the challenge of social media – between prohibition and...

ConferencePaperfortheThirteenthAnnualConventionoftheMediaEcologyAssociation:TheCrossroadsoftheWord.710June2012ManhattanCollegeRiverdale,NewYork

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Thechallengeofsocialmedia–betweenprohibitionandindifferenceintheclassroom

JesperTækkeAssociateProfessor,PhD

AarhusUniversityhttp://www.jespertaekke.dk

[email protected]

MichaelPaulsenAssociateProfessor,PhD

[email protected]

AbstractLike with the emergence of oral language and the invention of writing,printing, and electronic media, today digital media entail a revolution ofsociety.Inourpresenttimewearelivingthroughtheincunabulaofadigitalrevolution.Thismeans thatmany things in society findnew forms,andwemustfindnewwaysofdoingthings,becauseourmediamilieuhaschanged.Alsoinschoolsmanythingsarechanging;theclassroomisnolongeraclosedroomwhere interaction is isolated from the external world. Thousands ofparallelinteractionsystemsareinterminglingwithinthesocialsituationsinclassrooms, andmany problems arise because ofmissing adequate norms.StudentscannowaccessknowledgeintheInternet’sthousandsofdatabasesandwikis.Theupshotisthattheoldteacherauthorityandtraditionalsocialnormsforguidingteachingcanno longerhelpoutlineefficientbehavior inthe classrooms.On this basis,wepresent theaction researchproject SocioMediaEducation,which tries todevelopnewwaysof teaching that feed tothenewmediaenvironment.Theaimof thepaper is, onanearly stage, toreportaboutthechallengeofthenewsocialmediaandhowtheprojecttriestofindsolutionsandthephilosophybehindthesesolutions.

Keywords:SocialMedia;Teaching;Classroom;Norms;Attention;Multiplexing


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ThebackgroundofSocioMediaEducationSocioMediaEducation(SME)isanactionresearchprojectabouthowDanishupper

secondaryschoolscanimprovetheirmediaculture.Wehaveconductedresearchin

anumberofuppersecondaryschoolsinDenmarkandwrittenaseriesofarticles

abouthowdigitalmediaandwirelessnetworksinfluencesocialrelationsin

classroomteaching(Paulsen&Tække2009,2010a,2010b).Ourfindingshave

showedthatthesemediacauseaseriesofproblems:distraction,conflictsbetween

studentsandteachers,andahighdrop‐outrate.Theyhavealsoshowedthat

teacherseitherreacttothenewmediaenvironmentwithprohibition(controland

surveillancestrategies)orindifference(laissez‐fairestrategies).Usingmedium

theory(Meyrowitz1985)andsociologicalsystemstheory(Luhmann1995),weare

abletoexplainandunderstandthistheoretically.Accordingtoouranalysis,

information,communication,andactionsituationshavechangedwiththenew

mediaenvironment.Thishasresultedinasituationwherethenormsformedinthe

formermediaenvironmentdonotefficientlyguidesocialsituationsinthenew

digitalandwirelessnetworkmediaenvironment.Newformsofclassroom

managementandclassroomcultureareneeded.

InAugust2011teachingbeganinanewfirst‐yearuppersecondaryschoolclassin

Denmark,anexperimentationclassinthethree‐yearSMEproject.Thisupper

secondaryschool’sbackgroundforbeingapartoftheprojectfellinlinewithour

resultsandexperiencefrompreviousobservations,interviews,andanalyses

(Paulsen&Tække2009,2010a,2010b).Theschoolrepresentativesfeltso

frustratedwiththesituationthattheyfullyagreedtobeincludedintheproject,

eventhoughthismeanttheyhadtoparticipateinasofarunprecedented

educationalexperiment.Thecoreofthisexperimentisthattheteacherscanneither

meetthestudentswithprohibitionsnorwithindifferencewithregardtotheuseof

media.Inaddition,theyhavetofacilitatestudentreflexivityinrelationtoattention

andmediause,andtheyhavetousetwosocialmediaintheirteaching,namely

Twitterandawiki.


