EXPLORING THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR
INSTRUCTIONAL PURPOSES – RESULTS OF A
SURVEY OF AACC FACULTY
Dan Nataf, Ph.D.
Director, Center for the Study of Local Issues,
Associate professor, Political Science
ddnataf@aacc.edu
8-21-2012
On behalf of the Learning Technologies subcommittee workgroup
composed of Rajwant Gill, Jeremiah Prevatte, Paul Gabriel-Tucci
Tasks of the workgroup
• 1. Review literature on uses of social media for
instructional purposes
• Identify best practices
• Results: Inconclusive
• 2. Assess how social media is used by AACC faculty
• Conducted survey in spring 2012
• Results to be presented
• Your input welcomed!
Overview of the survey
• 1. Identified nine
Videosharing
types of social
media
Social
News
• Common
Photo-sharing
elements
• Communication
• Diverse
•
•
•
•
contributors
Relationships/
networking
Creative
interaction
Information and
opinion sharing
Archiving,
accessing
Animation
Social
Media
Virtual
World
Microblogging
Blogging
Social
Networking
Livestreaming
Overview of the survey
Main questions
• Whether a faculty member has used any tools within the nine social
media categories for instructional purposes
• If so, how was the tool actually used
• Students’ receptivity to the incorporation of these tools
• Which tools and approaches have worked best
• Which tools and approaches didn’t work well
• Whether usage has been within the Angel learning management
system
• Review of “best pedagogical practices”
Which types of tools have been used?
Tool
Percentage Utilizing
Video-sharing
76
Social networking
44
Microblogging
18
Photo-sharing
18
Blogging
12
Animation
5
Virtual world
4
Social news
4
Livestreaming
1
Video-sharing
(76%)
What is it?
A Web based repository for digital
videos that can be accessed by and
commented upon by certain groups or
the public in general.
• YouTube is main source for video-sharing.
• Uses:
• Instructional videos
• “I have recorded and edited videos of pottery making processes. That way students can
review processes, or if they missed class they can see the demonstration.”
• Illustrative videos as supplements
(Sources included Open University, YouTube and
Teacher Tube)
• “I used clips of current trends in early childhood education to keep students up-to-
date.”
• “I have pulled up specific videos of techniques or segments of movies/TV shows when
relevant.
• “I use videos to show plays, poets, or other authors reading their works.”
Videosharing
• Guidance in the classroom
• “I use brief videos to clarify expectations and offer help with other
assignments.”
• Student assignments
• “Students choose topics relevant for the class and select a video for
class viewing.”
• “Students post their work on YouTube for class review/critique…”
• “I have shown clips of shows or commercials that are subject of
discussion in class.”
• “Students are shown how to upload their own videos and presentations
to YouTube for portfolio purposes.”
Social
Networking (44%)
facebook
Wall
Info
Photos
Boxes
Write something…
Share
• What is it? The use of a Web site to post text, photos, and videos that
can be accessed and commented upon by certain groups or the public in
general.
• Facebook most used:
Tool
Facebook
Google+
Linkedin
MySpace
Other
None
Total
Percentage Utilizing
23
14
7
0
10
56
110*
*Multiple answers possible
Social Networking: Uses
• Announcements and Information Sharing
• “We share with students the presence of departmental
opportunities, local exhibitions, and the availability of scholarships.”
• “I post updates, links and reminders about the course as well as
uploading course related documents.”
• “Students use Facebook to share information for patient care plans,
drug information, and for studying purposes.”
• “I use Facebook as a means to share current articles.”
Social Networking: Uses
• Student contact
• “I use Facebook to keep in contact with current and past students.”
• “I use it as a communication tool with present and past students.”
• General Instruction
• “I teach students in reporting classes to use Facebook to find
sources for news and feature stories.”
• “I use examples of grammatical errors on Facebook to emphasize
proofreading techniques.”
• “I had students view Facebook pages and make recommendations
for my e-marketing class.”
• “LinkedI n is a requirement for my portfolio and internship students
– students setup an account and must request to connect with me
and other students.”
Microblogging (18%)
• What is it? A method for disseminating 140 character text
messages to those who choose to ‘follow’ the sender.
• Twitter was main tool cited; Tumblr was mentioned as well.
