Handle with care: social media for teaching & learning

The Educationalist. By Alexandra Mihai

Welcome to a new issue of “The Educationalist”. This week I thought it might be interesting to look into the use of social media for teaching and learning. At first sight, using social media seems an interesting and potentially useful way to engage students, especially in the context of online teaching. We often assume they are already using various social networks and thus integrating them in the learning process would be a natural step. However, there are several things to consider in order to make sure students’ learning experience takes place in a safe environment. Below you can read some of my thoughts on using social media, as well as some tips and resources for using Twitter and blogs in your courses. Hope you find this useful and I look forward to your comments and ideas. Have a nice weekend!

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The use of social media for teaching and learning requires a carefully designed approach, whereby the social networks are well integrated in the curriculum and their use enhances the learning experience. Moreover, one needs to keep in mind that even though students might use the various social media sites, they usually do it for personal purposes, thus their integration in the learning process also requires a shift of mindset for the students.

Before looking into the potential benefits of using social media for teaching and learning, here are three things worth keeping in mind:

• Only use social media if and when it can enhance the learning experience and help you and your students reach the learning objectives;

• If you decide to use social media (either a certain social network, or blogs, for instance), make sure they are well integrated in the learning activities and that you explain their added value to the students;

• Ideally, only use social media that you are familiar with yourself; this helps in discovering their educational potential and finding the best ways to use them in your classroom.

I chose two different forms of social media to discuss in this week’s newsletter: microblogging (Twitter) and blogging. The choice is based on my personal experience, as I find these two tools can provide students with interesting learning spaces, quite different from the formal classroom (be it on or offline).

Twitter

Twitter is a social network where users interact using 280-character (originally 140 characters) messages. This form of microblogging offers a dynamic environment that can be adapted and used to enhance interaction in your course.

Here are 5 reasons why you could use Twitter for teaching and learning:

1. Use Twitter to connect to experts in your field and “bring them into the classroom”; you can read more tips on that in my last newsletter;

2. Twitter can also be a way of bringing your students out of the “bubble” and exposing them to a variety of opinions; remember though that you are using it as a learning environment, so always provide a suitable framework for discussion as well as feedback;

3. Use Twitter as a class communication tool to make important announcements;

4. Twitter also provides a good platform for class conversations, and thus can be a tool for various assignments, especially when teaching online;

5. And last but not least, you can use Twitter to enhance your own professional network: find experts in your field and exchange ideas and resources. I can speak from my personal experience, Twitter has provided me with an amazing Personal Learning Network that I would have not been able to build otherwise.

Here are 5 resources that include tips on how to best use Twitter in your courses:

• The Twitter Guide For Teachers: a collection of creative ideas and tips for using Twitter in your courses;

• Twitter – A Teaching and Learning Tool: some tips for building and using a Twitter network;

• Teaching with Twitter: 10 useful tips for using Twitter in your classroom, from Steve Wheeler;

• 15 Ways To Use Twitter In Education (For Students And Teachers Alike): some more ideas to inspire you if you’re considering using Twitter for teaching;

• Using Twitter in your teaching: some considerations on using Twitter in education, from Queen Mary University.

Blogging

Blogs are an extended version of Twitter messages and can provide another interesting platform to enhance your learning activities. Here are five ideas on how you can use blogging in your courses:

1. Blogs can be used for various writing assignments; the added value of using blog posts rather than essays is that your students can learn how to write for the online environment (including referencing other online sources) and for specific target audiences (i.e. non-academic writing);

2. Blogging can also provide a good platform for collaborative writing as well as discussing with peers (and not only); you can also provide feedback via commenting on students’ posts;

3. You can use blogs as ePortfolios whereby students can compile various assignments;

4. Like Twitter, blogging can also be a way of creating a “learning community” and communicating various content-related as well as organizational aspects of the course;

5. You can create your own blog where you can share resources and news with your students.

Here are 5 resources to help you get started with blogging in the classroom:

• Get Started With Classroom Blogging: ideas on how to start using blogging as a teaching and learning space;

• Using Blogging as a Learning Tool: ideas for using blogging for learning;

• How Blogging is Being Used in the Classroom Today: Research Results: benefits of using blogging in the classroom and some usiful tips;

• Blogging in the classroom can help both students and educators: ideas on how to use and customise blogs for your course;

• Edublogs: user-friendly platform to start your course blog.

Privacy and copyright issues

I’ve outlined the potential benefits of using Twitter and blogs for teaching and learning. However, before integrating them in your course, you need to remember that these are public websites (unless you go for a closed, password-protected version) and therefore you have to be aware and make your students aware of privacy and copyright-related issues. Also, if your students are reluctant to use their already existing social media accounts, offer them as an alternative to create one specifically for your course. As plan B, you could offer students the choice to opt out of an activity involving social media and take another activity instead. Whatever your decision, never lose sight of your main aim: to create a secure learning environment for your students.