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ThecoredesignmodeloftheSMEProject

Asthefigureillustrates,theSMEprojecthastwoactionresearchmoves:(1)

facilitationofreflexivitythroughinterventioninstudents’mediausewithout

prohibitionorindifferenceand(2)establishmentofasustaineduseofsocialmedia

(initiallyTwitter,inparticular,andlateralsowiki)inallschoolsubjectsinorderto

exploitthenewpossibilitiesofcommunication.Thecombinationof1and2must

makebothendsmeet,sonewstandards(norms),adequateforthenewmedia

environment,arecreated,anddevelopaformofteachingthatbothexploitsthe

learningopportunitiesofthenewmediaandteachesstudentstousesocialmediaas

learningmedia.Methodologically,weheldtwoworkshopsfortheteachersbefore

thebeginningoftheschoolyear,whereweintroducedthebasicdesignphilosophy,

parametersofreflexivity,andhowTwitterandwikiworkandcanbeusedin

teaching.Onthestudents’firstdayofschool,theteachersintroducedthemto

Twitter,bothtechnicallyandeducationally.Theteacherswerethengiventhetaskof

usingTwitterinameaningfulwayinasmanylessonsaspossible–preferably


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experimenting–andsharetheirknowledgefromtheexperimentsonashared

Googlesite.Similarly,theteacherscommittedthemselvestotryingtotakeona

reflection‐facilitatingteacherrole.Inrelationtowiki,theteachersarguedthatthey

wantedtowaitalittle,untiltheuseofTwitterhadgotofftoagoodstart,whichis

whyweconcentrateonTwitterinthisarticle.Ourroleinthefirstfourmonthshas

beentoobserveclasslessons,makeinterviewswithstudents,andholdredesign

meetingswithteachersonthebasisoftheseempiricaldata,suppliedwithanalysis

oftheclass'sTwitteractivity.Theinterviewshavehadthestudents’relationto

mediaineducationasathematicfocalpoint.Attheredesignmeetings(sofarwe

haveheldthreemeetings)theteachersreceivedfeedbackonhowtheyappearto

meetthechallengeoftheproject.

ThetheoryThereasoningorhypothesisbehindtheprojectdesignisthatthesocietalnorms

thatregulatesocialinteractionandthesemanticsweusetounderstandand

describethesocialwithbecomeinadequate,whenanewbasiccommunication

mediumaltersthe“socialspaceofopportunities,”includingtheinformation

situationandthepossibilitiesforcommunicationandaction.Thisledusto

formulatethehypothesisthattheconstructionofnewnormsthatareadequateto

thenewmediaenvironmentcouldbedevelopedonamicro‐sociologicalleveland

onlygraduallybedistributedglobally(Paulsen&Tække2010a).Itisinspiredby

Meyrowitz’theoryofeffectloops,wherethenewtermsofthesocial,initiatedbythe

newmediabybeingthenewcontentintheverysamemedia,giverisetoasocial

behaviorthatismorecongruentwiththenewinformationsituation(Meyrowitz

1985).Gradually,overaperiodoftime,newsocialstandardsaredeveloped,which

areadequatetothenewsocialsituations,sothatthesocialagaincomesinto

equilibriumwiththenewmediaenvironment.Thistheoryofequilibriumis

neverthelesstoosimple,boththeoreticallyandempirically.Inadynamicalworld

therewillalwaysbeconflictsanddevelopmentsandnotonlyaformofuniversal

consensus.Explainingwhathappensthen,weuseLuhmann’scommunication

sociologywithitsemphasisonlinkageandacceptanceornegationofmeaning


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proposals,andtheconceptofdoublecontingency.Usingthistheory,wecanexplain

howsituationsthatarecharacterizedbymutualuncertainty(doublecontingency)

triggerexperimentalbehaviorthatiseitheracceptedornegated.Thehistoryof

acceptedandnegatedcommunicationandbehaviorformssocialexpectationsfor

thefuture–whichisexactlyhowweunderstandstandards(socialnorms)

sociologically,sincesuchexperiencessubsequentlyformexpectationsaboutfuture

behavior(Luhmann1995).

TheproblemTheactualsituationinuppersecondaryschoolsinDenmarkisthateverystudentin

aclasshasalaptopconnectedtotheInternetinfrontofhimorher.Manystudents

aredistractedbytheirownandotherstudents’screenactivities.Theyspendtime

oncomputergames,amusingnewspaperarticles,andsocialmedia–especially

Facebook.Ifteacherssimplybanuseofthenewsocialmedia,studentwilllosetrust

intheirteachersandstarttodeceivethem,andsubsequentlytheywillfailtolearn

howtousethenewmediaforeducationalpurposesandtoself‐regulatetheirusein

areflectedandresponsiblemanner.Iftheteachers,ontheotherhand,reactwith

indifference,manystudentswillspendtoomuchtimeonotherthingsthanthe

educationalinteraction.Furthermore,thestudentstendtosegregateintoclosed‘in’

and‘out’groupsthroughdifferentkindsofmediause.Theyalsomeetmanyofthe

problemsmentionedinrelationtothesituationwithprohibition,e.g.notdeveloping

theskillsforusingthenewmediaforeducationalpurposes.

