so·cial me·di·a noun
Examples of popular social media include: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Tumblr, Google+, Pintrest, Linkedin, Flickr, Reddit, Vine, Snapchat, D2L, dropbox, and school websites. How can teachers use Social Media in the classroom as both, part of the instructional approach in teaching as well as helping students understand the online web 2.0 environment? The diversity in social media currently available makes the possibilities for it’s application in the classroom extensive. Some of the educational benefits of Social media platforms include the ability to:
Edutopia provides a list of 12 specific ways in which Teachers are using Social Media in their classroom [http://www.edutopia.org/blog/guidebook-social-media-in-classroom-vicki-davis]. I personally think the idea of tweeting the homework assignment is a great idea, as it serves not only as a digital proof of your instructions, but is also a great reminder for students when they are scrolling through their feed and are visually reminded that they have an assignment to complete, or a test to study for.
Google docs is another great social media application. In the mathematics class I currently volunteer in, the students’ must work in small groups to create a package the covers all of the units addressed during the semester. For each unit, their packages must include: an explanation or definition of the skill/topic, associated terminology, examples with full solutions, at least 3 review questions, and a resource related to each topic (game, explanation video, question generating site, etc). The best part of google docs is that the document and its edits are immediately available to all students and the teacher, allowing all participants to see exactly who contributed what, and when. In addition to this students are to hold each other accountable for equal work and effort by completing a google form (survey) at the end of each class explaining what they accomplished and if they felt equal work was done by all members. This of course is shared privately with the teacher and taken into consideration at evaluation time. So, with this tool, some instances of hard work or lack thereof that may have be missed during classroom observation, are now digitally recorded and readily available to the teacher during evaluation. Despite the many ways in which the use of social media benefits the teacher and their instructional practices, using Social media in the classroom also has numerous benefits for students. Some specific examples include students being able to: tweet guest speakers or teachers during lessons [asking questions/gaining feedback that would have been unattainable without interruption], build a portfolio of documents, images and handouts on google docs that can be referred back to for completion of assignments or used for studying for exams, and discuss assignments with classmates and learn from and teach one another. Social media also allows students to use technology and applications to explore deeper into subjects that interest them, engage and participate in topic discussions using methods other than public speech, and even build a digital portfolio for their artwork which can be used for college and university applications. These are only a few examples of benefits for students, however edudemic [http://www.edudemic.com/how-students-benefit-from-using-social-media/] also provides us with more great points. I believe that as teachers it is our responsibility [in part with parents and guardians] to educate students on how information circulates online, who has access to it, the good it can do when used correctly and the harm that can result if abused. In order to protect students from the consequences of poor choices in the use of Social Media, they must first be educated to think about what they are about to write and ask themselves questions that invoke critical thinking such as: “Is what I am about to post harmful or hurtful to myself or others? Will there be any legal or ethical consequences as a result of my post? Who has access to this information, and is it appropriate or safe to be sharing this information with these people?” . It is teaching this type of critical thinking and prevention that will help students use technology and social media appropriately and experience positive results.
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Candace BlackA story of my transition into teaching, and the educational tools and life lessons collected along the way. Archives
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