“We are now a global culture of avid writers,
one almost always writing for an audience.”
– Clive Thompson
Amongst all the status updates, blogs, vlogs, podcasts and other forms of posting online to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, we are in effect transcending into a world of “avid writers” and creators across the globe. In the article by Clive Thompson, Why Even the Worst Bloggers Are Making Us Smarter, we are finding this more apparent. When focus in education used to be on reading and a little writing, we are now finding a world of writers, and even creators in the online social world. People are utilizing the social media outlet to share “writings” of individual and often passionate interests. This even occurs in the smallest of forms from one-word posts, to extensive writings often found in blogs or journals. Within this, there is something bigger happening. It happens with our audience. Connections, relationships and collaboration is built that draws upon the shared and unique ideas and encourages innovation and challenges what is truth. Imagine integrating social media writing into a course as a way to take a deeper dive into learning and exploring a specific subject?
In the article, Clive discusses how throughout history we can point to moments where one person could have been seen as the originator of a new invention, but somewhere else in the world, possibly even in a different time, someone else actually “invented” it. This occurred often for several reasons, but Clive points to the tools, technology, and culture at the time. Writings and journals were not spread like they are online now. This online network of information can now become instantly and readily available. The exciting part of this becomes what happens next when others join together. Viewing writing and collaboration in this context actually changes a little of my personal perception of social media influence on learning. Embracing the opportunities that social media can offer, helps create a more diverse, cultured perspective that changes and influences our world. It can even spark innovation in ways that otherwise may have not been discovered. I had not thought of it this way, but this alone can become engaging for young minds to seek outside of the books and the walls confined within the institution and out into the minds and the “reality” of our world. It is no wonder that we continue to find new inventions and innovations that serve purpose to our needs today, at a more rapid pace. We are only aware of what we already know. Whether this is taught in school or through personal experience. Without exploration, we cannot uncover something new or find further potential to make something we can “dream up” a true reality. Social networking can encourage and build this opportunity through collaboration. What we think up, dream up, and share in writing online, then creates greater potential.
“They learn how to study knowledge,
not just as an academic pursuit,
but as an essential life skill in a digital milieu.”
– Howard Rheingold
Now I can take into context the question I asked earlier, “Imagine integrating social media writing into a course as a way to take a deeper dive into learning and exploring a specific subject?” This is occurring as I write this blog and share it with my peers. However, in Howard Rheingold’s article, he shares his interests of Amy Burvall’s Theory of Knowledge course and the social media tools that are influencing the process of learning about knowledge for her students. His article and the video embedded within discuss how Amy’s TOK course heavily integrates internet tools and social media on the subject of knowledge. Applications such as Twitter are used to allow students to develop tweets that expand the discussion of a specific topic. This often reaches outside of the class and creates added perspective from others that join in the discussions. Often even including the original authors. The course alone is intriguing from concept of how individuals study knowledge, but takes it into the online world where students are engaging with others from across the globe. They are vlogging, blogging and tweeting about concepts and opinions from the lessons they are learning.
In the video, Amy discusses the importance of building on online persona and how she personally is transparent with who she is, what she is teaching, and what information she is sharing. She also discusses the importance for the students to begin making their digital footprint. We are a world more connected by the online tools and social media applications that are available, but we must understand how to use them and what purposes they can serve. Amy’s course proves by example the capabilities that social media offers with learning for her students. It also provides them an opportunity to explore the social media platforms with a more educational approach, which is often overlooked and underutilized often for the negative implications that people find hard to get past. Again, it becomes a great way to escape the confines of the classroom and further explore topics through outside engagement. The results of this can offer a great learning experience not only for the class, but for those that participate externally. It provides the students with real-world application, or as the quote states, “…an essential life skill in a digital milieu.” Additionally, it can help prepare students to become digitally competent and even look at social media under a different influence of “entertainment” with the educational experience.
“If educational curricula have typically been consumed with learning what (learning science, math, social studies content) and with learning as becoming (learning to become a scientist or historian by applying the tools and practices of the discipline), we can now also focus deeper attention on understanding social learning: how people learn with whom, or learn to be contributors to local and global society with what degree of influence
(Brown, 2008; Brown and Duguid, 2002).”
– Christine Greenhow
This quote from Christine Greenhow’s article, Online Social Networks and Learning, for me, can sum up a direction that is needed in education with the integration of Web 2.0 and Social Media. Education does not just have to be about setting the classroom with the teacher as the educator and the students as the learners. We do not simply need to focus on “What” to teach or how to learn how “to become.” We can approach learning and education with a shift in focus that can expand and look at other opportunities where students can engage with each other, the teacher, and external communities. This can be achieved by integrating social networking and media. We have found in other lesson readings that many studies have found that learning is taking place more outside of the classroom. This learning is often viewed as informal and may not be gaining the credibility and value that it brings. How can we take that back into the classroom and accept these forms of learning; learning through others, learning through collaboration and even learning as contributors into the bigger picture of changes needed in educational curricula? We have to change the direction of what is happening in education and consider the importance of integrating these strong influences of social media and online learning experiences as important pieces to the future of education. Social media and networking can develop students and learners to become greater contributors of society and the future that they hold.