Bates (2014) states that social media’s main focus is to allow users to share and create information in a friendly open environment. I completely agree with his statement. Although I am an avid user and believer in using technology in my classroom, I have to admit that I am not using social media as a learning tool as much as I would like to. The article by November (2012) really opened up my eyes. Other than using Facebook, I was reluctant in signing up for another social media site. I thought to myself, “Do I want to have another way of occupying or wasting my time?” Well, after learning at the beginning of this course briefly that Twitter could have an advantage in engaging my students in the classroom, I said, “Well it won’t hurt to try.” I’m glad I did because Twitter is not just another waste of time, but actually a powerful learning tool that my kids would love to engage in.
Like Candy (1991) mentioned, many students come to class not as independent learners, but need support in learning how to use a certain tool (as cited in Bates, 2014). This is one task that us teachers need to be aware of. Even though many students have their own cellphone or iPad, they don’t necessarily have the skills to learn how Twitter can be used in an educational setting. When I try using Twitter out this summer for my English 11 class, I will make sure I teach my students just that.
There are many learning outcomes that social media can help develop in students. Bates (2014) said it best:
- “digital literacy
- independent and self-directed learning
- collaborative learning
- development of global citizens
- networking and other inter-personal skills
- knowledge management
- decision-making”
All of these learning outcomes, according to the MYP IB curriculum that I use, will help develop the necessary skills for students in a global context. Many teachers use the curriculum handed to them to only teach certain concepts, but rarely the skills and ideas that students can use in everyday life.
The following poses an excellent question, “Would it be better just to add social media to the course or to re-design it around social media?” In my opinion, using social media is just another tool that educators can use in their classroom setting. I believe it would be better to add social media to a course, rather than re-design it around social media. I do not want to be restricted in my teaching practice to just use social media, as I like to incorporate different tools to engage my students.
Bates, T. (2014). Pedagogical differences between media: Social media. In Teaching in digital age. Retrieved from http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/chapter/9-5-5-social-media/ (Chapter 7, point 6)
November, A. (2012). How Twitter can be used as a powerful educational tool. November Learning. Retrieved from http://novemberlearning.com/educational-resources-for-educators/teaching-and-learning-articles/how-twitter-can-be-used-as-a-powerful-educational-tool/