The folks over at Best Masters in Educationhave provided the EducationWorldCommunitywith this excellent infographic on the use of social media in education.Enjoy!
Teens are actively Tweeting~ Posting~ Liking~ and Commenting all across Social Media and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. Increasingly~ teachers and schools are attempting to leverage the engaging qualities of Social Media for use in the classroom and beyond - connecting students~ teachers~ and parents better than ever before.
The use of social media in school can't be left to chance; it needs to be mediated.
IF YOU CAN'T BEAT 'EM~ JOIN 'EM - SOCIAL NETWORKING STATS:
- 96%: of students with internet access report using social networking technologies
- 75%: of 7th through 12th graders have at least one social media profile
- 63%: increase in the amount of time kids ages 2-11 spent online between 2004-2009 3
- 59%: of students who use social networking talk about education topics online2
- 50%: of those who talk about education topics online~ talk specifically about schoolwork 2
- 35%: of schools have student and/or instructor-run blogs 2
- 46%: of schools have students participate in online pen pal or other international programs 2
- 49%: of National School Boards Association (NSBA) schools participate in online collaboration with other schools 2
- 59%: of schools say their students use social networking for educational purposes 2
- 27%: of schools have an online community for teachers and administrators 2
- 69%: of American high schools have banned cell phones 3
Skype~ YouTube~ and Facebook are the most popular social networking sites used in schools 2
BENEFITS OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE CLASSROOM:
Student Benefits: 1
- Enables students to see how their social networks can influence school activities~ and vice versa.
- Increase the use of "academic" or "educational" networking - connecting their work socially and academically to a wider world
- Make connections between online participation and the digital footprint left behind - responsibility~ safety~ reputation~ good citizenship
- Brings additional voices to the classroom to help stimulate engagement~ discussion~ and understanding (ex: Twitter~ Facebook~ YouTube~ Skype)
- Learn collaboration - a universally accepted quintessential skill for students in the 21st century - students critique and comment on each other's assignments~ work in teams to create content~ and can easily access each other and the teacher with questions or to start a discussion 3
- Development of 21st century skills needed in higher education and their future careers
- Nurture a positive attitude towards the use of technology in their education and their life as a whole 4
Educator Benefits: 4
- Professional community of educators
- Encourages collaboration in dealing with everyday teaching related issues
- Easy exchange of information~ ideas~ and "best practices" in a friendly environment
- Exposure to technology-based ideas for the classroom
- Helps to encourage professional engagement~ training and continuing education
- Promotion of inter-cultural and cross-cultural dialogue on education
Parental Benefits:
- Increase communication between teachers and students
- Involvement in the classroom and the curriculum
- Understanding class and teacher expectations
- Transparency for schools and districts
EXAMPLES OF SOCIAL MEDIA AT WORK IN THE CLASSROOM:
Facebook Classroom Page (managed by teacher - viewed by students and parents): 5
- Post homework assignments - both students and parents know what is expected for the next class (reducing excuse-making for students)
- Share updates~ changes~ humorous stories~ etc
- Increase the feel of community in classroom
- Increase communication between teachers and parents
Teaching Ideas:
- Historical Figures - create fake Facebook pages for famous people to "get to know" them and their contribution to history - listing likes~ interests~ status updates~ etc.
Twitter Classroom Account (managed by teachers - received by parents and students): 5
- Reminders - test~ assignments due~ field trips~ conferences~ supplies needed
- Lesson recaps
- Answer homework questions
- Connect students to other classmates and the teacher
- Increase communication between teachers and parents
Teaching Ideas:
- Have students tweet their teacher what they learned that day in class in 140 characters or less 6
- Class discussions over Twitter - studies show that engagement increased more than twice as much for students that were asked to contribute to class discussions and complete assignments using Twitter over a semester~ than those students that were not 4
Pinterest Classroom Account (managed by teachers - viewed by parents and students): 5
- Show and tell for teachers and students to parents
- Pinning students work and classroom projects
Classroom Blog (moderated by teachers - written by students - read by teachers~ students~ and parents) 5
- Writing practice - requires students to map out their thoughts and express themselves
- A broader application beyond a writing assignment for the teacher - writings to be read by parents and classmates as well 3
- Private blogs can restrict to approved or invited subscribers such as teacher~ parents~ students and administrators
- Writing access can be restricted to the classroom
- Create a community feeling by providing a record of the year
Teaching Ideas: 6
- Most interesting essay or submission on the weekly topic will have their work published on the classroom blog - giving a sense of achievement and inspire hard work for the future reward of online publication.
- Create a friendly competition between classes for the best essay or paper
- Free tools with classroom settings include: Kidblog.org~ Edmodo and Edublogs 3
SOCIAL MEDIA PILOT PROGRAM - PORTLAND~ OREGON: 3
- 20%: of students school-wide were completing extra assignments for no credit
- 50%: increase in grades
- 1/3: reduction in chronic absenteeism - the school met its adequate yearly progress goal for absenteeism for the first time in its history
- 35%: improvement in chronic absenteeism by texting wake up or "running late" messages through "Texts on Time" program which didn't cost the school anything
Sources
- 1 - http://www.technewsdaily.com/421-teachers-embracing-social-media-in-the-...
- 2 - http://www.edudemic.com/2013/05/how-and-why-schools-are-encouraging-soci...
- 3 - http://mashable.com/2010/09/29/social-media-in-school/
- 4 - http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/05/teachers-comprehensive-guide-...
- 5 - http://www.edudemic.com/2013/04/improve-school-communication-using-socia...
- 6 - http://www.socialnomics.net/2013/03/11/how-can-social-media-be-used-in-e...