Social media in courses

The use of social media for teaching and learning in university courses is rare even though university staff and students are prolific users of social media. Social media is used by staff and students for personal, research or entertainment purposes in their own time but rarely for learning purposes in student courses. However, researchers and theorists such as Vygotsky (1978) and Siemens (2004) have clearly demonstrated the learning benefits of collaboration and the uses of social media technologies. In a recent research article Investigating Instructional Strategies for Using Special Media in Formal and Informal Learning published in the open access journal The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning (IRRODL), the views of eight faculty staff about using social media were analysed and discussed. The participant faculty staff were involved in university public administration courses across the US and they had already integrated social media in their classes. ‘Social connections and networks’, suggests the paper, ‘are changing the ways we think about knowledge and learning and the ways that we organize work and ideas’ (p. 89). The use of social media can help educators to connect formal and informal learning which is useful because ‘formal learning is only a small fraction of the lifelong experience of human learning’ (p. 89). This study Investigating Instructional Strategies for Using Special Media in Formal and Informal Learning addressed questions about ‘how to use social media to facilitate student learning’ (p. 99) by focussing on its use, integration into courses and faculty concerns. Whereas most lecturers teach using traditional lecture-base instruction, previous studies have found that students attribute greater levels of credibility to lecturers who openly engage with them using social media, states the article (p. 90). All participants in the study used social media, particularly Facebook and LinkedIn for their own personal benefit although learning and content management systems, which can be limiting, were used most frequently for teaching. This is not surprising because of concerns for student privacy and security although faculty staff did report that they were unable to access some social media or download software to their work computers. The use of social media for ‘discussions and collaborations were strategies that most participants mentioned’ (p. 94) in relation to coursework although the informal and unstructured nature of social media appeared to be at odds with the organised nature of regular classes. The interviewees did have some success outside of regular classes using social media such as discovering and sharing content, noting news reports and sharing and discussing audio and video material. ‘Their experience suggests that learning on social media is informal, conversational and driven by user’s interests’ (p. 95) which may not sit comfortably with some faculty staff. The participants did not use social media directly for assessment purposes because the online activities were largely informal, open and self-regulated and were used as a supplement to reinforce coursework. A number of concerns were raised by the participants including cyber-security and privacy, staff professional identity and students posting inappropriate material. Ethical issues such as ‘cyberbullying, marginalizing students, and being unfair because of befriending one student over another’ (p. 96) and the student-teacher relationship were also raised. Faculty support such as training sessions for students by IT staff, library staff and digital media specialists was seen as a key to success. However, there was a perception by participants that ‘there was a need for crafting and implementing clearly stated institutional policies on the use of social media’ (p. 97) and that ‘more instructors would be willing to try to integrate new technologies in teaching but only if they knew that they were supported and their rights were protected by their institutions’ (p. 97). ‘Social media and networking technologies have a significant potential to recreate the learning environment between student and teacher’ (p. 97) states the article, although training is needed for staff. Staff valued faculty support to further understand social learning theory and best practices using social media as well as some of the pitfalls in encouraging ‘social and active learning that is learner-centred and informal’ (p. 99). The use of social media in post-compulsory education coursework will be realised through many investigations of this type across a wide variety of training and university disciplines. This research article Investigating Instructional Strategies for Using Special Media in Formal and Informal Learning, based on a larger study, provides a very useful template for further research into the use of social media in courses across a range of disciplines. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gerry White is Principal Research Fellow: Teaching & Learning using Digital Technologies, Australian Council for Educational Research This article was first published on the Digital Education Research Network (DERN) Read the full article on DERN (free registration required) Photo: flickr / Ethan Hei