Tohelpthesituationwehavedevelopedadualstrategytobridgethegapbetween

prohibition(controlandsurveillancestrategies)andindifference(laissez‐faire

strategies)consistingof(1)aninterventionphilosophywheretheteacherstryto

facilitateandhelpthestudentsreflectontheirmediauseand(2)apractical

requirementusinganewinteractionmedium(Twitter)foreducationalpurposes.


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EducationaluseofTwitterThechoiceofTwitterastheprimarysocialmediumintheexperimentisinspiredby

anAmericansemester‐longexperimentalstudyinvestigatingtheeffectofthe

introductionofTwitterinteaching(Juncoetal.2010).Thestudygroupincluded70

individualandthecontrolgroup55.Theexperimentshowedincreasedcommitment

andimprovedgradesintheTwittergroupthaninthecontrolgroup.Accordingto

thearticle,theresearcherssucceededinimprovingthecontactbetweenfacultyand

studentsinawaythatwasinagreementwithdigitallifestyle(ibid.,10).Theuseof

Twitteralsoprovedtoencouragestudents'cooperationwitheachother,both

professionallyandsocially.Twitterhomeworkgavemoreactivelearning,andboth

studentsandteachersexperiencedimprovedfeedbackopportunities.Itisnotclear

fromthearticlehoworhowmuchteacherswereinstructedbytheresearchers,or

howmuchcontacttheresearchershadwiththestudents.Theresearcherswritethat

theycannotsaywithcertaintywhetherthesignificantimprovementinengagement

andgradesstemsfromtheuseofTwitterorfroma"possibleteacherorientation."

ReferringtoCrook(2008)theynotethattheintegrationofsocialmediadependson

creativeteacherinvolvement.Sincetheexactinvolvementisnotexplicitinthe

experiment,itprovidesnomethodfortheimplementationofTwitterinthe

classroom;itsimplypointsoutthatitcanbedone,iftheproper(butunknown)

teacher‐madeframesandinvolvementareestablished.

FacilitatingreflexivityIncontinuationoftheabove‐mentionedproblems,itisagoalofSMEthatthe

teacherstrulyencouragethestudentstoreflectonhowtheyperforminrelationto

concentrationanddistraction.Studentsmustgothroughaprocess,wherethey

acceptthatitisnotpossibletomultitask,butthattheyhaveanabilitytoswitch

betweendifferentactivities,dependingonhowwelltheirshort‐termmemoryis

(O'Brien2011)andhowstrongtheirwillandsituationalinvolvementare

(Markowitz198?).Itispossibletomoveonsuchacontinuum,butitisindividual

howcompetentoneisinmakingtheswitch,e.g.betweenreadingupdateson

Facebookandlisteningtotheteacher.


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Severalconditionsarerelevantwithregardtohowmuch“multiple”attentionone

canafford.One’sstandardinthedifferentschoolsubjectshasaninfluenceonwhat

youcanaffordintermsofavertedattention,ifyoualsowanttokeepupwiththe

schoolsubject.ITskillsalsohelpdeterminethedegreetowhichapersoncan

successfullyshifthisorherattentionfromoneobjecttoanother.Sociallyspeaking,

onemustlearntoparticipate(throughTwitterandothersocialmedia)inthepartly

virtualclasscommunityandlearnnottodisturbotherswithregardtotheir

individuallimitationofdistraction.Furthermore,particularlyyoungpeopleneedto

workhardtomaintaintheirrelationshipsinthesocial–alsooutsidetheclass.In

digitalmediapeoplemustwritethemselvesintoexistenceonadailybasis,ifthey

wanttomaintaintheirsocialidentityingroupsandnetworkswheretheyare

recognized(Tække2011).Inaddition,interactionwithlovers,parents,andsiblings

couldhaveanurgentcharacter.Thisraisesthequestionofhowgoodorbadyouare

atsayingnoandevaluatingthesituation;thatis,reflectingonhowimportantitisto

react,whenyouareaddressed.Theteacher'sroleistohelptheindividual(andthe

class)reflectuponhisorherattentioninrelationtoboththeacademicandthe

sociallevel.

