Use of social medi within the classroom
How do social media can enhance communication between the instructor and the students compared to traditional communication tools such as email and phone?
I find like Christine, that there is a fine line between being an instructor through a private Facebook group and being a little too invested in a students life. Facebook is a place where young adults post pictures, status' and videos, having a young daughter I know that their are probably things she wouldn't want her teacher seeing on her Facebook! i find that IM or Email is the best choice for me as an instructor.
Michael and Christine,
Thanks for adding to the conversation. I used FBook mainly as a Frequently Asked Questions Discussion Board. Student would ask any questions about the course, assignments, etc. and other students and/or I would answer their question within 24 hours. I didn't require students to use it, but allowed them to join the private group pages if they liked. At the time I had 220 students in the online course and about 70 signed up. Those that signed up liked it, but the majority of the class told me they preferred the Blackboard Discussion Board.
While going through this unit of the class, I had some of the same thoughts, Christine.
To follow up on these points to some extent, I have a few questions for any instructors who have used Facebook successfully in the classroom.
Did you use it for daily/weekly communication and reminders, or did you use it to primarily facilitate S2S communication with group work or peer review activities?
If the former, did you ever forget a reminder and then have students complain (despite due dates being clearly posted in the class itself)?
My primary worry is that with such catering the students will decrease their participation in the classroom itself (and their university email).
Thank you for any thoughts or shared experiences you can offer!
~Michael
Kelly,
I did some research with my previous online course in using FBook and discussion boards. It's good to gather feedback like that from your students to see how to effectively use the communication tools. Thanks!
I love the idea of using Facebook or another social media tool to communicate with students. I teach in the online environment, which includes a live classroom twice a week as well as many discussion board threads throughout the course. I have long taken for granted that I was using all of the technology necessary to promote participation in my classroom. I firmly agree with the point that by employing a technology that the students are already using regularly is a great way to keep them engaged and informed. I do understand that there are cons to this technological option in that set up and strict monitoring might be time consuming. With my courses being only 7 weeks long, I am not certain about the return on investment. But I also think that after the set up stage is complete, there would be much less work involved moving forward and that this could be a real benefit to my students. Great idea!
Richard,
Excellent. Do you have any links to some of your favorite? Especially those with some relevant humor? I always like to look at ones others have used. Thanks!
Have had a lot of luck using Youtube downloads in my chats, for guest speakers and some relevant humor
Emmanuel,
Cool. It's good to learn how others are using Facebook and other social media tools. Thanks for sharing.
I have used Facebook more than twitter in my classroom. I prefer Facebook to Twitter because it readily available. Facebook is used over the television sets for music and class presentations.
Christine,
You ask very good questions. These are constantly being investigated to see how not to cross that "fine line" too far. Thanks for your input.
When it comes to social media within the classroom I can see a positive and negative side to it. While on the one hand it is great to keep up with the times and it seems to be a more convenient way for most students these days to maintain communication within the classroom and with the instructor, on the other hand are we beginning to cater to the convenience of the student too much? In a society where our young children even expect to have the convenience of a smart phone readily in hand, where do we draw the line to the expectation that everything should be made convenient? Responsibility and culpability can at times be lacking in the virtual education world.
Valerie,
I hear many instructors like Google Voice. It's always good to find free technology that works. Thanks.
I use Google voice, which is free. You can request a phone number, and then I use it on my phone to text or make calls so it doesn't share my personal number. I can also use it on the computer - and make welcome calls using VOIP.
Jenn,
Skype is good too. I try all sorts of technologies to communicate and try to meet the students where they are. We all find what works for us, but I'm glad this module made you think about other things. Thanks!
Dr. Crews,
I have never thought of using either Facebook or Twitter for classroom use. In fact, I was taught not to engage students in social media. After reviewing this course material, I realize that I could in fact set up a private group and not have my student access my private account. I'm very technology based and prefer instant messages and social media in compare to voice communication. Part of this is due to my anxiety of speaking to people I cannot see and do not know personally. the other is many of my students have very unique names which I know I will not say correctly.
Are you aware of any free or low cost texting methods that does not require me using my personal cell number? I have set up a separate Skype account for my students. This allows some boundaries as I found my students calling at all times of the day. However, that does not include texting and many of my students respond much better to text than to email or phone calls.
Thanks for your input. Jenn
Elodie,
I have used Twitter and Facebook in an online course before. Those students who are on those social medias all the time are more timely in their communication as they don't check email as much. Some of my students tell me that email is so 2010. ;-)
