CEP 956 Fall 2019 - Forum: W10 Q1

schellma on Facebook...More like "Mace"book

Sat, 02 Nov 2019 21:11:24 -0400

As a member of the contingent who supports social media use in the classroom I found the Roblyer et al. (2010) article to be unconvincing evidence to keep social media out of the classroom. Although Roblyer et al. concluded that students see more potential for social media use as an educational tool compared with faculty, both students and faculty see the usefulness of SNS for social purposes. It may be the case that SNS used in educational context facilitate social interaction outside of classrooms, helping to improve social relations at school. Additionally, the Roblyer et al. article admits that the landscape of social media is changing at a rapid pace, and suggest that in the near future the use of SNS in educational environments may be common and well-established. Finally, although there are challenges to the use of SNS in education, there are also drawbacks to NOT using SNS in education. The lack of engagement and motivation pervasive throughout our educational system must be addressed if improved academic outcomes are to become a reality. Properly managed and implemented social networking sites may provide a window of opportunity to improve student engagement and motivation.

drazinma on Facebook...More like "Mace"book

Fri, 01 Nov 2019 19:17:06 -0400

Although report upon report has praised the benefits of the integration of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter into classrooms (Akcaoglu & Bowman, 2016; Bowman & Akcaoglu, 2014; Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe, 2007) there are enough critiques to slow down or all together stop the integration of social media in learning environments. One of these glaring criticisms for the integration of these social media is the potential for relatively anonymized cyber bullying which is especially prevalent and vicious against LGBTQ+ populations (Llorent, Ortega-Ruiz, & Zych, 2016; Flynn, 2009; Stansbury, 2009; Young, 2009). Another issue is while students may be interested in the idea of using Facebook or other social networking sites within the classroom, the faculty, in contrast, have a complete lack of interest in implementing these projects (Roblyer, McDaniel, Webb, Herman, & Witty, 2010). In addition, students may feel their identity is being highjacked against their will. Students may use the affordances of SNSs for identity exploration and creation, being as these performances of identity are public in nature (and permanent due to inexpensive storage capacity), the encroachment of a mandatory assignment can feel like a disturbance in this creative space. In the Roblyer et al. (2010) study, "some [students] (12%) reacted negatively because of the potential to infringe on their sense of personal privacy." Grades can even be directly affected through the improper use of Facebook. Junco (2012) found that study time and GPA can be adversely affected if proper techniques aren't used by students while they are on Facebook. In sum, while the impulse to connect with students and have culturally relevant teaching practices within the classroom may be a good one, the techniques and pedagogy behind such an implementation would have to be further developed from where we currently are.

schellma on Facebook Groups and TPACK: Strange Bedfellows?....Perhaps Not

Thu, 31 Oct 2019 11:05:43 -0400

As director of Educational Program Design at Online High School I propose the use of Facebook groups in all high school courses as a supplement to the existing learning management system and academic content. These Facebook groups will be used to both foster student-student and student-teacher interactions in a safe and professional environment, and also as a place for students and teachers to share resources and post content. The use of Facebook in this proposal most closely resembles Manca and Ranieri’s (2016) conception of the “informal use of Facebook in a formal settings”. The Facebook group will provide a space which complements the formal learning management system environment.

A study by Asterhan and Rosenberg (2015) found that teachers used Facebook to connect with their students in both social and academic ways, and that teachers found value in pursuing a Facebook relationship with students. In this study teachers used Facebook to organize school activities, got to know their students on a more personal level, and extended learning to contexts outside of school. One concern highlighted in the article was the possibility of appropriate interactions between students and teachers. To address this concern teachers will be required to create a professional Facebook profile used only for school purposes.

In order for this proposal to be successfully implemented instructors will need to pursue technological competence on Facebook, and integrate that knowledge with the application of sound pedagogical principles and deep understanding of content. Indeed, Blonder and Rap (2017) speak to these teacher characteristics when they invoke TPACK to investigate high school Chemistry teachers’ use of Facebook, highlighting the important relationships between technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge. Teachers must have the ability to use technology to implement effective pedagogical techniques in a social network setting for the use of these tools to be effective. Simply establishing a class Facebook group is not enough, the teacher must use the Facebook group in ways which meaningfully enhance learning.