Manystudents,however,believetheycanmultitask,i.e.performtotallydifferent

taskssimultaneously,andthussplittheirattentionsynchronously.Thisishardly

possible.IfstudentswriteanupdateonFacebook,theirattentionmovesawayfrom

theeducationalcontent.Onlyifataskisautomated,i.e.becomesahabitthat

demandsaminimumofattention,isitpossibletomultitask.Studentswhouse

Facebookeverydaymaymanagetoseethatthescreenpictureischanging,meaning

thatthereisanewupdate,buttheycannotreaditanddefinitelynotwritea

commentwithoutlosingattentiontotheschoolsubject.Thephenomenologyofman

seemstobethatwhenwefixourattentiononsomethingcognitivelydemanding,we

pushotherissuesintothebackground(Pietersma2000).


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However,onecanlearntomultiplex,whichmeansthatyoudirectyourattentionto

thesametopicthroughmultiplemedia.Thishappens,forinstance,ifyoulearnto

listentotheteacher,lookathiswritingontheblackboardand,atthesametime,

writeyourownnotes.IfTwitterisusedtocommunicateinparallelthetopicthatis

thefocusoftheoralteachinginteraction,thestudents’teaching‐orientedattention

ismultipliedfurther.Commontobothmultiplexingandmultitaskingisthefactthat

youcannotfocusyourattentionontwodifferentactivitiesatonce;however,in

multiplexing,whenyoufocusyourattentionononeandonlyone“intellectualitem,”

youmaylosesomething,butyouarelikelytogainmorethanyoulose(Fahey&

Meaney2011).Thisrequiresreflectiononwhatyouareawareof.Toteachstudents

tomultiplex,therefore,goeshandinhandwithteachingthemtoreflectontheir

individualandcollective"attentioneconomy"–andbotharethereforegoalsofthe

SMEdesign.

TheinitialresultsWewillhighlighttworesultsfromtheproject'sfirstfourmonths(August‐November

2011).Oneresultistheestablishmentofself‐reflexivity;thesecondisconcerned

withhowtheclassiscurrentlyworkingwithTwitter.

ResultsaboutreflectionThemostsignificantchallengeofreflexivityhasbeentogettheteacherstoactwith

neitherprohibitionnorindifferencetostudents’useofnewmedia.Roughly

speaking,theparticipatingteachersfellinoneofthreecategories:(1)teacherswho

founditdifficultnottoresorttoprohibition;(2)teacherswhodidnotresortto

prohibition,butfailedtomanagetofacilitatereflection;and(3)teacherswho

actuallybegantosuccessfullybridgethegapbetweenprohibitionandindifference

withreflectionandteachingthatwasinaccordancewiththenewmedia

environment.Allthreecategoriesappearedinobservationsandinterviews.

Anexampleoftheprohibitioncategoryappearsinalessonwhereastudentusesher

cellphoneandtheteachersubsequentlybansitsuse.Aroundthestudentin


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questionotherstudentsuseFacebook,andthereforetheprohibitionappearsfrom

thestudents’perspectivetobeanarbitraryattack,bothtechnologicallyand

personally:whyme?,thestudentthinks,itmustbebecauseshe(theteacher)doesnot

likeme.Itappearsintheinterviewthatboththe"attacked"andseveralother

studentsreactwithoppositiontotheteacherandlosefaithinher.Theintervention

didnotmakethestudentsreflectonwhenitisusefultousedifferentmediain

education:onthecontrary,theybegintodeveloptechniquestohidetheirmediause.

Anotherexampleisafailedattempttoinitiatestudentreflection:theteacherasks

questionsabouttheimproperuseofaspecificmedium,becausetheteacher

unambiguouslywantedthestudenttoadmitthatherusewasimproper.

Therearealsosituationswheretheteachersneitherbantheuseofdigitalmedianor

makethestudentsfeelashamed,butunwillinglyendupinanindifferentposition,as

theydonotknowhowtoinitiatereflectionorfailtorealizehowtheycanchange

anddeveloptheirteachingpracticesincongruencewiththenewmedia

environment.Theylackconcretetoolsforconstructiveinterventionandfeel

powerlessandcaughtinadoublebindthatpreventsthemfrombeingthekindof

teacherthatis"natural"tothem.Anexampleisateacherwhodisplaysan

information‐saturatedfilm,butdefeatistandpassiveshewatchesthestudentsfrom

thebackrowdoanything–ontheircomputers–butpayattentiontothefilm.

