Social Media in the Classroom

Today is the second of what I hope will be many days of work at SNU. Friday was the official first day, but that was time spent in Human Resources with a little bit of running around and meeting with the Director of Online Learning. She got me a broad overview of the grant and it's purpose; so at least I have a vague idea of the direction we are moving.

I'll be spending some time today in faculty workshop. I'm going to be doing some PD with faculty about using Social Media in the classroom. Seems like pretty standard fare if you've been reading my blog for very long. However, it occurred to me that the powers that be want me to teach the faculty something new. These are the people who were my teachers, mentors, & professors (and continue to be so). It just struck me as odd.

I'm going to organize my thoughts here a little bit.

A few of the biggest things I like about Social Media in the classroom is that it can bring new perspectives in (through non-class members sharing), it expands the boundaries of the classroom (again, engaging people outside the classroom in conversation), and it can extend the amount of time students spend learning your content (by continuing the conversation outside the 50 minutes see your face each day). I'll spend a bit of time talking about a few of the tools available and how to integrate those.

As I write this, I'm thinking specifically about faculty who are late adopters (or non-adopters) and I can see them looking at me with skepticism. What in the world is that about? These people know me. Many (dare I say most) of them, I have a pretty good relationship. In fact, that was what I stressed in my interview. I already have significant amounts of currency in my relationship accounts with many of these folks. So what am I worried about? I know there are going to be some who don't "buy it" who are not (and maybe never will) drink the technology Kool-Aid.

Facebook - It's a great way to extend the time you can interact with students. According to TechCrunch, 85% of them are using the site already. That statistic is from 2005, so I would imagine the number is much higher. You can create a group for each class. You could post materials and put reminders there about assignments, due dates, or even just a word of encouragement. The great thing about it is that you don't have to friend your students. As the teacher (or the student) you post on the group wall and it shows up in the news feed of everyone else. It's like seeing all of your students outside of class and talking to them about class.

Twitter - Twitter could function similar to Facebook in that it uses status updates to carry on a conversation about class/content. However, there are no groups. But there are hashtags. If you create hashtag for your class and have your students tweet using that hashtag. For instance, if you wanted to see what conversation is happening right now about Education, you could look here. If you are on twitter, the "Discover" button at the top is a hashtag search. If you have never heard of a hashtag, it is analogous to a keyword search. If you have ever searched for an article in a database using a keyword, you already understand how to use hashtags. They are simply searches for keywords in the conversation that is happening on twitter. It's simply a way for you to focus on what a particular subject of conversation. If you aren't sure what a hashtag might look like for your classes, I teach an Earth's Natural Disasters Class. It starts next week, so it's a winter class. My hashtag could be #ENDwint12. I could then have students use that hashtag everytime they tweeted anything related to class and I could easily search for it.

This strategy is especially useful for things like reminders, changes, canellations, etc. You can also use it as what is called a "backchannel". This idea is akin to passing notes in class, but you are able to see it. It gives students the option to ask questions, make comments, etc. without interrupting what's going on. These are very useful during formal presentations, but could also be utilized in the classroom.

Twitter has a 140 character limit. Imagine asking students to synthesize an entire semester's worth of learning in your class into a single tweet? You might be surprised at the results.

Google+ - I could probably share for an entire hour about each of these tools, but Google+ probably has the most functionality. It has components of both Facebook and Twitter. The great thing about this one, is that since SNU is a Google Campus, all students and faculty are already on Google+. They need only click their name at the top right hand corner of the page (when logged into email) and then click "Join Google+" and set up their profile.

In Google+, you have what are called "circles". This would be very similar to a group on Facebook. You add people to circles. They have no idea how you have your circles arranged. They only see that you have said something. You simply choose which circles you send your update to. If I had a Physical Geography circle, I could add students. When I write an update on Google+, I simply choose my Physical Geography circle as the group to with which the update is shared. Like all update services, you can share links, photos, or places.

One other really great thing about Google+ is the Hangouts function. You create a hangout and it becomes a virtual space for you to interact via webcam and voice with people who come to your hangout. Think of it as office hours without students having to actually walk into your office. This is fantastic for you if you teach online. You can still interact with students even without them being at your physical location.

This is my starting point for what I'm going to talk about this afternoon. What have you been doing with Social Media in your classroom? I'm certainly open to ideas to share!

5 lessons for educators from Mr. Rogers

I was stumbling around the interwebs the other day and found a blog post with 5 lessons marketers could learn from Mr. Rogers.

Rogers was a PBS staple when I was a child. I wasn't a dedicated watcher, but on the occasions I did see the show, I enjoyed it. I always learned something from the show and it was a great exercise in imagination. Even though Fred Rogers passed away in 2003, I think the 895 episodes he made still have a lot to teach us about how to be a great educator, but only if you are willing to use your imagination.

