Social Media use in Teaching

Social Media Use In My Teaching

At our school the children receive a Google account when they start. Every class is expected to have students using Blogger in order to share their learning journey with family/whanau and friends and as Kath Cassidy (2013) noted in her video, the children of today have grown up with digital technology so it is normal for them to be using it. 

I have my children post their writing such as poems, descriptions, photos of their work/art, audio files and videos on their blogs. They are also free to add areas of interest too, such as information and photos of  topics they are passionate about. Some of my boys love motor-cross and have photos of motorbikes with a few sentences.

It is a great tool for encouraging boys in particular to write. When these boys are free to choose what they write, they are more inclined to do so and when they can add images as well then that just makes it more engaging! I wonder too if just seeing their thoughts in print is a motivation as it is neat and easy to read, which in some cases isn't at all like their handwriting.

Students are also keen to write when they know it is published to the web and they have an audience. But here lies one of the problems. When I look at my students blogs I notice there are very few comments, which means family/whanau and friends aren't reading these or are rarely reading them. 

In order to solve this problem I may need to run a session with parents on using their Google accounts and their blogs. This will hopefully encourage them to help their children and to make comments on their posts. 

Another problem, with children accessing their blogs at anytime and anywhere, is the lack of quality control (Melhuish, K, 2013). Finding the time to check each students blog can be very time consuming. I have spent a lot of time ensuring they understand the importance of keeping safe on the internet but probably not enough around ensuring their work is of a reasonable standard. I am aware too, that the mistakes they do make give an accurate picture of where they are along their learning journey and that as they mature and become more proficient the reader will see progress.

As for using Twitter, I have to admit that I haven't even thought about using it with my children. I feel a bit anxious about using it, as I worry about the fact they are only year 3/4 and the privacy issue bothers me. After watching Kath Cassidy's video though, I am thinking it may be a fantastic tool for connecting my students with other students around the world and having a class account would solve the privacy issues as I will be the one responsible. 

I also watched a Ted Talk by William Ward, "Incorporating Social Media in the classroom", in which he makes some really interesting points such as when students are in a classroom without social media, one person speaks at a time (the speaker may not be interesting or engaging). But if they are using social media they can all add to the conversation, which improves engagement. Another point he made was the fact that on social media a whole range of people can join the conversation, allowing students to learn from experts from all around the world. I think I need to explore this option more and perhaps change my mindset!

References: 

Melhuish, K.(2013). Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’ professional learning. Master Thesis. The University of Waikato. Retrieved on 05 May, 2015 from http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/han... 

Tvoparents. (2013, May 21). Using Social Media in the Classroom.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riZStaz8Rno