Finally,someteacherstakeonareflection‐enablingpositionandevensaythatitisa

newteacherroleforthemandthattheycannotimaginereturningtothewaythey

usedtoact(witheitherprohibitionorindifference).Theseteachersseemtohave

gonepasta"pointofnoreturn,"althoughtheyareconcernedthattheywillinfact

endupveryclosetothepositionofindifference.However,theyalsoreportthatthey

enterintodialogwiththestudentsinnewandfruitfulways.Thus,confidenceand

trustbetweenstudentsandteachersgrowinconnectionwiththisposition,aswas

alsothetheoreticalexpectation(Tække2011b).


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Insummary,weconcludethatitisdifficult,butpossible,forteacherstotakea

reflection‐enablingpositionandthatthispositionseemstowork,butreliesonthe

developmentofconcretereflection‐initiatingformsofintervention.Inaddition,our

repeateddiscussionswithteachersaboutthereflectionpositionhavemadeitclear

thatprohibitionandindifferencecannotbeavoidedinteachingaltogether.There

willalwaysbeadegreeoflatentprohibitioninuppersecondaryschools:ifthe

studentscontinuallyruintheirchancesoflearning,teachersmayhavetoresortto

prohibition.However,therewillalsoalwaysbeadegreeofindifference:ateacher

cannotreacttoeverything,butmustignorethisandthat.Onthisbasis,itcanbe

clarifiedthattofulfillthereflectionpositiononeshouldavoidthegeneral

prohibitionandindifferencepositions,justasoneshouldavoid"attacks"on

individualstudentswhoaredistractedbythenewmedia,asstudentsperceivesuch

interventionsasmistrustandunjustand,therefore,donotreflectonthesituation,

whichwasthepurpose.

Ifweturnourattentiontothestudents,theydonotseemtoexperiencethe

problemswehaveobservedinotheruppersecondaryschools.Theydonotfeel

distractedbytheirownorothers'useofnewmedia.Theinterviewsindicatethat

studentsinthecourseoftheautumnsemesterdevelopedadegreeofself‐reflection,

enablingthemtodifferentiatebetweendifferentschoolsubjectsinrelationtotheir

degreesofattention.Somestillseemtobelievethattheycanmultitask,butagain

theydistinguishbetweendifferentschoolsubjectsandbelievetheycanmultitaskin

somesubjectsandnotinothers.Thismighthavesomethingtodowithconceptual

issues,asitiseasierto‘jumponandoff’subjectsthatyouareontopoforamongthe

bestat.Herethegoodresultisthatstudentsdodifferentiate.Asinallotherupper

secondaryschoolsthestudentsuseFacebookandcomputergamesinwaysthat

havenothingtodowithschoolsubjects.Buttheydoitless,whenteachersinclude

Twitterintheteaching.Wearealsoabletoseethatthestudentsinourexperiment

consciouslyplanwhentheycanaffordabreakfromteaching.Finally,wenotethat

studentsrelatefairlyautonomously.Forexample,theclasshascreatedaFacebook

groupthatexcludestheteachersandwherestudents,accordingtointerviews,help


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eachotherwiththeirhomework,exchangeanswerstoassignments,andcoordinate

classpartiesandthelike.Anotherexampleisagroupofboyswhointhreemonths

createdaLANnetwork,whichtheyusetoplayagamewherethey,withgreat

enthusiasm,raceagainsteachotherduringschooltimeinawaythatisdistracting.

ResultsaboutTwitterTheintroductionofTwitterasapermanentteachingandlearningmediumhasbeen

asuccess–bothacademicallyspeakingandinrelationtolearningpurposes.

Studentswereintroducedtothemediumontheirfirstdayofschool.Sincethenthey

havesentthousandsoftweets,mostlyonschooldays.Duringthefirstinterviewswe

conducted,thestudentsrevealedthattheywereskepticalaboutthemedium.