1. Relationship-building beats content and pedagogy every time. Mr. Rogers never spoke above his audience. He didn't "teach" at you; he talked to his audience and we learned in the process. He did things in a friendly, conversational style and he always talked to his television audience as if they were right there in the room. It seemed that no matter what Mr. Rogers was doing he always had the time to stop and talk to his neighbors, whether on they were the television neighbor or a person in his studio.


2. Be willing to acknowledge that kids can be better at something than you are. Mr. Rogers had a lot of friends and was never afraid to stop what he was doing to admire someone else doing a good job. I recently saw a video of Mr. Rogers doing a bit of break-dancing. He freely admitted to Jermaine that he would never be able to dance as well as Jermaine did. Often, teachers think they have to be the expert on everything since they are the adult in the classroom. However, if we are willing to be transparent with students and let them see that we are human, with our own gifts, the relationships we build with students(see #1) can go much deeper.


3. Be consistent with who you are and what students can expect from you. There is likely only a small population of Americans who have never seen the opening scene of Rogers' show. He opened every show exactly the same way. Even as a 41 year old adult, there is still something comforting about hearing him sing that song, change into the zip-up cardigan, put on his comfy shoes, and welcome me to the neighborhood. I am constantly amazed that he could time everything so that he would be tying the last shoelace when the song ended. Teachers who are consistent (different than stagnant) will be more successful at causing learning to occur. Plan and procedures must be put into place so that students know what they should be doing at any given time. Otherwise, a huge amount of time can be wasted. This can also be applicable to teacher personalities. Students cannot focus on learning if they are fearful of some kind of outburst of wrath from the teacher when the class is not acting "as they should". Remember teachers, we are adults and are charged to act in a professional manner when things don't go as we had planned.


4. Inquiry is a great way to learn about content and about people. Mr. Rogers was always willing to answer a question. He never shied away from questions, whether it was from a viewer or from the US Senate (defending the value of public broadcasting). He used questions to engage people in conversation. He asked people about their interests, objects they were carrying, where they were going, and what they had been doing. He got to know people simply by engaging them with questions. In these times of high-stakes testing, it can be hard to have time to answer students' questions and to get to know them through simple questioning. Maybe social media would be a way to engage in asynchronous dialogue? Just a thought.


5. Be positive. Mr. Rogers always encouraged people to do their best in whatever they did. I'll be the first to admit that our education system has its faults. I'm sure most people have an opinion about that subject and could talk about that all day. However, if teachers see a problem, maybe they should work on fixing the problem instead of moaning about it all the time. Often, this means working within the existing system instead of actually changing it. If you are part of the system, and the system is not working as it should, I think the only thing to be said is, "How can I work within the system to help my students succeed?" Anything beyond that is just whining. Either change the system, or work within it to get the results you are seeking.

Mr. Rogers' show could be a bit awkward at times. However, I think that awkwardness shows that Mr. Rogers was just an ordinary guy. He was real. He wanted to engage the viewer. He didn't have a lot of fluff. No computer animation (that I know of). He encouraged viewers to use their imagination in the "Neighborhood of Make-Believe." When was the last time you asked students to imagine something?

is anyone listening?

In the era of Web 2.0, where everyone has a voice, I find it very easy to get overwhelmed by all of the noise happening around me. Listening to so many different media tools at once is like walking around on the exhibit floor of the ISTE conference in Denver; its so loud, you really have to focus in on what folks are saying. Otherwise, it all blends in with everything else around you.

[caption id="attachment_408" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="image courtesy of Beverly and Pack via flickr"][/caption]

I found myself, earlier in the day, walking the exhibit floor, looking at the bright lights trying to distinguish what is relevant to me and what is simply noise. I can tell you, it was really easy just to zone out and wander around without really learning anything. Everyone turned their microphones up, trying to be heard above the din of the others around them. Connecting this to social/education media: how do you focus in on what is really important to you? What tools do you use to distinguish the important from the noise? On that note, please don't get offended if I don't automatically follow you on Twitter if you follow me. If I don't think you have something worth hearing, I'm not going to listen!

From the other side of the coin, how do you get heard above the noise of others? Sometimes I find myself talking (like now) and I don't think there is anyone listening other than the spambots and commercial term paper writers. I suspect this is what SETI research is like. Sending out a signal, wondering if anyone is listening. Better yet, wondering if anyone is even on your frequency. Sometimes I wonder if I even have anything worthwhile to say and if it is worth listening to. I'm certainly not doing anything ground-breaking but I suppose I am doing things differently than many of my Putnam City colleagues. Its like being the little fish on the big pond versus being the big fish on the little pond, right? I like my little pond, thank you very much.

