Social Media

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Social Media

Serena Matheson, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Definitions and background

Affordances

Constraints

Social media gives us the ability to work together collaborative to produce a product, and build a knowledge base of information however, before that can occur, it is necessary to ensure that teachers and students are effectively using social media in the classroom by the teacher and the students. Students use social media in their private lives but that does not mean that its use translates to them knowing how to use social media effectively in the classroom or that students have the desire to mix learning environments with social media (Tay, & Allen, 2011). Social media makes it easier to be part of collaboration without actually collaborating with the group. People will often meet online and divide the work equally among the group members and complete the tasks without getting feedback from other group members (Tay, & Allen, 2011). Research shows that students are not using social media technology in their studies to the full extent of its ability. This means that it is necessary for teachers to ensure that students are made aware of its capabilities as a learning technology for the classroom. (Dabbagh & Kitsantas, 2012). According to Powers, Alhussain, Averbeck, and Warner, the challenge for educators is that “technological innovation needs to be enacted alongside pedagogical innovation” (2012, p. 242). In order for educators to get the desired results, teachers must become facilitators who help their students see the connections between social media resources and education (Evans, 2013).


Social media also has the potential to cause concerns legally, ethically, and socially, making it necessary for institutions and workplaces to put into place strict mandates surrounding social media use in their codes of conduct (Woodley & Silvestri, 2014). Schools systems are hesitant in allowing the use of social media for learning in the academic realm because “the “copy-cut-and-paste” generation frequently exploits the powerful affordances of Web 2.0 technologies to re-organise, edit, remix, recreate, repackage content for republication, thus plagiarising texts with impunity” (Rambe, 2012, p. 133).


Schools and universities are grappling with problems with student’s misuse of social media use in their private lives. Students do not seem to realize the negative impact of this type of social media use. Employers are requesting social media passwords to check out potential employees. Without realizing it, students are risking current and future employability from inappropriate social media posts (Woodley & Silvestri, 2014).

Links

1. How Social Media is Being Used in Education by Katie Lepi

2. 10 Social Media Sites For Education by Lila Daniels

3. 6 Pros & Cons of Social Media in the Classroom by Aimee Hosler

4. Socia Media Cheatsheet For Teachers (And Other Bipeds)

5. Digitally Speaking / Using Social Media to Reach Your Community by William M. Ferriter

Works Cited

Ahn, J. (2011). Digital divides and social network sites: Which students participate in social media? Journal of Educational Computing Research, 45(2), 147-163. doi: 10.2190/EC.45.2.b

Appel, M. (2012). Are heavy users of computer games and social media more computer literate? Computers & Education, 59(4), 1339-1349. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2012.06.004

Buus, L. (2012). Scaffolding teachers integrate social media into a problem-based learning approach? Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 10(1), 13-22.

Casey , Gail. (2013). Social media in the classroom: A simple yet complex hybrid environment for students. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 22 (1), 5-24.

DeAndrea, D., Ellison, N.B., LaRose, R., Steinfield, C., Fiore, A. (2012). Serious social media: On the use of social media for improving students' adjustment to college. Internet and Higher Education, 15, 15-23. doi: 10.1016/j.iheduc.2011.05.009

Chen, B., & Bryer, T. (2012). Investigating instructional strategies for using social media in formal and informal learning. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 13(1), 87-104.

Dabbagh, N., & Kitsantas, A. (2012). Personal learning environments, social media, and self-regulated learning: A natural formula for connecting formal and informal learning. The Internet and Higher Education, 15(1), 3-8. doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2011.06.002

Evans, C. (2014). Twitter for teaching: Can social media be used to enhance the process of learning? British Journal of Educational Technology, 45, 902–915. doi: 10.1111/bjet.12099

Friedman, L. W., & Friedman, H. H. (2013). Using social media technologies to enhance online learning. Journal of Educators Online, 10(1), 22.

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Poellhuber, B., & Anderson, T. (2011). Distance students' readiness for social media and collaboration. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 12(6), 102-125.

Powers, L., Alhussain, R., Averbeck, C., & Warner, A. (2012). Perspectives on distance education and social media. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 13(4), 241-245.

Rambe, P. (2012). Constructive disruptions for effective collaborative learning: Navigating the affordances of social media for meaningful engagement. Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 10(1), 132-146.

Tay, E., & Allen, M. (2011). Designing social media into university learning: Technology of collaboration or collaboration for technology? Educational Media International, 48(3), 151-163. doi: 10.1080/09523987.2011.607319

Woodley, C., & Meredith, C. (2012). Supporting student transition through social media. American Journal of Distance Education, 26(2), 86-95.

Woodley, C., Silvestri, M. (2014). The internet is forever: Student indescretions reveal the need for effective social media policies in academia. The American Journal of Distance Education, 28: 126-138. doi: 10.1080/08923647.2014.896587