Social Media Tools for Teaching and Learning

According to Wikipedia, “social media is the media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible scalable techniques. Social media is the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogue.”1 Social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, contain millions of members who interact to create social media. The ubiquitous nature of Facebook and Twitter has the attention of educators. In this column I will present tips on using Facebook and Twitter for teaching and learning.

THE PROBLEM

An athletic training instructor is challenged with utilizing Facebook and Twitter for educational purposes. Unlike other universities where she has worked, Facebook and Twitter are embraced at all levels of her current university. Recently the university president has charged each department to develop a strategy to expand and enhance cutting edge learning technologies. Her students are loyal users of Facebook and Twitter. The instructor seeks to understand the mechanics of Facebook and Twitter and their educational implications.

GETTING STARTED WITH FACEBOOK

Facebook is a social networking service that allows users to connect with friends, family, co-workers and others who have a similar interest and backgrounds. To get started using Facebook, follow this step-by-step process:

Set up your Facebook account. Direct your browser to www. facebook.com. You are required to enter your name email address, gender, and birthday. Unlike other social networking sites, Facebook has strict privacy policies. Upon logging into your account you can change or hide your email address, gender, and birthday. You can even change your name. I recommend using your real name, especially if your goal is to use Facebook for professional purposes.

information, and upload a personal profile picture. In your profile, you may add information on work experiences, education and special interests. Setting up a thorough profile will allow others to find you on Facebook. I strongly encourage you to create an account for personal use and one for your classes and educational program.

Edit your privacy settings. By default, Facebook shares certain information about you to everyone, even users who do not have Facebook accounts. There are three levels of privacy: Everyone, Friends of Friends, and Friends Only. For example, you may set your spring break photo album to only be shared with Friends. To access your privacy settings, log in and then click on the Account > Privacy hyperlink in the top right hand header of the page.

Create groups. Setting up groups allows you to separate your personal and professional content. For example, you may want to create an “Athletic Training Student” group. In doing so you will be able to engage the athletic training students in a professional environment while also staying in touch with your friends and family. You do not want your personal information to be a distraction to your students. An alternative to groups is to create a Facebook account specifically for education purposes.

FIVE FACEBOOK IDEAS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING

1. Use as learning management system (LMS). If you do not have access to Blackboard, Moodle, Desire to Learn or other LMS, you can use Facebook to share documents, poll/quiz your students, and conduct group discussions.

2. Reference citations. Facebook has hundreds of applications (apps) that can be used for educational purposes. Worldcat. org’s CiteMe is an app that provides formatted citations for books. Currently, CiteMe provides APA, Chicago, Harvard, MLA, and Turbian formal

3. Announcements. send out reminders and schedule changes 

4. Post class notes. Post documents with descriptions in any file format on Facebook. 

5. Create group discussions. Split your class in to smaller study groups for class projects. You can keep track of student’s participation, provide guidance, and monitor progress. 

FIVE TWITTER IDEAS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING

1. Log a teachable moment. Athletic training students can tweet about variations of skills they learn during their clinical experiences, such as modifications to a Lachman’s test. 

2. Quiz. Send quiz questions to your class and provide bonus points to students who respond within a given timeframe. 

3. Track a concept. Present a concept in class and ask students to tweet about the concept when they read about it in the professional literature. 

4. Track time. Athletic training students can use Twitter to keep track of their time spent in their clinical settings. 

5. Learning Diary. Students can keep a journal of the things that they learn during their clinical rotations. At the end of the week, a weekly reflection journal exercise can be submitted. 


also can visit :http://www.nataej.org/6.1/0601-051052.pdf