As you can tell, I'm feeling a little disillusioned today. I'm not sure why. Maybe it is sensory overload. Maybe its the altitude. Maybe it's just me. Whatever it is, I've got to get refocused!

Closure Part 2

Today was the final official day of work today for Putnam City teachers. This signals the end to an amazing year. There are so many things about this year that were awesome, yet during school, I felt like I couldn't wait for it to be over! Since I really prefer to remember things in a positive light, let's reflect:

I blogged more than ever before. I spent a ton of time talking about myself, but I feel like I've begun to truly reflect on my method as a teacher. According to the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards, that convention is one of the single most important things to implement in an effective teacher's practice. So, while it may have seemed that I was "tooting my own horn", I'm really just trying to think about what I do.

I was challenged by some extremely smart students. Not to downplay the intelligence of previous students, but this year there were several students who really made me want to know my subject area better. Fortunately, I have found some really good blogs to read and I've learned so much! Reading blogs by teachers, physics professors, and researchers has really taken my thirst for knowledge to a whole new depth. I've devoted a page on my feed reader to science and one to teaching. I admit, some days I just click "mark all as read" because I simply don't have the time I'd like to devote to some in-depth reading. Other days, I drink in the knowledge and end up on an hour long "link-flow" from one good article to another. This year has been one which has seen expanded horizons for me.

I started a Master's program at SNU. That has been the onus for my increase in blogging. We are required to journal over our experience while we are in the program. Originally, we were supposed to write in a book! "What the duece?!?" was my first thought. I couldn't believe in a world of Skype, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media, I was being asked to do some good old-fashioned handwriting! This was crazy to me. After just two years of teaching, I was already integrating some of this technology into my classroom, so why not in Higher Education? Shouldn't they be modeling what we are supposed to be doing in class? I'm almost halfway through the program now (after this next module) and its totally flown by!

I have gotten more heavily involved in the use of social media and technology in the classroom. I created a Facebook group for my students. (So far only the AP class). My thought was students are already using this technology. Why not have a homework reminder in their newsfeed? I mean, duh! Right? I have embraced the transparency of friending student on Facebook and its simply a way for me to model digital citizenship for my students. I sense that there are some other teachers in my building are beginning to catch on to this trend. At least that's my perception. (Perception is reality, right?)

I embraced the use of GoogleDocs in my classroom. If you don't currently use it or know about it, you should consider it! In my AP class, this has resulted in an almost entirely paperless. Students need to turn in a lab report? Have them share it with you on GoogleDocs! Students need to collaborate asynchronously on a presentation or document? Have them share it with one another on Googledocs! Would you like to embed a test into your teacher webpage? You can via GoogleDocs! Would you like to give a test with no paper used? GoogleDocs! Want to make a document and have it available for students, in other words embedded in a webpage? Yep, you guessed it, GoogleDocs! Oh, wait, don't have a webpage? Google can fix that with GoogleSites. BTW, if you are interested, and you are a Putnam City teacher, I'm teaching a couple of classes on how to use GoogleApps in your classroom! Check out .pc for information.

I was able to get some new technology in my classroom. I got a new laptop computer before the year started (a MacBook Pro). I got a new SmartBoard after I mentioned that mine was not working correctly. I was able to check out a new product put out by SchoolCenter, the company that hosts our teacher webpages. Its a pretty secret project so I can't talk much about it, but I'm going to get to take part in a presentation in Denver at the end of the month as a result of my involvement in the project. Speaking of Denver, I am being afforded the opportunity to go to the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) conference. I was blown away when they asked me if I wanted to go. Of course I wanted to go!

This year, I have even been given the opportunity to teach some other classes. I am going to be teaching a Bridge course at SNU. Its a course called Earth's Natural Disasters. If you are not familiar with the Bridge program, SNU has a deal where you can finish your undergraduate degree in 18 months, but you can only into the program if you have 60 hours. Bridge is where you get your hours to that level. So, I'll be teaching adults. This is going to be a major shift in my practice, at least as it concerns my interactions with students. I'm auditing a class right now and these guys are some major gradehounds! I used to think my students were worried about grades, they are nothing compared to these guys.

