This blog will investigate these issues and look to provide some answers to these questions. As well as looking at the other potential benefits and pitfalls of social media, including facebook and twitter.
The second element the blog will look at investigating is RSS feeds and push technology; is it relevant, how could it be used and why are more people not aware of it.
Firstly lets look at facebook; the basic principle of Facebook is being able to socially interact with people regardless of location. This involves a number of things, such as photo's, videos and status updates. this expands into creating groups which people can be part of and playing games against other users.
The principle of Facebook should allow it to be applied to a teaching element, however there are many limitations to facebook that limit its use. Let's look at the advantages; easy sharing of various forms of media (photos, videos), instant updates when new information appears, groups relating to common interest and profiles created for specific purposes. So, in a teaching context, you could set up a facebook and allow students access to the content, which they could access whenever they want either on site or off site. These means that they could see new videos and images and comments relating to their course and units. The downside accessibility wise is that not all people have a facebook account so not all students would have access, also some education establishments filter/ban facebook so access on site may not be granted.
The sharing aspect of facebook is appealing to teachers and that instant communication is also a good element but personally I think there are too many moderation issue in terms of what can be put on there and the accessing of personal information. From an education perspective if you are operating with your school/college's permission then all well and good but if not then there are some devastating legal implications to be considered including data protection not just for yourself but your students. For me it is not worth the hassle and is definitely just a personal use form of social media, until there are ways around the potential issues I believe it could do more damage in the classroom than good, especially as it gives students one more distraction. A classic example is when in a computer room and trying to get learners to complete a web based task, this made more difficult given they have already got access to facebook if this is then combined with using facebook to complete that task then I think it would take a lot longer. It also becomes harder to manage as the site you normally direct away from is now the focal point and the temptaion for students to check statuses and other aspects would be to great and reduce productivity. If Facebook was just being used a point of reference for a team or course and moderated well then it could provide a good deal of information for learners but only as a news feed.
Twitter is another form of social media that I like as a concept but can not really see any education value except for a news feed for students, which many colleges are using already. I have set up a twitter account for the academies the college runs however the task of promoting it is the real challenge. Getting learners to follow you so that they can see updates is the make or break element, maybe younger learners will be easier to engage with as it is fast becoming the method of communication for younger generations. The other way to promote is to start using it from the very start of a term and with a new group so they do not know any different and it is seen as the normal technology used. I believe it would be best used as a new feed directing students to necessary websites, articles and constantly bringing news to students attention.
In terms of an educational point of view there are a number of areas to look at when considering its use, provking debate could be one and if linked to the right articles and tweeters then it could inspire learners to discuss contemporary topics. This could be in the form of a starter activity designed to generate ideas around a new subject.
If learners are willing to engage with the twitter page then that would open doors to new areas and levels of interactivity, including instant uploads during class to contribute to lessons. E.g. Fitness Training, demonstrate a stretching technique. Learner takes picture with phone and instantly shares via twitter. It has potential but there are areas to iron out and as with all social media it is the area of security, accessibility and inclusivity.
This is the crux of the matter with social media, it is designed to be seen so may not be as secure, information is avalaible to a global audience and unless you know how to manage the privacy settings and the possible consequences of personal data being unwillingly shared are high and potentially career ending. Accessibility should not be a problem as most students have smart devices with access to these social media toold but not all do and this is the problem, even if just one student does not have access it instantly limits the potential use. Inclusivity, this works on an assumtion that everyone wants to get involved and share in a public domain. This may not be the case, so alternatives need to be devised or the method can not be used. Also as it is so public then the potential for cyberbullying increases and this reduces accessibility and inclusivity of the methods. They have potential but unless privacy issues can be managed tightly and limited then the dangers of these tools possibly outweight the benefits.
Finally, push technology; a net based technology initated by the publisher in terms of when they want to share information then they can. This means other people can subscribe to this via an RSS feed which continually updates and lets you know when something new appears. This allows you to group various interests together in one place through an RSS feed and be told when something new appears. Examples could include this blog being linked to various news and sports organisations and when there are breaking stories it will appear. RSS feeds were being pushed by googlereader and reviewers rave about this function however, this function is being scrapped. Very strange but there are a number of RSS sites around for people to use. In education terms if push technology can be utilised to regularly inform students of coursework and assignments due, resources to check out and other relevant news for them. However, in order to fully utilise this it would require more research into how to set it up and maximise its potential but watch this space.
Just chilling at E-learning, Standard!!!
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