conole social media_final

Using social media for learning, teaching and research

Gráinne ConoleBath Spa Innovating Pedagogy Seminar

9th March 2016

National Teaching

Fellow 2012 Ascilite fellow 2012EDEN fellow 2013

Outline

• Characteristics of new media• What is your digital network• Using social media for:– Learning– Teaching – Research

• Benefits and risks• Types of tools• Case studies• Blogs, Twitter and facebook

Activity

• What are the characteristics of new technologies?

• What are their implications for learning, teaching and research?

New media

Characteristics• Lots out there!• LinkedIn – what the

benefits?• A lot of superficial use• Time consuming and

distracting• Need to be disciplined with

the use of social media

Implications

Conole and Alevizou, 2010

5

• Technology immersed• Learning approaches: task-

orientated, experiential, just in time, cumulative, social

• Personalised digital learning environment

• Mix of institutional systems and Cloud-based tools and services

• Use of course materials with free resources

Sharpe, Beetham and De Freitas, 2010

Learner experience

EDUCAUSE study• Students drawn to

new technologies but rely on more traditional ones

• Consider technologies offer major educational benefits

• Mixed views of LMSs

http://www.educause.edu/studentsAndTechnologyInfographic

Game changers

• Harness the power of new media

• Need to rethink education• How can we reach more

learners, more effectively?• Impact of free resources,

tools and expertise?• New business models?• New digital literacies?

http://www.educause.edu/game-changers

Activity: What’s your digital network?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/factoryjoe/195492568/

My network

Activity: fb love it or hate it?

Pros• Sharing issues• Focus on personal interests,

like music

Cons• Don’t use enough• Sharing personal stuff • Trivial posts

What tools can students use for their learning?

• Don’t use Minerva enough• Email• Google to find relevant

resources• Fb and Twitter • Phone• Multi-tasking across tools• Phone at the centre of their

learning• YouTube and free resources

What tools do you use for teaching?

• Google, YouTube• Minerva• PowerPoint• Guest speakers• Skype for tutorials• Students like videos, but

keep under 10 minutes

http://e4innovation.com/?p=800

What tools do you use for Research?

• Google, Google Scholar• Library• Dragon voice activated

software• Skype

Activity: using new media for research• How would you use the following for research (i.e. data

collection, dissemination, discussion)?–Blogs–Facebook–Google+–LinkedIn–Academia.edu–Twitter–Flickr and Youtube–Diigo–Mandeley–Dropbox–Others?

Social media

• Range of internet-based tools that allow people to create, co-create, share and interact with information

Benefits of social media

• Students can communicate with their peers• Researchers can be part of a global

community• Students can use to demonstrate their

competences• Universities can use to interact with a variety

of audiences

Risks of social media

• Ethical, privacy and security issues• Time consuming • Inappropriate use• Ownership• Constantly changing

Types of tools

• Social networking tools – e.g. facebook• Reflective tools – e.g. blogs and Twitter• Gaming tools and virtual worlds – e.g.

SecondLife• Communication tools – e.g. WhatsApp• Consumer tools – e.g. price comparison sites

Case studies

• Recruitment and transition to HE– Social searching for recruitment– Support prior to enrolment – Peer mentoring

• Research– Part of a scholarly community– Development of a professional profile– Disseminating research– Resource discovery– Undertaking research

Case studies• Employability

– Social Media Knowledge Exchange– Development of a professional network

• Public engagement– Dissemination to general public

• Enhancing learning and teaching– Extending beyond the classroom– Peer review – Twitter as a back channel– Keeping in touch when on placement – Wikis to co-create knowledge

• Keeping in touch with Alumni

Blogs• Of the moment

reflections• Digital archive• The power of peer review• Record of events, reviews

and resources• Wider audience reach

and hence profile• Link into facebook and

Twitter• Complements traditional

publication routes

e4innovation.com

gconole.wordpress,com

Bloggers worth readingM. Weller

G. Siemens

T. Anderson

Using facebook

Ideas for harnessing Web 2.0?Twitter

Doing a session on using social media for learning, teaching and research, any good links?Anna Mathews @anna_mathews 22h22 hours agoHi @gconole You might find this link http://www.ucisa.ac.uk/socialmedia more useable @gillferrell @ucisa

Final thoughts• Participatory and social media enable new forms of

communication and collaboration• Communities in these spaces are complex and

distributed• Learners and teachers need to develop new digital

literacy skills to harness their potential•We need to rethink how we design, support and assess

learning•Open, participatory and social media can provide

mechanisms for us to share and discuss teaching and research ideas in new ways•We are seeing a blurring of boundaries:

teachers/learners, teaching/research, real/virtual spaces, formal/informal modes of communication and publication

References• UCISA social media toolkit

– http://www.ucisa.ac.uk/~/media/Files/publications/social_media/344996%20UCISA%20-%20Book%20v8%208-12-15-final.ashx

• M. Weller - The digital scholar– http://oro.open.ac.uk/29664/

• EDUCAUSE– http://er.educause.edu/articles/2009/12/horton-hears-a-

tweet• Using Twitter to enhance social presence

– http://patricklowenthal.com/publications/Using_Twitter_to_Enhance_Social_Presence.pdf

http://www.slideshare.net/GrainneConoleg.conole@bathspa.ac.uk

Blog: http://e4innovation.comTwitter: @gconole