So, overall this year has been a fantastic year. I think I am in some of my best years of teaching. I am finally figuring out what I am supposed to be teaching. I am finally beginning to find out how to really do some authentic assessment of student learning. That's new. That's not something I learned in college. That is a skill that can only come from experience. I'm stoked to be looking summer vacation right in the face. However, I'm also excited at the prospect of what the next year will bring. What are you looking forward to?

my classroom

Today I was really inspired by the ease with which I think I would be able to teach a class completely online, using only the tools I have at my disposal now. I could use googledocs (and I already do) for tests. That's easy. It could also be used to share presentations such as notes and do it collaboratively using the "view together" option. In the view together option, there is also an IM option in which there could be synchronous discussion during the presentation. There's also another option, tokbox.com, a program in which you can video-chat with up to 20 people and only one person needs to be logged in. Everyone else simply goes to a link. In TokBox you can share slideshows. I have also done a screen share in google video-chat, but I think I can only do that with one person. So far, I've been thinking synchronously, but with the option of asynchronous discussions (discussion board) the possibilities are endless). Screentoaster.com shares your screen at the leisure of the watcher. Problems being worked on the board could be solved using screentoaster with a voice over as to what is being done.

I think I want to develop a class about how to teach using web 2.o tools. That way, I could organize all of my thoughts into one place. At the risk of spending an hour writing a blog post, I'm going to stop now and move on to what I really NEED to do instead of dreaming about what I WANT to do.  If you have thoughts about using only web 2.0 tools to teach your class, specifically social media, I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts. Thanks for reading.

Why do I use Technology in my classroom?

As I sit here, procrastinating paying bills/doing homework, I am considering a meeting with a colleague this afternoon in which we are going to discuss classroom technology integration and twitter as a Peer-Learning-Network. I decided to ask myself why I use these things in my classroom and just share my thoughts on my journey to this point as a technology-oriented teacher.

A little history

I am not a typical new teacher (yes, I still consider myself a new teacher with a lot to learn!). I went back to school as an older adult (mid-30s) and began teaching at the age of 37. I've always been interested in technology, a bit of a computer nerd you might say. While in school, I was sorely disappointed in the training I got in technology. Because I respect SNU as an institution I won't go into specifics, but it appears (this is an simply my opinion) that they are not adequately training teachers to integrate technology into the 21st Century classroom. Those things said, I didn't really set out to make my classroom a technology-heavy educational setting. It kind of just happened.

To the credit of Putnam City Schools, I first got interested in technology integration in a class offered by the district. I was motivated to go to the class because it meant I would get a district supplied laptop for the duration of my employment and who doesn't want that! (I've heard about teachers applying and not being accepted and then dropping it at that; to them I say "Apply again!") But the result of the class and the direction of my classroom went/goes much deeper than just a  "free laptop".

About the time I took the class, I had just completed the SchoolCenter teacher webpage class in our district and had begun to build an informational website for my students. It was in its infancy and has grown to consume a lot of my time. However, based on the analytics from SchoolCenter (a feature I love!) I can see that many students (or someone) is visiting the site on a regular basis. The calendar feature is probably the best part since its a way for me to keep a planner/schedule that students can access from any internet-connected computer. The classroom website and the textbook-supplied website for my AP Physics homework were the two driving forces of technology-use in my classroom. I really began to use my AP Physics class as a bunch of guinea pigs by integrating the use of the calendar, discussion boards, and online homework.

I got a really positive response from students about both components (the online HW and the webite) and that really encouraged me; especially because I was (at the time) feeling very inadequate about my methods and my classroom in general (this was the time of my first year that I think many/most new teachers really begin to doubt what they are doing - 3rd quarter of the first year). The positive feedback from students was like a drug, I wanted/needed more and began to look into other areas in which I could get technology integrated into my class. At this time, I also realized that there were (and still are) laptop labs in my building which are not booked solid and I figured out I could use one of them regularly, as often as several times a week, if I wanted to do so.

I felt technology was a way to get students using something with which they were familiar (technology) to begin to get exposure to an abstract and at times difficult subject: Physics. Many students were (and still are) very afraid to take Physics. This stems from a fear of math and is whole separate post, so I'll just leave it at that. I felt that if I could get the word out that students use laptops often in my classroom that my enrollment would increase because students like using technology tools to learn. It seems to have done just that. Next year I have 56 enrolled for Pre-AP Physics 1, so far. That's an increase of nearly 100% over this year. Wow! I just now calculated that! Pretty encouraging.

Stay on Target!

So, what now? What am I doing and why am I doing it?

1. I am still using the teacher webpage. Its a great way to have students see where we are going with the calendar, access documents we use in class such as study guides, homework answers, and I have even begun to host tests there for my Physics 1 classes (paperless classroom, here I come).  I'll see about a separate posts on integrating googledocs as a way to give paperless tests sometime in the near future.


2. I still use the online homework component of our AP Physics textbook. Its self-grading which saves me a lot of time and allows me an opportunity to have the rigor of a true college classroom. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean its easy. I just mean its easier for me to give a larger load of homework that is on par with what these students will experience in college (its AP, right?)


