Prior to the PIDP program, I equated social media to the Kardashians and electronic version of National Enquirer, with the latest celebrity gossips. It also reminds of the newly elected President of United States who seems to love his tweets, although I must admit that he uses this medium very effectively to reach out directly to his loyal base of followers.
Given that students are social beings who love to share their opinions publicly, albeitly sometimes "TMI" (too much information), it is no wonder why social media sites such as Twitter, etc, have such an appeal. The latest statistics seem to validate the tremendous growth in this type of social networking and blogging service. The number of active users has grown by over 900%, up to 319 million monthly active users on Twitter (Statista, 2017).
According to Brookfield (2015, p. 15), "skilful teaching is whatever helps students learn". If so, why not harness the power of students' favourite online social media sites to drive engagement and learning. Furthermore, by implementing social media to discuss about learning materials in classroom, as educators, we are validating that the media are acceptable forms of communication when used appropriately. Because of the instantaneous feedback, you get a real sense of students' thinking and understanding of the learning materials. For introverted students, this could be an ideal platform for them to frame their thoughts and express themselves freely whenever and wherever they are ready to do so. Besides when students engage with each other, posting and answering questions online, it helps them to construct their own learning. Thereby building self-confidence and knowledge retention.
Through social media, students can now easily connect with some amazing guest speakers who can provide valuable knowledge and expertise on specific areas of study. Gone are the days when it was a tedious task for this to happen in classroom. Nearly every author, scientist, mathematician, historian, business leader, etc has some form of social media account, and some even respond to their followers directly. By connecting with these influentials speakers in class, it can have a real big impact to students' learning experience.
To avoid distractions in class and unruly social media etiquette, before using social media during class time, as educators, we need discuss and outline some ground rules and expectations with students. This way students can learn how to become respectful, robust, and intelligent online citizens. For students who seem to have trouble meeting the netiquette usage and expectations during class time, as educators, we can use those opportunities as teachable lessons. Students need to be reminded that colleges and employers will often search a potential student’s or employee’s social media account to get a sense of who that person is.
When used effectively, social media is more than a way to find celebrity's lifestyles and read about their latest gossips, it is a powerful tool that can impact how you teach and how you relate to your students. As we prepare students for the workforce in the 21st century, it is our obligation to integrate the essential skills including information literacy and knowledge of technology into their learning curriculum. Such skills are imperative for effective functioning in today’s technologically driven, knowledge-based society.
References
Brookfield, S. 2015. The Skilful Teacher. San Francisco. Jossey-Bass.
Statista. 2017, April 8. Number of monthly active Twitter users worldwide from 1st quarter 2010 to 4th quarter 2016 (in millions). Retrieved from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/282087/number-of-monthly-active-twitter-users