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By Giorgos Cheliotis. Communications & New Media Programme, NUS. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWYgfn_eiPE&p=83FA1CD871F4A4E5 We all have to deal with students who use their laptops, mobile phones or other devices in class. Some elect to forbid the use of such devices for fear that they distract students and take away from class participation. Others tolerate the habit. I will report on my experience with encouraging students to use their personal devices in class and urging them to use popular social media platforms (predominantly Twitter) for subject-relevant discussion in and out of the classroom.
Citation preview
Let ‘em tweet: Social Media in the Classroom
Giorgos CheliotisCommunications and New Media
BuzzEd 2011, NUSJan 4, 2011
http://www.cit.nus.edu.sg/buzzed-elearning-seminar/
Agenda
• Use of laptops in classroom• Appropriate technology• Introduction to NM4881A module• Tools used for module• Experience with using Twitter• Reflection• Conclusion
Laptops in the classroom?
• Some lecturers forbid their use– Fear that students will be distracted– It feels strange to talk to an audience that is staring at
their screens• Students tend to favor such use– Feels natural– Allows them to take notes electronically and look up
names or concepts mentioned in class– Provides escape from ‘boring’ lectures– Can catch up on other things or chat while in class
How about mobile phones and other devices ?
• Similar attitudes– More negative reactions by some lecturers
because they are associated with more casual use• Students favor such use again– Phones and other devices increasingly ‘smarter’
and able to function as mini laptops– 3G network may work where campus network
may fail– Lower battery consumption
Let’s think about technology
• What is ‘appropriate technology’ for student discussion and participation?– Depends on affordances of technology• Must have certain features, e.g. allow for the posting of
questions and answers, threading, archiving
– …but critically also depends in my view on: • How well it integrates with users’ daily life• Established communication habits• User expectations of technology
NM4881ATopics in Media Studies: Social Media
• Module focused on the study and design of social media
• Using multiple tools for class purposes NUS wiki, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Delicious, Google Wave, etc.
• Everything is open access• Students conceptualize social media solutions
for real clients
Tweeting @nm4881a
Distribution of participation Sem.2 AY 2009-10
Timeline of Tweets Sem. 2 AY 2009-10
1/10/2
010
1/14/2
010
1/18/2
010
1/22/2
010
1/26/2
010
1/30/2
010
2/3/2
010
2/7/2
010
2/11/2
010
2/15/2
010
2/19/2
010
2/23/2
010
2/27/2
010
3/3/2
010
3/7/2
010
3/11/2
010
3/15/2
010
3/19/2
010
3/23/2
010
3/27/2
010
3/31/2
010
4/4/2
010
4/8/2
010
4/12/2
010
4/16/2
010
4/20/2
010
4/24/2
010
4/28/2
010
5/2/2
010
5/6/2
010
5/10/2
010
5/14/2
010
5/18/2
010
5/22/2
0100
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Distribution of participation Sem.1 AY 2010-11
Timeline of Tweets Sem. 1 AY 2010-11
8/1/2
010
8/6/2
010
8/11/2
010
8/16/2
010
8/21/2
010
8/26/2
010
8/31/2
010
9/5/2
010
9/10/2
010
9/15/2
010
9/20/2
010
9/25/2
010
9/30/2
010
10/5/2
010
10/10/2
010
10/15/2
010
10/20/2
010
10/25/2
010
10/30/2
010
11/4/2
010
11/9/2
010
11/14/2
010
11/19/2
010
11/24/2
010
11/29/2
010
12/4/2
0100
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
Reflection (1 of 2)
Benefits of twitter use in classroom• Increased participation (more and wider) because of ease
of use and low communication requirements (low barrier to entry)
• Backchannel can operate in parallel and in silence, while lecturer or students talk in class
• Opening up the conversation allows third parties to engage in discussion with students, offer tips, advice, etc.
• Students practice a popular platform for ‘serious’ discussion or debate, testing their own skills and boundaries of free expression
Reflection (2 of 2)
Concerns• Difficult to develop complex arguments; may discourage
deeper reflection on class topics• No ‘threading’, difficult to trace the origins and evolution
of a discussion• Inappropriate tweets may lead to embarrassment or
worse, though students so far quite adept at managing boundaries
• Students participate for participation’s sake, easy to spam
Conclusion
• Let students use the tools they love to use• Issue is how to integrate them meaningfully with
class activities or out of class• Opening up the discussion beyond the classroom has
benefits (and some risks)• Ask students to reflect critically on their use of the
tools (lecturer should as well)• Need more wired classrooms!