3. I began using a wiki in my classroom last year as a paperless research project. It began as a scientist research project (wherein students researched a particular historical scientist and created a wiki page) but has evolved into something that I think will be much better: a textbook. My thoughts are that students can create a textbook, using our current textbook as a guide. We use Turnitin.com to keep everyone honest about plagiarism. I absolute do not want students cutting and pasting from one website. I encourage synthesis of information and expect that they have a basic understanding of the writing/editing process since they are (usually at least) juniors in high school.

My future plans? Undecided. I'm not sure I can add anything else. I am heavily vested in social networking. I believe in transparency and teach my students the same. I do add students to my social networks for a couple of reasons. Primarily because I communicate with them about schoolwork via social networking.  A significant amount of the wiki project is done on student's own time, as homework, and social networking is an easy way to communicate quickly. This blurs the boundaries of our classroom and extends instructional time, all at no cost to the taxpayer! Secondly, I believe in leading by example. If students see that I am a how I use social networks and that I don't post pics of myself in compromising situations online, that sends a strong message that these are powerful tools that can be used for "good or evil". We talk some about digital citizenship in our classroom and we discuss social networking in that context.  It all boils down to transparency.

Twitter

Why do I use it? I've built a network of people who have similar interests/goals and I follow them. I don't imagine many people get much out of what I post to twitter. I do, however, get a lot out of what others post. Its a great way to see what others are reading. I think of it like a food taster for the King. I am the King and my network is out there constantly tasting my food and passing along that which is good. I know, that seems a little self-centered, but it works for me and I like the analogy!

I apologize for the long post. Maybe someday I'll learn how to do several small posts instead of one gigantic one! Thanks for reading.

the power of social media

While helping my favorite son with his homework this morning, I got a phone call. It was my wife calling. This may not seem strange and normally it wouldn't be, but she was calling from the other end of the house. She called because there was a great segment on the Oprah show (we DVR anything we want to watch) she wanted me to see. If you decide not to read the link, I'll sum it up in a few short sentences: Journey got a new lead singer because of social media, specifically, Youtube. The band's guitar player and spokesperson, was about ready to give up on the 10 year search for a lead singer when he happened to see a Youtube video (I don't think I got the exact video, but its the same singer and band in the same venue) of a guy in the Philippines who was covering one of Journey's hits, "Faithfully" at the Hard Rock Cafe' in Manila. To make a long story short, Journey found its new lead singer. Thanks, at least in part, to social media.

The wife didn't call me back because of the social media connection, she simply wanted to share a "rags to riches" story, probably because she knows I'm a sap and enjoy a good segment of Oprah every now and then (no need to spread that kind of information around, though). I was simply struck by the incredible power of social media, whether purposefully used, or accidentally "stumbled upon", pun intended. As I said in my research paper, its no answer to any of the world's problems, but it is a very powerful tool which can be used to affect change.

The second time today I was struck by the power of social media tools was when I made a humorous/serious comment on Facebook about a great movie, "The Breakfast Club". Here's my comment: "I think about things I hear at school. Like "these kids have changed" "they are more arrogant this year" and then I wonder about the custodian in The Breakfast Club when he said: "Oh come on Vernon, the kids didn't change, you did." Hmmm. Is there truth to that? Will I ever feel that way? I hope not."  If you'd like to see the entire conversation that ensued, its here. One of my students chimed in and I thought, what a great opportunity for a guest blog post. A perspective on generation-Y from someone of that generation! I know, you are wondering when I'll get to the point. Well, its now. We were conversing using social media. This was pointed out (by me) in our conversation. There is no way I ever would have had that conversation with a student inside the walls of my classroom. #1, I'm not that good at remembering what I did over the weekend, #2 we have too much information to cover and never would have taken the time to talk about this.

I think social media is changing not only the how we communicate, but the "with whom" we communicate. I can tell you from experience, no matter your thoughts on the evils or advantages of social media in education, I have deeper relationships with my students than I ever would have if I still had the rule of "Yes I have a Facebook and No I will not friend you". This was where I was when I first started teaching. I've changed a bit since then. Not sure why, not sure how, but I've changed. I, for one, think its for the better.

What do you think?

abstract

Here's the abstract of my research paper. I honed what I had initially done as a significance of study and then added what should be in an abstract. Honestly, whether you guys like it or not, I think its some of my best writing and I'll probably go with it. However, if you have positive comments, I'd love to hear 'em. I could use a little encouragement about now.

I'm just ready for this project to be over. I'm not sure I'll ever have it in me to do any kind of dissertation. I can't imagine what writing something like this would be like.

