Web 2.0 Technology: Social Media
Authored by: Marcus Clark
Social media consists of a variety of online technology tools that enable people to communicate and share information and resources via the Internet. Implementing this tool into my daily lesson plans will enhance the learning of my students, which will not only satisfy the objective now, but for their continuing education. I have implemented the use of blogs, Facebook, and YouTube, with each producing its own success and failures in my teaching.
To begin, the use of blogs has been instrumental in guiding student communication. Blogs allow readers to comment on posts therefor forming a social relationship between the reader and the author of the blog. Communicating with the teacher is easier to do than communicating with other students on an intellectual level. This media outlet will expand students thinking and writing ability, a skill needed to communicate in college and in the workforce. My blog allowed students to review and complete lessons online and providing parents information about what is going on in my classes. With advantages, there are also disadvantages of using blogs in my classroom. I have found out that many students in my classroom have no access to the Internet when they leave school, which limits what and how much I can use my blog for assignments or give important dates. The use of blogs can also be time consuming. I say this because the content will have to monitor to make sure the appropriate use of this tool is being used. Blogging used in moderation has worked for my classroom, especially when the students have access to computers during school time. The use of blogging allowed me flexibility with lessons being taught.
In addition to the use of blogging, Facebook is a tool that can be used similar to blogging. I did not use Facebook as a tool for communication exactly; instead I used it for a showcase for student assignments. Projects that students created for my Business Information Management class were posted to my Facebook page and students, parents, and administrators could “like” the project. Facebook allowed me to show not only parents what was being learned, but allowed my administrators a look into my classroom without having to come in. One obstacle I had to overcome were parents not allowing the child to be a part of Facebook. As an educator, I had to explain to the parents that Facebook could be used for many outlets in life instead of all the bad that they may have heard. I was able to convince some parents to create a joint account with their child to use for educational purposes only. When I couldn’t convince a parent to be open to Facebook, students were allowed to post using another student’s account. Facebook is not one of may favorite tools, but I like how far a students work can be seen throughout the education world and not just a class of 20 students.
The last social media tool that I have implemented is the use of Jing. Jing captures anything you see on your computer screen, as an image or short video, and lets you share it instantly. As a class, we used Jing as a tutorial for assignments we cover. At times I plan a lesson and give the students a section in the chapter to teach the class. For example, creating a new folder to save documents in, students can record them performing the steps and record audio with it explaining each step. After the deadline, students will play their tutorial over the projector to the class. Students really enjoy using Jing because at some point during the semester, they want to be the teacher plus they love hearing their own voice. It gives them ownership of the learning. The disadvantage that I have occurred with using Jing in my classroom is that I do not have enough headphones for each student to use. The noise level also posed a problem when students were creating their tutorials. To combat this problem, I was able to use the entire campus for recording stations. We were able to record in the library, lecture hall, and open classrooms around the school. This separation caused me to walk and monitor students all over the place, but the results were worth it.
In conclusion, social media has many advantages and disadvantages that provide the student with tools to be successful in life after high school. Social media allows students to take the assignments created with them wherever they go without having to carry paper documents around in an organized manner. Implementing social media into your curriculum requires a lot of planning and communication with parents and administrators to ensure all elements are covered involving students and children exposure to the Internet environment. Social media pushes students to do better work and pay attention to important issues such as audience, quality research and copyright laws. It is our job to expose them to the resources available.
