If they can do it, why can't we?
Discussing, learning, and using social networking sites and digital media applications such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube in classroom and library environments can and does significantly increase student engagement, both to the curriculum, but also to the technology itself. There is strong evidence of this engagement from the work of the MacArthur Foundation’s YouMedia program at the Chicago Public Library, and from initiatives like DigMe in the Minnesota High School system, as seen in the following clip.
“Students use social sites like Facebook and Twitter to communicate outside of class, so it only makes sense to use those tools to get the kids communicating during class”.
- Delainia Haug, Roosevelt High School English Teacher
Using social media has the potential to serve a number of functions in the classroom and school library. Firstly, it engages young people with the curriculum by catching the attention of the students and increasing their participation. Secondly, it prepares them for communicating in tomorrow’s new media landscape by exposing them to the tools and technologies as well as the discussions that surround these.
“We know from previous research that engagement is important for achievement. We know that digital media engages young people, and because we know that 21st century literacies are all about digital media”.
- Cynthia Lewis, University of Minnesota Educational Researcher.
Programs like that of DigMe at Roosevelt High School, and the YouMedia program at the Chicago Public Library are shining examples of what can be achieved when school systems and libraries engage with digital media, and consequently engage with their students and young people. So my question is… if they can do it, why can’t we?
What are we so afraid of here in Australia? Where is the innovation and participation and conversation about social networking sites and digital media? I’ll tell you where it is… it’s at home behind closed doors, or at lunch on mobile phones, or not at all. All of which, to me, seem to be far more scary than open an innovative participation and discussions on these ideas in our classrooms and libraries.
Hi TLstudent,
ReplyDeleteI whole heartedly agree which is why I am making an effort to embed media in my teaching and learning programs. I got really inspired at a recent ICT integrators conference that I attended and as a result my colleagues and I are re-writing the 'all my own work' (AMOW)program. The AMOW program is a NSW DET compulsory program aimed at giving students an understanding of plagiarism and copyright discourse. Previously it has been pretty dry but this year we are really shaking things up. We are going to have a Twitter #AMOW back-channel going on through out he day as well as some time for the students to synthesis their knowledge with a short digital artifact construction activity. Hopefully this will make what could otherwise be a very dry topic a bit of fun. Hopefully all of the students taking this class will be inspired to try out new things and not to be afraid of innovation.