Co-presented with Prof R Richter - Concordia University - Chicago. Presented at the TUT, Faculty of Economics and Finance, TCoP on 19 July 2013.

1. Social Media in the classroom

2. Social Media in the Classroom
• Introduction
• 21st century skills teachers should have
• A question that gets asked a lot
• The pros and cons of social media classrooms
• Teach with Twitter
• Teach with Facebook
• Teach with YouTube
• Conclusion & Q&A
This Presentation

3. Social Media in the Classroom
Introduction
Technology advancements have also touched education
Education is being radically transformed
Teachers who do not use social media and educational technology in their teaching
no longer fit in the new system
You need to realize that teaching is evolutionary and always evolving. It is a
bottomless well.

4. Social Media in the Classroom
21st century skills teachers should have
The risk taker The Collaborator The model The leader
Show students:
• Everything can be learnt through
risk and initiative taking
• Sometimes surrender yourself to
your students’ knowledge
• Central theme = collaboration
• Incorporate web2.0 collaborative
tools
• Exemplary model of how
the life long learner should
be
• Model several
characteristics such as :
• Reflective thinking
and practice
• Love of technology
and digital
information
• Global awareness
Take the lead

5. Social Media in the Classroom
21st century skills teachers should have
The learner The communicator The adaptorThe visionary
• Imaginative
• Foresee emerging technologies
• Look into curricula/across disciplines
• Enhance and value learning in other
• fields
• Reinforce their teaching
• Reinforce students’ learning
• Life long commitment to knowledge
• Always seek knowledge using
technology
• Fluent in the use of
communication
and information technologies
• Know how to facilitate,
stimulate, control, moderate
and manage technologies
Make teaching styles adaptive to:
•New curriculum requirements
•Emerging web2.0 technologies
•Various age groups and abilities
•New dynamic teaching experiences

6. Social Media in the Classroom
Question
Do students really learn anything using social media?
One can:
• engage in more (professional) collaboration
• read more educational articles
• ask for assistance from others and provided information and support when requested
The social media environment is filled with valuable knowledge and people
The new normal in education is using social media to learn, collaborate and connect.

7. Social Media in the Classroom
The pros and cons of social media classrooms
Familiar tools
Resource availability: endless range of free resources available through social media
Improvement of research skills: Being able to find information online is a skill that is now
important in the workplace
The improvement of communication: If conducted within a controlled environment . E.g.
sending out reminders, posting homework notes and organizing revision classes
Pros:

8. Social Media in the Classroom
The pros and cons of social media classrooms
Engaging your students: students are glued to their gadgets. Use this to your advantage
The ability to share learning material: e.g. create a Facebook group dedicated to your
class
The potential to appeal to different learning styles: the varied types of media and
information found on sites can appeal to a wide range of learner styles
Ease of access: all you need is a computer or mobile device with an Internet connection
Assisting shy students: engaging students through an online project can make it easier for
them
Pros:

9. Social Media in the Classroom
The pros and cons of social media classrooms
Cons:

10. Social Media in the Classroom
The pros and cons of social media classrooms
Time waster: Unless social media are incorporated do contribute towards objectives, then it
could become a waste of time
Distractions: if not properly supervised and controlled it can be difficult to follow through with
a lesson
Cyber-bullying: Teachers need to monitor student activity for any signs of bullying
Limiting face-to-face communication: detrimental effect on social skills
Continual social media change: Constant changes to platforms and their security
settings. Institutions must keep up to date with an policy!
Cons:

11. Social Media in the Classroom
The pros and cons of social media classrooms
Managing social media: pages and profiles should be updated in order to prevent them
becoming stagnant
Viruses/phishing scams: be aware of the risk and monitor usage accordingly
Inappropriate content sharing or exposure: It is important for students and staff to be
protected from inappropriate content
Exposing the 'haves' and 'have nots‘: BYOD > This can highlight divides between students
who can afford certain devices, and those that cannot
Cons:

