Talk about learning!

@kenjeffery #etug

Social media:

Today’s session

• How my background led to my interest in this topic.

• Social media: distraction or benefit?

• Social learning and social media—research

• Five strategies for implementing social media.

• Open discussion.

credit: Clemens PFEIFFER, Vienna

credit: Marcin Wichary from San Francisco, U.S.A. CC-BY-2.0

credit: Eva Crawford

what drives me?

• In seeing how printed communication has changed, thinking about where it’s going.

• Interest in seeing how people communicate using technology.

• Keen interest in how people LEARN using technology.

my research

• Royal Roads University, MA in Learning and Technology.

• Examined 15 research studies in social learning.

• Examined 25 research studies in social media in education.

• Performed a meta-synthesis to compare and draw common themes between them.

Down with book learning up with social media?

Learners are already there

• 90% of first year college students report using social networking,

• and 97% of those report using Facebook regularly (Smith & Caruso, 2010).

• 94% of youth without home access still connect to social media (Ahn, 2011).

The negative side• A correlation between the distraction of instant

messaging and poor outcomes in prolonged, deeper studying such as reading (Levine, Waite, & Bowman, 2007).

• Facebook users reported having lower GPAs and spend fewer hours studying per week than non-users (Kirschner & Karpinski, 2010).

• “Electronic media use is negatively associated with grades” (Jacobsen & Forste, 2011).

The positive side• Promote the use of social media for collaboration and

exploration in the classroom (Fuller & Pittarese, 2012).

• “There is potential for [Internet technologies] to support more dialogic and synergistic approaches in group and individual activity than is seen at present” (Beauchamp & Kennewell, 2010).

• “Courses that utilize social media force students to be self-starters and have the potential to encourage them to be creative” (Friedman & Friedman, 2013).

Breadth vs. Depth

• Wide learning is exploration, discovery, ‘casting a wide net’, communicating, dreaming.

• Deep learning is dedicated study, detailed research, reading, scrutiny, focus.

• Both are necessary and beneficial.

Where does social media fit?

• Doesn’t replace focused activities.

• Start wide before going deep.

• Supports collaboration, discussion, exploration and interest.

Use it to support

dialogue!

Socially Constructed LearningLev Vygotsky 1896-1934 !!• learning is social • meaning-making through

interaction with information

British Columbia Institute of Technology

Being Crammed Into Teams

Social Learning Studies Social Media Studies

constructivism, cognitive conflict content creation

authenticity and self-reflection privacy, educational autonomy, and self mediation

communication and collaboration interactivity

influence of positive emotions engagement

access, distractibility, and personal autonomy

In examining studies on the effects of socialization in learning and the use of social media, some common themes emerged.

Common themes across the studies

• Engagement

• Interactivity

• Creativity

• Self-mediation

• Autonomy

EngagementBeing able to reach learners positively gets them interested in the subject matter, or draws them into further learning. Social media can be the ‘hook’ that facilitators and teachers use to garner interest, and set the tone for deeper learning.

InteractivityThe ability for a learner to work on assigned learning projects interactively through connections to information, subject matter experts, facilitators, and other learners is a key component of social constructivism.

CreativityThrough projects that require creativity, resolution of cognitive conflict, and collaboration, students are able to take control of the subject matter, and build knowledge by comparing new information to their existing schemas.

Self-mediationStudents directing their own work, sharing learning results and outcomes with each other, and making their own decisions on how to proceed give opportunities for learner self-mediation and reflection.

short text (140 characters) Twitter, Today’s Meet

brief text and multimedia Facebook, Padlet, Instagram

edited audio or video Mozilla Popcorn Maker, iMovie, YouTube

long form text, images, and multimedia Google Drive, Weebly, Wordpress

Implementing social media

engagement Twitter, Today’s Meetin-class Twitter chat, backchannel, talk to an expert

interactivity Facebook, Padlet, Google Docs and Hangouts

collaboration, teamwork, peer feedback

creativityWikis, iMovie, Popcorn Maker, podcasting, pinboards

create, present, discover, make connections

self-mediation Google Drive, Weebly, Wordpress

blogging, reflection, sharing ideas, e-portfolios

Implementing social media

What about autonomy?• Surfaced as a recurring theme: the ability for a

learner to feel in control of their learning.

• We are trying to help students become learners, not memorizers.

• In some cases, you can allow the student to choose their own social media tools!

• Encourage learners to start growing their own social media PLN (personal learning network).

Aligns well with Blooms taxonomy

Challenges

• Students need guidance in understanding digital citizenship.

• Must be easy to use, not buried in menus.

• Longevity of shared information.

• Options change over time.

• Students need access to device of some sort.

todaysmeet.com https://todaysmeet.com/smlearn

padlet.compadlet.com/Ken/smlearn

www.gflashcards.com

education.weebly.com *free teacher accounts

Diigo.com *free teacher accounts

What next?

• If your social media ‘lessons’ follow the five themes, you will have the best chance for success.

• Try just one thing as soon as you get back.

• Keep trying, it doesn’t always work.

• Be creative and flexible.

–John Dewey (1859-1952)

“If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow”

Thank you

• slidedeck and cool links: kjeffery.com/etug2014

• follow me on Twitter: @kenjeffery