1. What new learning outcomes could the use of social media help develop?
-networking beyond the four walls
-knowledge building
-improved digital literacy skills
-improved communication skills
2. 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?
I have chosen to evaluate Twitter for my future Grade 4/5 students using the SECTIONS model:
S – Students: My grade 4/5 students are in the GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) program. They come from all areas of Calgary and are high functioning students who need to be challenged. They work well independently and thrive on inquiry projects using technology.
E – Ease of Use and Reliability: Twitter is intuitively easy to use. It’s a reliable social media tool that upgrades itself. It’s limited with its 140 character tweet; however, this is a language that students can learn to use and interact with and gain so much from. If used appropriately, the possibilities are endless to connect with other people and experts from around the world and build knowledge together.
C- Cost: Twitter is free to use
T – Teaching and Learning: Twitter is an excellent tool for research and sharing knowledge. Once students have a plan, Twitter is one of many avenues to find answers and share learning.
I – Interactivity: Twitter offers interaction with learning materials, student-teacher, and student-student interactions.
O – Organizational Issues: Students will need to set up a Twitter account and support can be provided by the teacher and working collaboratively with fellow peers. It’s a low-maintenance tool that requires minimal support.
N – Networking: Twitter is a powerful networking tool and enables the learner to connect with others beyond the classroom walls/course.
S – Security and Privacy: Parents need to sign a consent but the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) teachers can have class accounts where the teacher sets up the account and monitors the use.
3. When you select media tools for your instruction, what criteria do you follow?
In my previous years of experience teaching grade 1/2 the most important criteria I have followed is “ease of use”. I didn’t need to worry about privacy issues as my my students never set up personal accounts online for anything. I also considered the purpose of using specific technology for the task or activity students were involved in. It had to make sense and it had to be easy to use otherwise I would have 25 dependent and unhappy 7 year olds!!
November (2012) discusses the ways of using Twitter as educational tool.1. What is your opinion about the use of Twitter in instruction? Support your reasoning with examples and/or arguments.
I have never used Twitter in my classroom as I truly got into using it personally a couple years ago. As I will be returning to a grade ⅘ GATE class in the fall, I will definitely be using Twitter in my instruction for both students and parents. At the very least, it’s a powerful tool to read up on world news and have classroom discussions about issues, thoughts and ideas. The most beneficial aspect of twitter is that it’s not a “read only” document. Students can respond back with their own arguments and what they believe in and connect with people and experts from all over the world to gain some powerful knowledge. The other beauty of Twitter is sharing what is happening in your classroom or school with parents and community. Communication is key as parents like to be in the know with their child’s education. My sister is the AP at a French immersion school and took charge of setting up a Twitter account and inviting her staff to be a part of sharing this way. If you have an account you should look at her feed as it’s a great example of how Twitter can be used for this reason: @kinggeorgecbe