So, here it is:

Much of contemporary pedagogy is based on the belief that education should be made relevant to students. Social media is one way to achieve that relevance in today’s culture. Society as a whole continues to rely on electronic exchanges of information in presentation, acquisition and production. The day of immediate access to knowledge has arrived, and it has come in the form of social media. Surveys indicate that students are heavy users of social media and are not opposed to its use in an educational setting. Social media has evolved out of the early write-only Internet to a place filled with scholarly opportunities for community. This evolution has education poised to capitalize on the collaborative and creative aspects of social media. As a result, educators around the world are experiencing success in the integration of social media into the classroom as an educational tool. This research was conducted through interviews of educators and students using social media as the sole vessel of communication. The data notwithstanding, that an entire study was researched, composed and even redacted utilizing only social media demonstrates the power of these tools. The conclusion of this study is that social media, while not problem free, can certainly be used as a tool to augment purposefully planned lessons, build community and encourage students to become producers not just consumers of knowledge. Whether the course content is focused on writing, mathematics, technology, or science, social media can be smoothly integrated into an already effective educational experience or strengthen one that is not quite engaging students.

forshadowed problems

In this section I'm supposed to talk about questions that may or may not be answered, but nevertheless are questions about my subject. I'll let you in on a secret, I don't answer most of these questions, but I'd like to. Especially the ones about funding the technology. Maybe some money will fall from the sky into my classroom account.

Without further adieu, here are the foreshadowed problems from my research paper:

How does one get teachers to buy into using social media? How can students be convinced social media has educational value, as well as social? How do school districts control the potentially dangerous aspects of social media, e.g. predators, sexting, cyber-bullying? How much instructional time should be committed to the use of social media? How do districts fund technology access to create a successful social media environment? Once funding is determined, how do districts address the physical security issues inherent with expensive computer equipment, i.e. what will prevent laptops from walking out of the school? How do teachers keep from blurring the line between recreational use of social media and instructional use? How can teachers be taught where the line is between recreational use and educational use? Is it the job of the school district to make education this relevant? If it is the district’s job, how does a district go about implementing a plan to begin social media integration? If it is not the district’s job and is a gray area, should social media usage become its own class and then the students are responsible to apply this knowledge to other classes? Is this integration the job of secondary education or is it the job of post-secondary education? Since social media changes so rapidly, when does a particular aspect of social media become out of date and no longer relevant to education? How does education know when to integrate some part of social media? Is longevity a determining factor? Is it permanency? Or is there some combination of these and other factors?

data analysis

Please be kind...this is my first attempt at actually writing a true research paper. I'm talking about a paper in which I did real field research. Sure I've synthesized stuff I've read, but gathering data? Never really had experience doing it... So, here comes the first draft of the data analysis. Seems to me there is more talking and less analyzing than there should be...let me know what you think.

While the group interviewed during the process of gathering data on social media usage in an educational setting was not a large one, the subjects were chosen purposefully so that data would be obtained from participants who have experience with the use of social media, either positive or negative. The overwhelming majority of participants stated that their student’s educational experiences were enriched because of the use of social media. Many of these educational professionals feel that students are “plugged in” after school and it is “silly not to utilize social media to present information to students”. They also felt that it is a teacher’s duty to expose students to the type of tools they will be required to use both in the post-secondary education setting and in the corporate world.

When asked “why do you use social media in your classroom” a high school computer applications teacher said, “I came from the corporate world and I see these as tools with which students must, at the bare minimum, be familiar.” She felt if she didn’t teach them about social media, she would be doing them a great disservice. When the instructional technologist was asked the same question, she said, “This type of interaction encourages collaboration, not only between students, but between teachers and students”. It can really change the relationship between a student and a teacher. When teachers are willing to be transparent and step out into cyberspace with a real, authentic persona, students recognize what is happening and are more willing to be real with the teacher in return. Another teacher said he uses social media to “add interest to the class” and “encourage engagement” in what might otherwise be a fairly boring project. Another teacher indicated that students are going to use this type of media outside of class and it was “her duty to teach them to use it correctly and safely”. One of the participants made the analogy to sex education; students are going to figure out what to do, now would you rather have them figure it out from someone who might not be teaching them the most intelligent, safe way to do it? While that may be a rather crude analogy, it really makes an excellent point. Students need to be taught good digital citizenship because they are going to learn how to use it one way or another.

A Department of Education official stated he teaches teachers how to use social media because it “gives a sense of empowerment whereby they have access to a vast network that has been purposefully created”. The interaction he is referring to is his Twitter and Delicious network, which he has created by looking for people with common interests. He follows people for whom he has respect and through social media is able to see what they are talking about and what they are reading. Its similar to hero worship wherein one does the same things his or her hero does. Thereby, becoming more like the hero.

The only student available for interview summed up the reason high school teachers should be using social media; “Every student should be exposed to some kind of social media in high school because they basically throw it at you in college”. This brings up an excellent point: why the disparity between high school and college? Why are high school teachers so reluctant to bring social media, i.e. online collaboration, into the classroom when college professors are typically more willing to embrace it? This seems like a good topic to research further.

