Original post by johnny wu on June 2, 2018
I believe that the long standing perspective of social media being a distraction in the classroom should shift as mobile technology continues to integrate into education. Literacy has always focused on communication with the most advanced tools made available in society. It is undeniable, the strength of communication social media platforms have to offer. True, there is a considerable volume of distractions and unsuitable content on Instagram, twitter, snapchat etc. but the same could be said about the volume of valuable user generated content on these platforms. In reading various articles about social media culture in the classroom, I have found that “Many scholars stress that educators and related professionals have a particular responsibility in teaching young people how to deal with new media that includes social media. (pg. 2)
In my experience as an educator, I have found that many students are enamored with the use of platforms such as Instagram and SnapChat. Rather than denying student access, it would seem beneficial to steer into the skid and capitalize on such engagement.
But how can educators do this effectively?
In reading Sonia Livingstone’s definition of media literacy, she believes is the “ability to access, analyse, evaluate and create messages across a variety of contexts” (Livingstone pg. 34)
In the context of social media literacy, the first factor of access can be complicated as it depends on the culture of the school, families and parents around use of mobile technology and social media. If access can be somewhat streamlined, we can then focus on analysing and evaluating the content of social media.
In Five key Questions that can Change the World, the authors developed frameworks adapted to critical use of new media technologies, and introduced the following conceptual questions (pg. 19):
- Who created the message?
- What creative techniques are used to attract the attention?
- How many different people understand this message differently?
- What lifestyles, values, and points of views are represented in this message?
- Why is the message being sent?
I am curious to experiment with more usage of social media in the classroom, especially when powerful content can be presented through a medium that students can connect to with a high level of engagement. The ability to navigate through volume and critically analyse social media content should be an integral part of education.
Work Cited:
Vanwynsberghe, H., & Verdegem, P. (2013). Integrating social media in education S. Tèotèosy de Zepetnek.
Livingstone, Sonia. “What is Media Literacy?” Intermedia 32.3 (2004): 18-20
Share, Jeff, Tessa Jolls and Elizabeth Thoman. Five Key Questions That Can Change the World. Santa Monica: enter for Media Literacy, 2004.
I very much like the approach here and I am going to steal the phrase “steer into the skid” to describe this approach to dealing with all the “negative” aspects of social and mobile media! Social media can be used as a tool to re-enforce a believe in self efficacy as in Shih (2011) where Facebook was used in a class context as an agent to instill belief in English language writing skills through directed peer interaction. I am of the firm belief that we cannot stick our heads in the sand when it comes to any of the popular internet trends and interactions, education and engagement will better equip young people to navigate these turbulent waters than strict avoidance.
Shih, R. (2011). Can web 2.0 technology assist college students in learning English writing? Integrating Facebook and peer assessment with blended learning. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 27(5), 829-845. https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.934
Social Media has been a source of tension in my teaching career. Students are “enamoured” by it, and I often wondered if there is a way to leverage it to direct their focus on particular concepts that we may be uncovering in class. However, I have two significant concerns, and I believe it needs to be resolved before we integrate it in our classrooms:
– Protection of users’ privacy and data must be in place
– Equity (access to devices/platforms) must be addressed
Also, teachers will need to be clear with their intentions – What is the purpose of using this tool? What will students do and NOT do while engaging on the platforms? It is a growing concern about cyberbullying and how Social Media has become a channel for many of these activities. Students will be given a significant amount of freedom (based on the nature of these platforms) to engage with their peers and expectations must be clear on how they are to conduct themselves on-line. While teachers should be clear with their intentions and how Social Media can support students’ learning, it will require support from the school, parents and students.
I really enjoyed the framework introduced to critically think about media. And it is so rightly named – ‘Five key Questions that can Change the World’. Imagine what Facebook or news websites would be like if each post automatically answered these questions and delivered the results alongside the original post. It could have a strong harmonizing effect.