Social Media in a Classroom

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/

4 comments

  1. Hi Sean;

    I really like your comment: “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. ”

    It has taken me a while to learn that just because someone has a piece of technology doesn’t mean that they know much about using that technology. I am glad that when using a tool, like Twitter, you take the time to teach your students how to use it.

    Many technologies are readily available and user-friendly, but individuals often just learn the bits that are of interest to them. It is important that teachers, like you, model ways of incorporating technology into a learning environment. It will serve their needs very well when they move on in life and need to become independently-motivated learners.

    Congrats!

    Tanya

    1. Hi Tanya,

      I think you are right; the learning environment guided by pedagogy that Bates (2014) calls the Middle Ground is still necessary.

      Keri

  2. Hi Sean,

    Like Tanya, I also like your comment about students not necessarily knowing how to use the technology they have for educational purposes. Students spend at least 5 minutes of my class practicing touch typing. This may seem like a simple skill, but because the students I teach largely grew up using touch screens, they can’t type very well on a keyboard. They didn’t even realize this until they took their TOEFL test and discovered that they had difficulty typing the writing portion in the allowed time. If students are taking simple skills like typing for granted, I think we can extend this to social media skills for educational purposes. Many students know enough about social media to use it for their personal use, but may not know how to use it in a different light.

    You mention not wanting to be restricted in your methods, but think of how many years we were (and still are, in some cases) restricted by desks in rows, pen, paper…the traditional classroom. Do you think there is a risk that, if we redesign courses around social media we may get stuck in that model, even when it isn’t the most effective way to teach?

    –Meghan

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