learni.st/users/36506.
Q: How do you maintain a professional presence with your
students when, in social media, professional and personal lines are blurred?
A: I
am only present online as an educator. I limit my personal presence to Facebook
only since I had it before I started using the platforms for teaching. I am
very careful in sticking to my objectives; I am online to engage my students
and enhance the learning process. I never follow my current students or
befriend them online. I respect their privacy and only follow them once they
graduate and they contact me.
Q: How do you keep up with the constant change in social
media?
A: I
am passionate and interested in reading and finding out all about it. This
learning experience combines my two passions communication and teaching...
Q: What are the pros and cons for integrating social
media tools into the class room?
A: Using
social media tools in education is very time-consuming and requires constant monitoring.
Teachers need to make the commitment and stick to it for optimal results. But
it is worth it; you remain relevant to the students and it is a continuous
learning experience for all of us.
Q: Do you think this method would also work for school students?
A: Of
course it would. However, the educator/teacher should have a clear strategy of
how it will be used and to set guidelines. I am very careful and strict about
how the students use the course hashtags and what they post. For example, they
cannot bash anyone or criticize (for the sake of criticism) any of the brands that
we are discussing or covering in the course or any brand for that matter.
Q: What
advice would you give to teachers who want to take this step but are afraid to
do so?
A: My advice would be not to be afraid but to have the passion and the commitment.
A: My advice would be not to be afraid but to have the passion and the commitment.
This article was written for Cloud961 magazine's Social Media & Education issue. You can download it here.
American University of Beirut
AUB
Beirut