A Junior-level Earth Science teacher talked at length about a wiki project he had been working on for over the course of about six weeks. In this project, students are required to write about a particular phenomena related to astronomy or geology, or research a scientist and synthesize the information about the person’s life. When asked which aspects of the project he liked, the teacher responded with an answer that is thematic in wiki projects: “As a teacher (and consequent grader) I can track all changes a student has made to the wiki through the history tab”. This coupled with the ability to revert to any version in the history of the page, make wikis an excellent platform to use for almost any kind of writing project. During the course of the project, the teacher set weekly goals for students. The student progress towards a particular goal was easily traced by looking to see which page a student had edited and how often (or rarely) editing was done. He also liked the ability for students to be able to access their work from any computer with Internet access. He works in a school district in which students can only access work stored on the district “H-drive” when they are logged on to a school computer. With a wiki, this problem is eliminated; all a student needs is access to a computer with Internet capability. This teacher had students peer-edit each other’s pages. This is exactly what wikis are intended for and develop not only collaborative skills but writing skills, as well.

An instructional technologist pointed out to the researcher that wikis are also an excellent way to showcase student’s work. She also noted that it encourages “peer accountability”. She recounted an instance to demonstrate the fact:

I had been involved with a classroom of secondary students working on a wiki. There was one student who, during the course of his writing made the comment that he was “proud to be a racist”. Before the teacher could even be made aware of what was being said, the student’s peers stepped in and moderated the document to remove the offensive material. This was far beyond what teachers normally expect in this type of project.

She continued to point out that this was the first instance she had ever encountered this type of interaction between students. If this were carried out live in the classroom, it is likely it would not have been quite as civil of an exchange.

One of the participants in this survey is an English teacher at a large urban high school. She teaches Junior-level English to a wide socio-economic variety of students. One of the ideas she constantly stresses to her classes is to consider their audience when writing. She stated,

Wikis and blogs really broaden the audience of student writing. Up to this point these kids have only been writing for a teacher to read. No one else gets to see the finished work. What motivation do they have to seriously consider the audience when it is only a teacher reading it? With a wiki or a blog, students have to consider the fact that anyone with an Internet-connected computer has access to their work.

She continued to point out that there are actually widgets which can be inserted into your website which will give a visual representation, usually in the form of a map with dots, to show where the visitors to a website are coming from. Students are better able to get a sense they are writing to a broader audience when these tools are utilized.

During an interview with a technology teacher, the topic of process skills being taught when using social media in the classroom was addressed. She indicated that the main “meta-skill” taught is the process of critical thinking. Learning to use one type of social media carries with it a set of skills that can be readily applied to another type of media. For instance, synthesizing a paragraph into a 140-character post for Twitter applies to synthesizing research ideas to a wiki page. A Department of Education official stated he teaches teachers how to use social media because it “gives a sense of empowerment whereby he has access to a vast network that has been purposefully created”. The interaction he is referring to is his Twitter and Delicious network, which he has set out to create. He follows people for whom he has respect and through social media is able to see what they are talking about and what they are reading. Its similar to hero worship wherein one does the same things his or her hero does. Thereby, becoming more like the hero. When asked how student’s educational experiences are enriched by the use of social media, he replied, “Have you heard of the two by four by eight model of education? Students learn within two covers of a textbook, inside the four walls of a classroom, during eight hours of a school day; social media has the capacity to transcend that.” This is really the heart of what social media is about, at least when it is applied to an educational setting: it extends the classroom out into an environment in which students are more comfortable.

Social media can also extend the hours of a school day. A technology teacher informed the researcher of having the ability to see when students were online and actively posting on the discussion board within a Ning. She was pleasantly surprised to see that students were online occasionally on Friday nights completing assignments, many times well in advance of the due date.

The participants in this project have all had varying degrees of success in their efforts to integrate social media into some type of educational setting. A science teacher said his students didn’t really get the point of doing a wiki instead of a standard research paper, but many did enjoy the more creative aspect of making a webpage instead of “just writing a boring old paper”. A technology teacher indicated that she was “surprised at the high level of thinking students were putting into their responses on the discussion board”. It also seemed to her that students who seemed shy in class were more willing to open up and share in an asynchronous online setting. A state Department of Education employee stated that its very difficult, especially with Twitter, to “keep the signal to noise ratio” down. Sometimes there is so much information, its difficult to sift through what is important and what is just garbage. It simply becomes overwhelming and the reader gets nothing because of information overload. Another science teacher, who uses a discussion board as a means of having student review articles online, stated, “This type of interaction gives my students a non-threatening way to see there are many diverse worldviews, just inside our classroom. Think of all of the worldviews when you consider the enormous number of people outside our classroom walls!” He is actually building community by pointing out their diversity.

