10 reasons why you should use social media in your teaching…

Mark Feltham@markfeltham666

Caroline Keep@ka81

Liverpool John Moores University3rd June

#melsigljmu@melsigHEdW rks

The challenge...

• Fundamentals of Science (Year long)

• Core Module (350 students) across 6 programmes

• Large amount of statistics (traditionally ‘dry’ subject)

• 9 o’clock Monday morning

• Students didn’t know each other

• They had a range of learning styles

• The old style of teaching wasn’t working for many students

The trouble with taxonomies

Flexible pedagogies, creative learning and the ‘maker ethos’

How it works…

• Closed Facebook Groups

• Semester 1 (ALL – alternate SM and traditional)

• Set Tasks (TASKPRODS) on Facebook

• Students post work to Facebook

• Feedback to Facebook

• Semester 2 (CHOICE)

• Didactic v Creative Projects via SM

Stats Guides: printed / interactive

Stats Guides: Video Guide

Data Collection: observational / data logging

Data Collection: DIY experiments

The output

Result

Data Collection: Ornithopters

Data Collection: Rube Goldberg Machines

#statsexpo

#doingstatisticsdifferently

10 reasons why you should use social media in your teaching…

HEdW rks

1. Everything is in one familiar place• 99% students are already on it

• No need to learn the quirks of a new platform

2. It’s quick and easy to use• No separate login

• Uploading is easy

• Posting is easier still…

•…and instantaneous

• Mobile version is good

3. It’s a great way for students to get to know each other… and you

• Breaks down barriers

• Builds rapport

• Sense of community

• Allows students to share in the experience

• Promotes engagement

4. Setting work is…

• Quick

• Easy

• …and you can be as creative as you like

• So it’s fun!

5. It can cater for a variety of different learning styles

• How work is set

• How feedback is given

• How students demonstrate their learning

• Student centric

Student uploads (n=949): 46% were…

Uploads, posts and comments

BUT 54% of uploads were images

Video Posts

The importance of choice

• Promotes ownership

6.It promotes creativity

“I call this piece “Frequency Histogram with Guinea Pig”

7.Giving feedback is timely and efficient• Like, Comment, Msg

• Instantaneous (notifications)

• Targetted (‘Ask an ye shall receive’…)

7.Feedback• Round-ups and general feedback

• Peer to peer

8.Students can decide when THEY want to work

• Students can nip in and out as often or as little as they like (pace)

• Can work when they want to (jobs, childcare)

• Drip-drip… keeps module ticking over (steady learning)

• Avoids the ‘punctuated disequilibrium ‘of traditional timetabling

Most work wasn’t done on lecture day…

..nor in Uni hours

Breakdown of 691 posts (24 hours)

9.It’s a great way to manage group work

• Transparent

• Scrape posts

• Weight group marks

• Break off into subgroups

95% of groups work like this…

May explain why only 33% students choose to work in groups!

10.It’s mobile… think BYOD4L

Almost half of all posts were from mobile devices

So, what did the students think?

Live Twitter Feed from the Student Stats EXPO

The students’ views “With no limits or boundaries our imaginations went wild and loads of people made machines (Rube Goldbergs) that went over entire rooms.

“A much more memorable way of learning statistics, because it was fun”

“Stats made so much more sense in the context of using actual data we had collected.”

“I have thoroughly enjoyed this module as being able to carry out a project has made learning and practicing statistics and SPSS so much easier”

 “I have loved how it’s given more scope to take charge of my own work and work under my own steam”

The students’ views “I have really enjoyed it. It makes you more independent and also using Facebook is a lot quicker with regards feedback.”

 

“It was awesome! Working in a group was fun as we were able to use each other’s skills to our advantage.”

 “I really enjoyed having the freedom to work on my stats in my own time... the task set was more of a fun activity than an assignment! I feel I learned a lot more than I would have done from lectures at 9am.”

“The Facebook module made life and the way the work needed completing a lot easier! Relaxing, stress free and the future of university learning! “

 

5 x rubber bands

A piece of string

Sticky tape

Scissors

2 x sheets of A4 paper

1 x sheet of graph paper

A small length of stiff black card

A piece of ‘Blutack’ (actually it’s ‘Whitetack’)

A 1p and 5p coin

A foam triangle

A piece of wire

3 x small coloured pencils

2 x cable ties

WORKSHOP

How to use Social Media to engage your students in creative learning

PLEASE JOIN www.facebook.com/groups/MELSIGcreativelearningworkshop/

THANK YOU