When I think of social media, I think of it socially, which is exactly how Davis said for us not to think about it. I had the misconception that yes, social media could work in classrooms but the kids would be so distracted by the funny videos on Facebook or something profound (or what they would think profound might be) someone said on Twitter, or the crazy photo they just got sent on Snapchat, or posted on Instagram. I felt this way due to the fact that I get distracted by these things in class too (just don't tell the lecturers but I'm pretty sure they already know). With how I end up using social media as a distraction meant I figured the kids would also be like that and so I ended up closing off my mind to the countless other learning opportunities that can arise with social media. Not completely closing off my mind, just thinking more along the lines of:
"Yes in a perfect world it could work"
"If its a good school where the students are disciplined then it might work"
"If there is some program that prevents them from doing anything other than academic work then its worth a try"
This was extremely narrow minded of myself as I forgot one important thing. Kids want to learn!!! And social media facilitates that in a way that has never been done before. Just thinking now back to the articles of ways that social media is being used:
- Tweeting class updates - BRILLIANT idea! Students are there anyway, now they can go onto Twitter and keep up to date with how the class is progressing after school, checking homework and additional resources and links that can aid in their learning and understanding.
- Trending - either on Instagram or Twitter, if the learners are busy with an assignment, or fun group task, etc. they can post updates and photos to record their progress while hash tagging something to connect it all. Just like how we use #PGCEmix. It encourages learners to interact with others that are trending the same thing.
- Blogging - this is a great way to encourage students to read, as I know many don't enjoy it. But if they find an educational blog that they follow and that they interact with then that keeps them exposed to a good form of language and opinion that they might not have gotten from just a textbook. I also find that by students having their own blogs, you can find out more about them and monitor their psychological health. By this I mean, if one of your students are going through depression, it might be easier to pick up on while reading through their posts, etc.
- International Interactions - What an amazing thought!!! Students from all over the world being able to talk and collaborate with each other on content that they have learnt or opinions that they have formed. Its an amazing way to apply learning to the real world and see how different countries learn different things differently. Usually one wouldn't have this opportunity as you would have to physically meet them but now there is so much information and interactions that are made available to us.
- Remind - This is great that you will be able to reach your students after class, but its important to realize not to spam them with useless info or go overboard on the assignments/readings, etc. You need to balance what they NEED to know and what you WANT them to know, as quite often you want them to know more than they can handle. This could make them despondent when you want them to actually be thinking: "Oh yay! Finally!!! Something fun and interesting to add to my day!"
I could literally go on and on but that's just going to turn what already is a long read, into something that just should be filed in a library and left to gather dust. So I'm going to leave the examples there. I'm sure you can see though that social media has endless possibilities. Sure the risks still weigh out in your mind but the more you use social media, the more you will work out ways to keep the learners engaged and occupied on more academic things instead of using it as a distraction. Keeping things short and sweet, interesting and fun should have the students eating out your hand and creating a generation that is thirsty for knowledge with all of it right at their fingertips.
A little risk, for A LOT of reward.
Thats my say, now keep your eyes on the board!
No comments:
Post a Comment