12. Social Media in the Classroom

13. Social Media in the Classroom
Teach with Twitter
 Class Chatter: continue conversations inside and outside of class of material that remind
students of material from class
 Track a Word: This will subscribe you to any post which contains that word. Or, you can
track an event, etc. You will then receive all tweets with that word
 Instant Feedback: Students can use this when doing their classwork, trying to
understand the material. Tweet: “I don’t understand what this reading has to do with New
Media?any ideas?” Other students then respond
 Follow a Mentor: Students can follow someone else who is on Twitter, who interests
them

14. Social Media in the Classroom
Teach with Twitter
 Writing Assignments: Remember that game you used to play where one person would
start a story, the next person would continue it, etc. . .Try this on Twitter
 Direct Tweet. Lecturers and students can contact each other through tweets without
having to share cell phone numbers. This could be useful if you’re ever in a jam and need
assistance
 Collaborate on projects. When working together on projects, set up a group to facilitate
communication between them
 Make announcements. Lecturers can send out reminders about upcoming tests,
assignment due dates, or any news that needs to be shared via Twitter

15. Social Media in the Classroom
Teach with Twitter
 Daily learning. Twitter feeds happen much more frequently than the two or three times a
day a student is in class, therefore using Twitter in the classroom means there is a daily
opportunity for learning
 Follow an idea, word, or event. Send “track ___” with whatever word, event, or idea you
want to follow in the blank, and you will receive Tweets that contain that keyword
 Find interesting news articles or articles relevant to a current topic in class and
share the results

16. Social Media in the Classroom
Teach with Twitter
 Brainstorm. The ability to share ideas as they occur any time and any where creates an
excellent opportunity for brainstorming on class topics
 Polling. Ask student their opinions or get feedback on future projects or topics
 Share websites. Both lecturers and students can post interesting websites that are
relevant to their class

17. Social Media in the Classroom
Teach with Facebook
If teachers were more aware of how a Facebook page and profiles
can be configured to provide an appropriate level of privacy for
course work, they might be more open to considering it’s use

18. Social Media in the Classroom
Teach with Facebook
Create a Group specific to your course/class
A great way to to distribute learning content and create a central place for communication for
a course or class.
Tap into information about specific topics
Chances are there are some groups and pages out there that are focused on issues relevant
to your course. Type the name of your academic subject in Facebook’s search window and
get a list of related content.
Use Facebook for homework assignments and class discussions

19. Social Media in the Classroom
Teach with Facebook
Students do reading for class and then on Facebook write a paragraph about what they have
read, focusing their comments on the specific course aims that the lecturer had created for
the class. Students would then go to class where the lecturer would note the ways in which
the students have covered the material well and he’d teach anything they missed as well as
anything else he wants them to know.
So Facebook can be used to facilitate a discussion group, which can be done in myTUTor, but
the nice thing about Facebook is that many students are already familiar and comfortable with
it .
Its convenient for students. Plus it provides a digital record.

20. Social Media in the Classroom
Teach with Facebook

21. Social Media in the Classroom
Teach with YouTube
YouTube videos should never be viewed as lessons in themselves, but as material that can
be utilised to support the point of a class.
Videos for educational use. E.g.:
• Media clips
• Tutorials
• Opinion pieces
• Event media

22. Social Media in the Classroom
Teach with YouTube
YouTube videos should never be viewed as lessons in themselves, but as material that can
be utilised to support the point of a class.
Videos for educational use. E.g.:
• Media clips
• Tutorials
• Opinion pieces
• Event media
http://www.youtube.com/user/khanacademy

23. Social Media in the Classroom
What better way for lecturers to share best practices than in an asynchronous
environment, a global community of professionals?
With social media we are able to make connections while at home, before class,
across time zones, etc.
The web is filled with places for teachers to share materials.
Use social media to promote great teaching ideas, to encourage education reform,
and to celebrate each others’ successes
Collaboration
http://www.merlot.org/merlot/materials.htm?community=&c
ategory=&keywords=finance&sort.property=relevance
OER: MIT, MERLOT, etc

24. Social Media in the Classroom
Collaboration
Sharing
Active learning
Flipping the classroom
Conclusion

25. Social Media in the Classroom
Marius Pienaar Prof Richter
PienaarM1@tut.ac.za RichterRG@tut.ac.za