Amongotherthings,severalstudentssaidthattheywouldratheruseFacebook,as

theywereaccustomedtothatmedium.Wecouldalsoobservethatsomestudents

werereluctanttosendtweets.Inthecourseoftheautumnsemester,thestudents

becamemorepositivetowardthemedium,andthegeneralexperienceisthatthey


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feelmoreinvolvedandlearnmorethroughtheuseofTwitter.However,mostofthe

studentsonlyuseTwitterontheteachers’request.Studentsperceivethemediumas

apureteacherandeducationalmedia.1

Specifically,wehaveseenfourkindsofTwitterusedevelopinclass.Firstly,wehave

seenteachingsequencesbasedsolelyonTwitter.Oneexampleisthattheteacher

asksaquestiononTwitterandstudentssubsequentlycomeupwithanswers.

Usually,thisissupplementedwithverbalinteractioninclass.Theadvantageisthat

all(oratleastmore)studentsparticipate,practicewritingconcisely,and

acknowledgebyhavingtoexpressthemselvesinwriting(intheoralmediumonly

onepersoncanspeakatasametime).Classeshavealsousedstudentreportsfrom

companyvisits,sharinganddiscussionofacademiclinksinavarietyofsubjects,and

exercisesinlanguagesandmathematics.Wehavealsoseenfewsequencesoutside

schoolhours,wherestudentsdiscussschoolrelevanttopics,helpeachother,and

discusshowtheteachingcanbeimproved.

Secondly,wehaveseenteachingsequenceswithteacher‐initiatedmultiplexingin

whichTwitterisusedsimultaneouslywithothermedia.Forexample,theclass

watchedafilmandusedTwittersimultaneously.Duringtheviewingofthefilmthe

teacheraskedanalyticalquestionsonTwitterandthuslaunchedananalyticdialog

aboutthefilmduringtheviewing.AdozenstudentswerewritingonTwitter,while

virtuallyallofthestudentsreadthetweets.Intheinterviewswiththestudents,they

revealedthattheyhadlearnedalotviathismethod,eventhoughitismorerelaxing

tojustwatchmovieswithouthavingtoanalyzethematthesametime.Accordingto

theteacher,thesubsequentanalyticaldiscussion(afterthefilm‐viewing‐and‐

tweetingsession)wasbetterthanwhatisstandardinotherclasses.Thepointis

presumablythatthestudents’filmreceptionwasframedanalyticallyalreadywhile

watchingthefilm–consequently,eventheacademicallyweakeststudentsseemed

toembarkonananalyticalunderstandingofthefilm.Anotherexampleistweeting

1NoneofthemhadbeenonTwitterbeforetheybeganintheclass.


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duringstudentpresentations,whichalsoprovidesaseriesofbenefits.Normally,

manystudentsgoonFacebook,butwecanseethatthisnumberisreduced,when

theteachertweetswiththestudentsaboutthecontentofagivenpresentation,

givingacriticaldiscourseratherthanpassivelisteningorparticipationinother

onlineactivities.Inaddition,Twitterwasusedinthiswaywithsuccessduring

teacherpresentations,wheresomestudentsaskedtheothersaboutthecontentof

thepresentation.

Thirdly,wehaveexperiencedstudent‐initiatedmultiplexing,whereTwitterisused

inandoutsideschooltimeasabackchannel.Anexampleisadiscussioninclass

wherestudentscommunicatetogether"behind"theteacherusingTwitter.However,

thishasonlyhappenedtoalimitedextent,andpreliminaryresultssuggestthat

studentsonlytakesporadicinitiativestodoso.Especiallyinmathematics,nowand

thenstudentsuseTwittertoaskeachotherortheteacherforhelp,but,again,thisis

usedtoalimitedextentandmostlyifandwhentheteacherinitiatesit.

Fourthly,teachershavebeguntodevelopmediachains,wheretheyplanactivities

priorandsubsequenttoaparticularuseofTwitter.Oneexample,whichwehave

seenindifferentvariations,isthattheteachersmakeanassignmentthatthe

studentssubsequentlyworkwith;consequently,thestudentswriteanswerson

Twitter,andtheirresponsesarethendisplayedonadigitalwhiteboardand

discussedandusedforfurthergroupprocessing,whichisuploadedontotheclass

wikiandlaterpresentedandperhapsevaluatedandadjustedbasedonfeedbackand

assessments.