Many of those interviewed have future plans when it comes to social media. One said, “I just want to keep up with the most current tools available, my students are going to know what they are, so I have to do the same.” The Earth Science teacher said he would continue to use his wiki project even though some of his students “didn’t get it”. He feels you cannot adequately judge the success of a project based only on a single group of students. A technology teacher is going to increase the integration of social media into her courses. She feels this is the format of a class, especially a class in which students are learning about computers and specifically digital citizenship.

a social media research project

This week finds me thinking about a research project we started in the Educational Research module of the MACI program at SNU.  This module may prove to be the most challenging class of my academic career, but possibly the most rewarding. I am integrating the research project into a some sub-committee work I am doing with the Putnam City Technology Committee. We are tasked with integrating online resources into our curriculum and I think social media is a great extension of the classroom.

My research is qualitative in nature, probably due to the time constraints of a six week-long module, so I will not have any hard numbers to analyze. I have already begun to notify my peer learning network of this project and will be contacting many of them further, via social media, of course!

Since my research is about social media, I thought it might be appropriate to talk about the different types I use in my classroom.

• Facebook - I friend students (at their request, not mine) on facebook and use it as a way to build community beyond my classroom. Students communicate with me for homework help via the chat function. I get better insight into student's home life through status updates. I am also able to show students that I am a real person as they read my status updates. They can get some insight into my home life, as well, and begin to understand that I do normal things; I am just a person with many of the same life struggles as they have.


• Twitter - I only have a few students who use twitter, but I still consider it social media in my classroom. Most of the students I am in contact with through twitter are in my advisory class (Pirate Time - kind of like a homeroom, which students attend once a week).  This enables me to know what is going on in their lives, since I only get to see them once a week.


• Wikis - I do a wiki project in my physics class, which has been mentioned several times on this blog. Its seems to be more "acceptable" to students, instead of a straight ahead research paper, even though that's what they are doing. It is a "paperless" research paper. They even submit the entire project to turnitin.com at the conclusion of the project. Its much easier to grade, since I only need an internet capable computer, instead of carrying around a gigantic stack of papers. The point of the project, however, is not to make things easy on me. The point is to teach students they have the ability to contribute to the body of knowledge and their contributions can be seen/used by others. It extends the boundaries of our classroom beyond the walls of our school.  English teachers constantly talk to students about "writing to their audience", but do they do anything to extend the audience beyond the teachers themselves? In most cases, probably not.  This project also teaches students not to be afraid of Wikipedia, but that's an entirely different post.


• Skype - I am very new to skype. Skype is a free, voice over IP (VOIP), which allows free videoconferencing. I've been consulting with mishelleyb since last year about this, but am just now getting its use implemented. I have some ideas for this in the classroom and they include:

1. Guest scientists - Its much easier to have a researcher talk to a webcam for 15 minutes than it is to have them travel to Oklahoma City.


2. Collaboration with other classrooms - I just contacted another Earth Science teacher in Maine via email and we are hoping to talk to each others classrooms about the differences in climate, types of storms, etc. through skype.

• Social Bookmarking - I am vested in delicious.com, even though there are several platforms out there, which offer the same benefits. I require, at the beginning of the wiki project, each student to setup an account with Delicious. They save each bookmark on delicious as while they are working on the research project. I require them to tag each bookmark with "pcwiki", so they are easily searchable. Anyone can go to the website and search for that tag and see the resources we are using for the project. It also allows me to easily share bookmarks with students as I find them by simply tagging them when I save the bookmark. It makes the transition from home computer to school computer much easier by eliminating the need for saving all bookmarks in a document on a flash drive. I have noticed my most successful students continue to use this tool even after they leave my classroom, especially as they begin to work on projects in college. This fact makes me very happy!

Have you noticed a recurring theme in my reasoning for the use of social media? If you guessed extending the boundaries of my classroom, you guessed correctly! Each different type of social media I use were chosen specifically for that reason.

The following are a list of questions I am going to begin using in my research project. I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas about them. If you are interested in being an interviewee, please contact me via email (jbowie at putnamcityschools dot org) or direct message me on twitter. Do you use social media in your classroom? Why do you use it? Why do you not use it? What experience have you had with social media in the past? Do you feel your students are prepared for the 21st century?  Why or why not? Do they have the ICT skills needed to be successful after leaving your classroom? Are you aligning your curriculum to include these technology standards? Why or why not? Would you please share a positive or negative experience you have had with the use of social media in an educational setting?

I am looking forward to your comments! As always, thanks for reading.

A myopic look at our reality

This picture totally sums up technology in the class room. When you look at the situation in a different context, it sure is funny! I found this picture on Twitpic.