Have a look at college professor and researcher Dr Rey Junco’s blog all about the vast research he has undertaken in social media and college student’s and how Universities can use social media to their advantage. Packed with several interesting articles and infographics, Dr Rey Junco certainly sells the positive argument to social media in education. Listen to the podcast on this page where Dr Rey Junco discusses his latest findings on social media and students. Dr Rey Junco also discusses the digital divide and the need for Universities/College’s to be more supportive of students who may need training in using certain aspects of technology and social media.
The podcast interview also highlights that student’s sharing links and checking up on friends are “information collection and sharing activities” he argues although they may not be the same as academic activity of information collection and sharing when you do a research paper; “there is an overlap in the underlying elements of these behaviours – they are more academic type activities”
Therefore, a general use of social media can without a student realising help with information collection – this in turn may help research techniques needed in schools/universities. It does, however, according to Dr Junco depend on the links they share.
If you are a student and want to incorporate social media with learning why not set up a delicious account a site to “keep, share and discover the best of the web” It is a brilliant site to keep all your bookmarks in order and retrieve easily whilst studying/writing and best of all its free! You can also take a look at my recent delicious bookmarks in the side bar to learn more about how digital platforms can affect education and learning.
Some examples of social media sites.
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Filed under Digital Divide, Social Media
This infographic highlights the increasing types of social media schools in USA use and the pros and cons. Click on the image to make it larger and see the interesting findings.
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Filed under Social Media
According to the ebook from iCrossing by Antony Mayfield, social media can be defined as “a group of new kinds of online media” they can all be categorised as involving some or all of the following: participation, openness, conversation, community and connectedness. To sum up effectively – social media is user generated content. The internet is changing how we connect and perceive others and ourselves; it is as the author Andrew Keen says the perfect platform for “human’s narcissism” and social media is the ideal stage to flaunt yourself! The pie chart below (created in 2011) shows how average time was spent on the internet with time spent on social media being 14 minutes in an hour.
More and more young people are engaging in social media in fact research by Social Media Solutions LLC show 57% “of social media profile owners age 18 – 29 maintain a profile on more than one site” and with 96% of students on Facebook, 81% of those students accessing Facebook everyday and 43% on Twitter; integrating this top social media site into education would appear fruitful.
One such book which encourages the collaboration of Facebook and education is Hybrid Learning and Education by Joseph Fong et al. Dedicating a chapter on how educators can set up a Facebook page to encourage and enhance student’s learning; the ebook supports evolving education around technology. For more information on the ebook – look at the Goodreads in the side bar.
It appears many educators have with success embraced the use of Facebook and Twitter – amongst other – social media sites to entice students and improve their learning experience. One such teacher is Delainia Haugh an English teacher from Roosevelt High School, Minneapolis, USA – who incorporates Twitter and IM (instant messaging) in her lessons. The video below features Delainia Haugh and some of her students.
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Andrew Keen Youtube interview
Slideshare
Youtube
ISP Review
Filed under Digital Divide, Social Media
As discussed in my previous post – the digital divide is widening. I found this great article on http://www.scotsman.com about issues facing schools in Scotland when attempting to eradicate the digital divide. Click here to read.
Filed under Digital Divide
Western children of the 21st century are digital natives – a term derived by Marc Pensky in his book Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants (2011) – simply meaning they were born after the introduction of digital technology. Therefore it makes sense to join forces with digital technology and platforms to enhance learning in (and out of) the classroom.
One school which has embraced this relationship between children and digital platforms is Cedars School of Excellence in Greenock, Scotland. Believed to be the first in the world to use iPads in every lesson – Cedars School of Excellence (a public school) provides each pupil with an iPad to help aid the learning process. Head of Computing at Cedars School of Excellence – Fraser Speirs commented that since the introduction of the iPad’s (in late 2010) there has been a change in some teacher’s attitude towards technology in the classroom as now being beneficial. Compiling the use of apps such as Binary Madness HD (a game that challenges the user to convert decimal numbers to binary) in his classes Fraser claims these apps “reinforce specific parts of learning” Click this link for more information.
In an ever increasing digital world this can only be a positive step forward in learning, but where does this leave children in state schools where funding is being cut? Or the 2 million children who according to the e-learning Foundation charity have no internet connection at home? Below is an informative video taken from the e-learning foundation about the need for technology and access to the internet in learning.
E Learning – Computer from School Website on Vimeo.
This infographic shows results from a questionnaire posed to teachers about the success of different types of educational sources.
The results clearly show that the majority of teachers questioned supported the statement that ‘digital resources such as classroom technology and web-based programs help my students academic achievement’.
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Filed under Digital Divide
Education and Digital Media 