I want my learners on social media
This summer has been one of revelations and AH-ha moments.
I've grown so much as a designer and I have to attribute some, if not most, of that to Web 2.0 and social media.
Social media has led me to information about everything from the very first intake of a project, through the development, designing, communicating with stakeholders, and implementation.
So why social media? Why would I want learners to get on their phones to surf or post Pinterest, Twitter, or any social program?
While there are many reasons you can explore on your own, the following is most important for me.
"Time of Need Concept" --- Give them what they need, when they need it.
I'm pretty sure it's a scientific law by now that young people have their phones attached to their hip. Many moons ago, learner were told to put a pause on their phone during a lesson or seminar, but now a days we are telling them to bring and use their devices so we can show them tools, how to access information quickly, share our experiences, and connect as a network.
While this may bring up the issue of distraction... let's not forget that an engaging lesson or curriculum will hold a learner's focus. SO let's not make it an excuse, but think of it as a potential obstacle we can overcome.
The take away here:
1. Start with a solid foundation in pedagogy or andragogy.
2. Analyze what tool(s) would work best for your learners, content, and environment.
3. Slowly incorporate them into your training or learning experiences.
4. Have fun with it and get feedback from the students to determine their perspective.
This blog was inspired by: Dennen, V. (n.d.). Social Media and Instructional Design. In Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (4th ed., pp. 237-243).
I've grown so much as a designer and I have to attribute some, if not most, of that to Web 2.0 and social media.
Social media has led me to information about everything from the very first intake of a project, through the development, designing, communicating with stakeholders, and implementation.
So why social media? Why would I want learners to get on their phones to surf or post Pinterest, Twitter, or any social program?
While there are many reasons you can explore on your own, the following is most important for me.
"Time of Need Concept" --- Give them what they need, when they need it.
I'm pretty sure it's a scientific law by now that young people have their phones attached to their hip. Many moons ago, learner were told to put a pause on their phone during a lesson or seminar, but now a days we are telling them to bring and use their devices so we can show them tools, how to access information quickly, share our experiences, and connect as a network.
While this may bring up the issue of distraction... let's not forget that an engaging lesson or curriculum will hold a learner's focus. SO let's not make it an excuse, but think of it as a potential obstacle we can overcome.
The take away here:
1. Start with a solid foundation in pedagogy or andragogy.
2. Analyze what tool(s) would work best for your learners, content, and environment.
3. Slowly incorporate them into your training or learning experiences.
4. Have fun with it and get feedback from the students to determine their perspective.
This blog was inspired by: Dennen, V. (n.d.). Social Media and Instructional Design. In Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (4th ed., pp. 237-243).
Enjoy reading your blog! I am wondering the target population in your class and how much control do you want at your hand when using social media in class.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Sometimes I feel the posts are a bit random, but then again so am I :)
DeleteAs for the target population and controls... It would really depend on the context of who I'm designing or facilitating for and what the outcomes are.
In a K-12 setting, I would want the use of social media to be more structured for privacy reasons and so time-on-task stays high. I see it being used more for research, reflection, or collaboration. With scaffolded questions, the students would draw their own conclusions.
If I were to create or teach for the business/corporate sector, I envision the social platform more flexible in that they would be posting, pinning, tweeting, etc based on their needs.
Set up the platform prior to implementation (i.e. facebook group, pinterest board, or hashtag), establish a goal and purpose of what the tech can do for them (this creates buy-in), then allow them to use it and augment it based on their needs.
In both cases, each tool would need to be monitored to evaluate for proper implementation and if goals are being achieved.
This was a great read! I'm currently running a social media assignment for my students to supplement missed points on their discussions. I have to agree 100% with the recommendation of slow integration as you want to monitor and evaluate your approach just to make sure it's working. And I definitely think it's ok if my current attempt at applying social media doesn't meet my initial expectations. I know it may not be a surefire guarantee on engagement. I'll just go back and tweak the strategy.
ReplyDelete