Accordingtoourinterviews,thestudentsfinditannoyinganddifficulttomultiplex,

butastheyearprogresses,wehaveseenagreatersatisfactionwithtweetingduring

classhours.Therearemanynuancesofwhichonlyafewarementioned.The

studentsarecomfortablewithhearingtheteacheraskaquestionandoneofthe

usualthreeorfourvoicesofthedominantstudentsanswerit.Incontrast,theyare

insecurewhentheteacherasksatwitterquestionandtheclassroomiscompletely


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quiet,whileeveryonewritesareplyonTwitter.Italsoshowsthatthereisno

absoluteconjunctionbetweenthestudentswhoaretraditionallysilentandthe

studentswhoaresilentwhenitcomestowritingonTwitter.Thismeansthatmore

students,evenwhenitisvoluntary,jointheteachinginteractionwhenTwitteris

used.

Discussion–furtherquestionsandunsolvedproblemsTheinitialresultsshowaspectsofanexplicitmethodfortheinclusionofTwitterin

theclassroom;thisislackingintheAmericanexperimentthatweareoriginally

inspiredby(Juncoetal.2010).Yet,sofarourstudyalsohasitsunknowns.Onething

isthattherelationshipbetweentheestablishmentofself‐reflexivityandtheuseof

Twitterisnotyetfullyelucidated.UnliketheAmericanstudy,wecanseethatthe

constructionoftheteachersubjectiscrucialforreflexivityintheclassroom.Inthe

Americanstudythereisnoteachersubject,merelytheassumptionthatifyou

introduceTwitterenthusiasm,itgeneratesbetterstudentengagementand

improvedgrades–regardlessofhowteachersotherwiserelatetostudents'media

use.Thisisanunrealisticscenario,asyoucannotexpectresearcherstoalwaysbe

abletoassistuppersecondaryschoolteachers.Herewehaveaclearresult:the

teacheriscrucial.IfwemovebeyondcomparisonwiththeAmericanstudy,which

neitherdealtwiththeproblemofreflexivity,wehaveobservedthatevenprohibition

teacherscanuseTwittersuccessfully.Thisindicatesthattherelationbetweenthe

useofsocialmediaineducationandthefacilitationofreflexivityhasnotbeen

explainedinitsentirety.Similarly,itbecomesclearthatthepossibilitiesofTwitter

arenotthesameindifferentclasses(schoolsubjects),ifthemediumisused

exclusivelyinask‐and‐answeractivities.HereahermeneuticsubjectsuchasEnglish

withitsmanyinterpretationanddiscussionopportunitiesisamorelikelycandidate

fortheinclusionofTwitterthan,say,mathematics,wherethereisoftenonlyone

answer.Twittermaywellbeusedinmathematics,though;thepointisthatmedia

workdifferentlyinrelationtodifferentschoolsubjects.OurTwitterlogsincludea

numberofempiricalexamplesofhowstudentsinmathematicshelpeachotherand

asktheteacherforhelpviaTwitter.


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Ifweturntothestudents,theAmericansurveyfocusedontheaveragestudent

engagementandgradelevels,butinconnectionwiththeexperimentalclasstheSME

projectclarifiedthatsomestudentsaresilentonTwitter,astheyfinditdifficultto

takethemediumtoheart,despitethefactthattheirpeersareabletouseTwitterto

improvetheireducationalparticipationopportunities.Themediumcanthusserve

toreinforceorcreateasymmetryintheclassroomculture,whichisasignificant

probleminDanishuppersecondaryschools,whereteachingisboundupinclass

teaching(notinteamsandcourseteachinglikeintheAmericanstudy).Thisposes

theadditionalquestionofhowteachersinaDanishuppersecondaryschoolcontext

areabletoincludeallthestudentsinclassroomcommunicationthroughan

interactionmediumlikeTwitter.Ontheirowninitiative,thestudentscreatedthe

Facebookgroupwheretheyhelpeachother,butsinceneithertheteachersnorthe

researchershaveaccesstothisgroup,itisdifficulttosaywhethersimilar

asymmetriesalsoareformedthere.Allthisraisesafundamentalquestionof

whetherandhowteacherscanandmustinterveneinstudents’mediause.The

projecthasbeendesignedtourgeteacherstointerfereconstructivelyandinaway

thatfacilitatesreflection,buthowcantheydosoefficiently,whenthespecific

contentoflargepartsofthestudents’mediauseremainunknowntotheteachers?

