Social Media in the Classroom

I bet Facebook is banned at your school. However, did you know that Facebook was originally designed for university students and was then opened to schools? Ironic, if you think that a tool used by so many people, a tool that is so integrated in so many people's lives in and outside the workplace, at tool that is used extensively by businesses, a tool developed for students to connect, is the tool that we ban our students from using. 

Without question, social media has impacted our world in ways that we could never have anticipated. It has changed the way news spread, the way companies do their marketing, the way friends communicate and they way we learn. Web 2.0 and the new generation of internet users are active contributors, sharing and collaborating over thousands of miles on projects and learning. Within education too, social media has begun to make an impact. Teachers from all over the world collaborate on a daily basis for professional development purposes. They help their students become part of a global classroom, they give their students opportunities to communicate with real audiences and they show students the value of sharing, contributing and collaborating. As a result, without question, the educational literature available on the subject of social media in education is overwhelmingly positive. In addition, OFSTED, the Office for Standards in Education (equivalent to ERO in New Zealand) have even commented on the positive effects of social media in schools.

Perhaps the biggest limitation towards the successful incorporation of social media in schools, is professional development. There is often a major generation gap between policy makers, senior managers, teachers and students. Students understand the content driven environment that requires active contribution rather than passive observation, where many ‘adults’ have been left behind to the point of not even understanding the purpose of these tools. The risk however, of schools that fail to incorporate this technology, is that teachers and schools may appear to become out of date as they will not be preparing students to write for the new types of media that is being used for publishing and communication.

Social media is a fantastic tool, its value clearly demonstrated by teachers, rather than governments who have instigated the inclusion in their classroom and schools. The tool will however only be as effective as the teacher, as in effect, social media is about communication. Teachers who are not able to communicate clearly using this medium, or who are not able to teach their students to communicate clearly using this medium, are ultimately obsolete in the 21^st century classroom. Whether educators choose to embrace social media or not, our students are living and will increasingly live in a 21^st century world. It is after all, our job to prepare our students. 

Are you using social media in your classroom? How effectively?

Parents, Progress and Technology

There are a huge range of articles floating around about the use of twitter in the classroom. See here, here and here for some of my favourites. Teachers are using You Tube in the classroom. We are using Google apps, and we are using blogs like this, this and this (see my class' blogs here, here and here). Some classses are even involved in quad blogging. We are using mobile phones and other smart devices in the classroom like this. My kids are also using sites like Edmodo and Socrative.

I have watched my students collaboratively write scripts for their science documentaries using google documents or completing SWOT analyses about cyber safety and M-learning. Students then filmed their documentaries using their smart devices. Students look up answers on their smart devices instead of using textbooks and they generate answers from interactive on line simulations like this one about transpiration. My students also email me homework and study questions. They listen to their music whilst doing maths and then listen to explanatory videos when they get stuck. We can also record our class discussions and post them to the web.

For many of my students who already have Facebook accounts and literally thousands of followers on Twitter and Tumblr, the above is nothing new. For other students, I have had to send emails to their parents to explain why their child would like to bring their ipod touch to school. For others, I have had to explain why we are using smart devices in maths (hello, chicken coop fractions!). As an avid tweeter myself, I wanted to get my maths class tweeting support/help/homework/tips/reminders to each other as well as tweet their progress on a school wide maths treasure hunt (think school blue print with measurement problems as the clues). However I encountered some serious resistance to this idea from parents because they did not see the need for social networking in maths. (Granted, this is an outside of the box idea). Most of us might be able to do maths out of textbooks but after 10 years of this without success, is it time to try a new approach for some students? One of support and communication where they are reflecting and thinking (read tweeting) about maths outside the classroom?

The tools and resources that are available to education is enormous. But are parents ready for the progress that education is making? Are they aware of the technological demands that are placed on people in the work place today? Our school has introduced My Portfolio and had many teachers panicked and stressed because they do not have the skills to use it effectively. Graphic designers, photographers even those in marketing and leadership require e-portfolios and even twitter accounts to show their work or influence. Yet some of the older students in my classes are not allowed to use their computers at home for anything other than research. Web 2.0 has infiltrated on so many levels of education, but are parents aware of the progress? The importance? Or the effectiveness? By no stretch do I believe we should use technology for everything we do. Only where it enhances or improves the end product. Technology is however enhancing the possibilities and the range of students that teachers can reach and engage.

Lots of teachers, governments and definitely students might be ready to embrace the benefits of technology in education, but are parents ready?