Monday, March 5, 2012
"Social Media Offer Classes a New Feed"
I was perusing USA Today while baking cookies, and this headline caught my eye immediately. The article began by saying something we all know: Those students that obsess with social media while doing work tend to not do as well on quizzes. But an even more recent study has shown that those teachers that incorporate students' social media such as Twitter may actually be helping the students learn! I think what resonated within me most is that one of the professors said "social media is here and we as educators have to acknowledge that." I think this comment is what makes classes such as these so valuable. Technology and the future of technology is inevitable. Trying to avoid technologies and social media is a fruitless effort. I feel like incorporating technologies that are relevant to the students and not just useful will provide a synergistic effect that will give them the best possible education. The article also gave an example that one professor is doing. Jen Lee Reeves of University of Missouri actually has her students tweet about the lesson during class. When she goes back to check her phone it is all there. I like this way of incorporating technology into class because students like Twitter, and it is a fun and innovative way to get students to collaborate, or to take notes. I think that I will use something like this when I become a teacher at a school. It sounds to me like it is a live version of a discussion board. Of course, within limits, I would like to use this, because I don't want to be left behind when it comes to technology and social media. If social media is going to be present in my students' lives, I may as well use it.
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I think Twitter could be very useful in the classroom because of the fact it restricts language and forces us to be very blunt/creative in how we can pare down our language. I think it'd be absolutely beneficial to have students tweet you reading responses that are answered in 140 characters or less.
ReplyDeleteNot to mention, this is a fast paced world as it is, and we have to get students ready to adapt to instant deadlines and lightning fast expectations. People aren't going to want to wait around forever to read your 9000 character blog post to get a point across. I joined Twitter specifically because if its simplicity and the fact that every tweet is a poem. Poetry is prose that cannot be compressed. It's concentrated language, and so are our tweets! With that, I think a twitter poetry lesson would be radical.
Arturo I actually read something very similar this week and posted to an article on my blog as well. It is interesting that studies show that the incorporation of social media into the curriculum actually help students learn. That educator that you quoted is 100% correct: the social media is inevitable. As teachers we should take advantage of this fact and find new ways for students to learn. However, we must avoid the pitfalls that also some with the misuse of social media in the classroom: timing and appropriateness are everything. Additionally, I feel that it is very important to get student feedback when this type of interaction is introduced into the classroom. While learning in this manner can be fun, if it is a waste of time students will pick up on that. It is important to see what is working in aiding student learning. Using technology for technology's sake does is not worth it.
DeleteArturo, thanks for the summary. How would you approach a situation where not every student in your classroom has a computer or phone or mobile device to tweet during class?
ReplyDeleteKevin,
ReplyDeleteI was actually going to write up a post about this topic because I encountered a similar problem in one of my classes. That post will be going up soon! Keep a look out.
Arturo, way to think ahead! I will definitely check it out.
DeleteArturo,
ReplyDeleteI think your post depicts what teachers should consider incorporating in their lessons to "keep" up with "current day." I agree that social media is inevitable, which is why it is time for students to have opportunity to use in their classes and for teachers to stop fussing over the negative impact social media has in education. There are ways to use social media "positively" so that students can gain something in class. I think using tweets and poetry as Greg mentions would be AWEOME. This would be a really cool concept to try on students while teaching poetry.