Teaching With Social Media A.J. Cann, University of Leicester

Content is generated by users a.k.a. “Web 2.0” “participatory media” etc. 2 What is “social media”?

It’s not about which tools to use - it's about why to use them (or not). Many factors involved: The student experience / student expectations? Can you match the experience social media offers using purely institutional resources? Empowering student-led learning by enhancing peer education? Copyright and content licensing issues. Efficiency gain? - does it save time? 3 Why use social media in education?

Old teaching practices may not transfer directly to social media: Principles change when objects become digital Filter on the way out not on the way in Categorisation is doomed 4 What’s so special about social tools?

5 Understanding the mindset - how do people use social tools? David White, Alison Le Cornu (2011) Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement. First Monday, Vol. 16, No. 9

To assess or not to assess? Integrated into course Tariff 15-30% 6 Assessment

Provide initial low-risk opportunities for practice Be resident in the service yourself Encourage collaboration through learning design but don't force "friendship” Provide clear guidelines to expectations of use and deadlines for any assessment Research what policies (if any) are in place for social media use at your institution Consider your colleague's reactions to the use of new technologies in learning and teaching (Hints: read research evidence, perform a risk assessment, have a backup plan) Fade into the background as quickly as possible 7 Best practice for using social tools

Remember, it’s not about tools! Suggestions in handout Social Networking: Facebook and beyond Blogging Wikis Social bookmarking, citation and annotation Document sharing Mind mapping Curation Conferencing 8 Overview of social tools

9 Teaching With Social Media

1.What advantages might there be in adopting social tools in your teaching? 1.What changes to your existing teaching are needed to facilitate incorporating social tools? 1.What steps to you need to take to achieve the changes you have identified? 1.How will you measure the effectiveness of any changes introduced? 10 Group Work

11 Teaching With Social Media

Conclusions from the groups: Main advantages / disadvantages of using social media? Specific examples of new teaching practices? Main problems to be overcome? Timetable for change? And? 12 Plenary Session

13 Teaching With Social Media