Pros
Kids like technology. Students today are used to being connected on multiple platforms.
This seems like a natural way for teachers to connect with students and for students to collaborate and connect with each other. It is also a creative way for students to share their knowledge with teachers and students.
It seems like many people, especially teens are always near their devices. This is a negative in many ways, but it does allow for quick and frequent access to teens. If a student is struggling with an assignment or needs clarification, this social network is a way to help guide a student instead of waiting until class the next day.
There is a variety of tools available, some are more social than others. This diversity allows the teacher to choose a tool that is best aligned to the objectives in the lesson.
Some of the tools listed in our text look very interesting as social media tools. Ning, SchoolNet Global and Bebo all look interesting and could be a way to link with students across the globe.
Cons
Not all students have access to computers and smart phones. This could easily divide the class by “haves and have nots.” Teachers may need to limit the types of assignments given using these platforms if the students themselves do not have the tools.
For the security of the teacher, it’s important to assure that the teachers accounts are separate from personal accounts. Many districts have policies against social media contact between students and teachers. This process should be transparent.
I asked my own teen aged kids about their use of social media in class, Edmodo is used by my kids. They both feel that it is not a good platform. They told me that they think the teachers like it because it is like Facebook but that kids today don’t really like Facebook. They think it is too old fashioned or as I like to say, Facebook jumped the shark. I personally, think it has great potential for organizing the classroom use of social media. Maybe students could brainstorm ways to use other social media formats if they felt that this was not as helpful to them.
The teacher had them split into groups but they were using Edmodo to do their group work instead of discussing the book in the group. It was a real turn off to some of them.
Jenn,
ReplyDeleteExcellent post! I agree that social media provides an enormous amount of educational potential in and outside of the classroom. It is a way for students to instantly access information at their fingertips. I also agree that a BYOD policy can divide a classroom into the haves and have-nots. A way around this could be to put the students into groups were only one device is needed for each group, check out classroom sets of tablets or laptops, or reserve time in the computer lab. This points out the reason why a teacher should always survey and consider what resources are available and what resources fit the task before assigning it.
Jenn,
ReplyDeleteYour first con is a huge factor at my school. There is no cell phone service in the town I teach in, nor do cable providers extend that far out. Any families that have cable or internet have it via dish - an expensive option in a low income, rural town. Therefore any 'required' social media use would have to be done in school since most students fall into the "have-not" category.
The example you provided about your daughter's experience with Edmodo in English class makes me want to scream! Yes - technology is great and engaging, but I find it pointless to use as a replacement for face-to-face interaction when possible. It'd be one thing if the students were doing the group work with a group in other English class that meets at a different time, or with an English class in a different school. Just another example showing how much more professional development is needed in technology integration!
I think Edmodo can be used in so many positive ways to help educate students, but working in edmodo in the same room while in a group is somewhat silly, unless the teacher wanted to model what it would like when they are collaborating online from home. I did create a project when we first received our gmail accounts and google drive called 3000 miles. The kids picked a strip of paper with a topic about digital citizenship on it. They had to email the entire class to figure out who had the same topic as they did. They then were not allowed to talk but they had to use their google drive, gmail and documents to communicate as though they were 3000 miles away from each other collaborating from another country or state... for fun sake. They actually bought into it and really did some wonderful projects. It was fun to see how they were able to work together and figure out how to communicate through the chat feature, etc. I checked their collaborative notes, etc. and graded them on how well they collaborated. It was risky, but it went well. Edmodo is a great place to share information with students and parents. It can also be a great way to formatively assess students. I can see how it can be boring to some students if they think it is more for a facebook type of interaction, but it can't even do that anyway, since the kids can't message each other. That is probably what annoys them about it. The BYOD program is difficult to bring into a school without connectivity. Check out President Obama's initiative to bring internet to 99% of our school children in the country within the next 5 years. Connected Initiative . The kids will need to have connectivity somehow for the new standardized tests that are coming their way as well. I wonder how that will work?
ReplyDelete