Having always been someone who preferred to live a bit more on the outside, watching and observing, I am a bit lost as to how to embrace all the new social media that exists. I have never posted a “What’s on my mind” on Facebook, nor a “What are you doing” on Twitter. Yet, I get the power that those social media sites and others offer to citizens around the world. Humans are social beings.
In Gordon Brown’s video, Wiring a Web for a Global Good, his comment that “What we see unlocks what we cannot see,” made me wonder about what power social media could have in a classroom. Although, he was referring to images that have been shared globally and have spurred global action among the human race to act more responsibly and sympathetically, it doesn’t mean that classrooms and schools couldn’t benefit from giving students an opportunity to see each other more clearly. The more that people open up, the more chances there are to create ties and better understand each other.
In elementary school, bonds are easier to build it seems because the students spend the whole day together. However, by the time students get to middle school all that changes. The changing of classes brings a much larger social network for students to access. That potential social network seems to grow exponentially through high school and into college. So, how can social media be used in the classroom to create a stronger learning community?
Well, I came across a blog that shared 13 different examples of how social media was being used in classrooms (middle school – college). Check it out here:
http://bestonlineuniversities.com/2009/13-enlightening-case-studies-of-social-media-in-the-classroom/. One example that I found interesting was that Stanford offers Facebook office hours. I am curious about the success of that. Currently, I am teaching developmental math at a community college and have been pondering how to provide students more access to me after class hours. Yet, as I read through the list, I realized that most of the examples were more about giving students access to class content or other information and less about creating a learning community that was learning more about the other members.
My preference for incorporating social media would be to use the social media to create a stronger learning community by linking the learners and building their willingness to rely on each other. But, in order to achieve that, I suppose I might have to let someone know “What’s on my mind.” Hmmm….I will have to think about that.
References:
Brown, G. (2009, July) Gordon Brown: Wiring a web for global good [Video File]. Video posted to http://www.ted.com/talks/gordon_brown.html
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