- What new learning outcomes could the use of social media help develop?
Social media use in the classroom is further enhancing the digital literacies of our students in the push for 21st century learning models. One of the first learning outcomes that social media can help develop is centralized around the extent of control afforded to the learner (Bates, 2014). As we strive for 21st century learning pedagogy which includes collaboration skill development, connectivity, and the ability to create content, social media with its simplistic software (Bates, 2014) offers educators with some of the tools necessary for development of digital literacy. These tools will in turn afford students with the development of critical thinking skills, communication skills, and content acquisition. In particular, the learning outcome that I think becomes very paramount in our society today is the ability to be a critical thinker, and as Bates (2014) suggests, social media raises the issue of quality information gathering. Giving students the opportunity to learn to differentiate between the reliable and accurate, and the unreliable and bias are extremely important skills for students to develop with the bombardment of media literacy on a daily basis.
- Consider an example of popular Social Media, use the SECTIONS model for evaluation: explain to what extent, you think, using this media would improve the instruction,if at all?
Given that this weeks topic addresses the educational validity of Twitter, I will use this as my example to evaluate using SECTIONS.
Students: Students can create a community of learners around a given topic. They create a critical thinking space and learn to become concise and deliver their message in very short formed manner.
Ease of Use: Twitter affords ease of use (is very much user friendly). Login is straight forward and finding a group to follow takes very little time.
Costs: Twitter is free to use for both students and educators.
Teaching & Learning: Affords teachers with an invaluable assessment tool which could be used formally throughout the learning process. Feedback could be provided to peers in a quick and concise manner. Affords learning opportunities which address reliability and accuracy within media literacy.
Interactivity: Very successful at creating an online community environment. Affords both synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities.
Organization: Prior to the use of a Twitter account, certain protocol would have to be addressed, garnering parental consent to use in the classroom being the most important first step. Second, students would have to become well versed in their digital citizenship and net etiquette skills. A classroom account can be set up through the teacher.
Novelty: As with watching any pre teen or teenager and their mobile device, novelty is not going to be an issue as long as the learning opportunities afford unique and creative ways to use Twitter. However, as the changing landscape of digital technology tools multiplies and ¨better¨ and more ¨unique¨ social media opportunities arise, I wonder how long Twitter would remain novel in the eyes of a teenager.
Security, Speed, Sustainability: Security can and should be addressed first. Having parental consent (as mentioned above) is integral to its use. Speed in which the tool can be used, would only be hampered through poor infrastructure or lack of devices.
- When you select media tools for your instruction, what criteria do you follow?
SECTIONS is most definitely one of the main criteria that I follow when selecting any form of media tool. In particular, when working with students in Grade 6/7, I look to ease of use, cost, and interactivity in my selection. I encourage active collaboration and feedback between my students as they develop their own personal learning networks. I also look to the pedagogical values and whether there is active engagement with the tool (I guess this would address the novelty).
- What is your opinion about the use of Twitter in instruction? Support your reasoning with examples and/or arguments.
If utilized in an educationally sound manner, Twitter in my opinion is a great tool for instruction. As November & Mull (2012) suggest, Twitter enables the learner to tap into a wealth of knowledge, create connections with material and others, and address real-world problems in real time (one of the cornerstones of creating a digitally literate 21st century learner in my mind). I believe that Twitter is a very strong tool that can be used in the course of instruction, as long as the creation of activities is authentic and engaging.