Cantheteachersbyneitherprohibitingnorreactingwithindifferencetonewdigital

mediagainthestudents’trusttosuchanextentthatthelatteraddressissues,which

therebyhelpthemreflectontheiruseofmedia?

However,agoodITcultureseemstohavebeencreatedintheexperimentalclass.

Studentsarefairlyreflectivewithregardtowhattheyaredoing.Thereisnostrong

formationofcliquesintheclassviathemedia.Apparently,allthestudentsare

membersoftheaforementionedFacebookgroup.Helpisgivenandreceivedvia

TwitterandFacebook.Nostudentsreportthattheyfindthemselvesdisturbedby

otherstudents’mediabehavior.Afterfourmonths,mostofthestudentshavetaken

Twittertoheartandlearnedtouseitasausefultoolforteachingandlearning,

althoughsomestudents–rightly,perhaps–regretthefactthatonTwittertheydo


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nothaveasmany'friends'astheydoonFacebook,theycannotseewhoisonline,

andsomestrugglewithdatawhichcannotbesavedonTwitter,whichisnotaswell‐

organizedasFacebook.TowhatextentandwhytheITcultureintheclassseems

lessproblematic,thanwehaveseeninpreviousstudiesconductedinotherupper

secondaryschoolclasses,cannotbeansweredunequivocally.Thisrequires,notleast,

thatwecontinuetoworkwiththeproject.

ConclusionInthisarticlewehavepresentedahistoricallyrootedmediaunderstandingofthe

challengesandperspectivesthatthenewdigitalmediaenvironment–and

especiallythepresenceofsocialmedia–providesforteachingandlearningin

Danishuppersecondaryschools.Wehaveshownhowuppersecondaryschools

initiallyreacteddefensivelytothechangingeducationalpremisesthrough

prohibitionandindifferencestrategiesandbythelackofinclusionofsocialmediain

education.Secondly,IreportedontheactionresearchprojectSME,whichaimsto

identifywaystoavoidprohibitionandindifferencestrategiesand,instead,facilitate

self‐reflexivityamongstudentsandincorporatesocialmediaineducation,enabling

uppersecondaryschoolstostayabreastofthecurrentmediaenvironment.Wehave

reportedresultsfromthefirstfourmonthsoftheproject,wheretheexperiment

classanditsteachersinparticularhaveworkedwithintroducingthesocialmedium

Twitter,complementedbyattemptstocultivateareflection‐initiatingteacherrole.

Theresultofthefour‐monthexperimentisthattheteachersinvolved–invarying

degrees–areworkingondevelopingnewteachinginteractionformsthatexploitthe

opportunitiesinthedigitalmediaenvironmentandreducethedifficulties.Withthe

useofTwitter,studentparticipationseemstoincrease,andwiththeincreasedfocus

onfacilitatingself‐reflexivityitseemsthataninclusiveandreflexiveITculturehas

emergedinwhichstudentsconsciouslyandreflectivelypredisposetheirattention

underconsiderationforthemselvesandeachother.Therefore,theproject's

hypothesisseemsoveralltobeconfirmed.


17

However,wehavefacedconsiderabledifficulties–someofwhichremain

unresolved–inconnectionwiththeestablishmentofareflection‐initiatingteacher

roleintheexperimentalclass;anditisworthmentioningthatthesedifficultiesare

typicalamongDanishschoolteachers,sinceweinourearlierstudiesinthefield

foundthattheprohibitionandindifferencestrategies,respectively–bothofwhich

inhibitself‐reflexivity–areprevalent.Asignificantbiasinthestudyisthereforethat

viewingthepositiveresultsonemustalsotakeintoaccountthesignificantamount

ofpressureandsupportfromtheresearchers.Similarly,itprovesthata

comprehensiveandsustaineduseofTwitterisrequiredbeforestudentstakethe

mediumtoheart.Ithasprobablybeencrucialthatallclassteachershaveusedthe

medium,althoughheretoowehavefoundthatsometeachershaveusedthe

mediuminalmosteverylesson,whileotherteachersuseditrarelyorleftittothe

studentstouseit,whichmeantthatthestudentsdidnotuseit,asthemedium

seemstorequire–inordertobecomeaneffectiveteachingandlearningtool–that

teachersinitiatetheuse.Someunknownsandunansweredquestionsremaintobe

answered,untilfurtherdataandresultshavebeencompiledfromtheprojectwhich

runsuntil2014.

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