• Uses
• Follow the instructor
• “Students can follow me, should they choose to do so.”
• “I provide students the option to follow my status on Twitter.”
• Announcements and information sharing
• “I use it to provide information and announcements to my students.”
• “I use it to provide industry current event information.”
• General instruction
• “I’ve had student reporters use Twitter to cover campus events. They
interview people and then create a series of tweets to report the news.”
• “I required students to sign up for Twitter and use it in class to ask questions
and to communicate among their peers during a lecture.”
Photosharing (18%)
• What is it? The use of a Web tool for placing images on a server
commonly accessible by certain groups or the public generally.
• Most commonly cited:
.
• Uses
• General instruction
• “We have used Flickr to create photo sets related to research projects.”
• Students use Flickr to find digital images to use in their artwork that are
covered under the Creative Commons licensing structure. We discuss
licensing, what the “CC” means, and how they might incorporate images
into their own work.”
• Students post images or video clips of field trips as well as written
descriptions accompanying the images, using Flickr and Picassa as well
as YouTube.
Blogs (12%)
• What are they?
Sites where author(s) leave “posts” – comments about
themselves, their opinions, or other information they wish to
share with certain groups or the public in general. Unlike
microblogs, these are not generally limited in length. They
are typically interactive, allowing viewers to leave their own
messages. They may be accompanied by photos, videos
or audio recordings.
• Wordpress and Google blogger most commonly cited.
Blogs (12%)
• Uses
• Student assignments:
• “Students use blogs as reflective exercises, to develop a portfolio
website, to develop a live custom blog for a client, and to document
what they are learning and collect resources for future reference.”
• “Wordpress hosts the eight year blog that I and others have used to
write about disabilities and the psychological/emotional impact. I do not
make reading the blog a requirement, but students can access it for
information and/or occasionally receiving extra credit as deemed
necessary.”
• Organize course information and links
• “I used Blogger to create a course hub for my English 200 courses.
Students get links to literary magazines, to free versions of anthologized
stories, and I post assignments and creative writing exercises.”
• “I use Blogger to organize course materials and provide a centralized
location for links, and students can also post their completed writings.”
Virtual Worlds (5%)
• What is it? A virtual world is an online community that takes the
form of a computer-based simulated environment through which
users can interact with one another and use and create objects.
• Most commonly mentioned: Second Life
• Uses
• General instruction - demonstrations:
• “Our surgical technology course is developing a Second Life operating
room.”
• “I use it for classroom demonstrations and to visit the AACC Second Life
island.”
• “It would be “an interesting way to allow students to communicate in real
time and have pseudo “face-to-face” time with instructors.”
Virtual Worlds
• Critical comments
• “Signed up and tried Second Life, but found that someone can spend
too much time in the program. It is a money machine for the creators,
but not a substitute for real life. I don’t use it anymore.”
• “Students hate Second Life. It is slow, outdated, and fails to enhance
instruction in any way. It might be exciting to someone over 40 who
never plays video games, but I fail to see how it serves any purpose that
Angel doesn’t already allow for…”
• “This is probably the silliest and most trendy and useless format I can
possibly imagine.”
Animation (5%)
• What is it? Xtranormal is the main site for this – it hosts computer
animated videoclips created by users who write dialog spoken by
animated three-dimensional characters. Example
• Uses
• Very few comments
• “I created a video to explain the difference between system software
and application software.”
Social News Tools (4%)
• What is it? Sites where users can post and vote for or against
articles related to news and a variety of topics. Comments are usually
possible which are themselves subject to voting…
• Sites: Reddit, Digg
Uses - Very few comments…
“An article on Reddit
became a popular source
for one of my research
topics this semester
(cyberbullying), so the
tool was discussed in
class.”
Livestreaming (0%)
• What is it? A method for broadcasting (streaming) a filmed event in
real time or broadcasting pre-recorded video using the Web.
• Ustream and Livestream are common sites. (Example)
• There were no comments/uses for these tools.
Students’ receptivity to these tools
Most faculty members were positive about students’ receptivity.
Percentage
Positive
Negative
Mixed/other
Total
65
12
23
100
Students’ receptivity to these tools: comments
Positive comments:
“I think students enjoy it. Those who are active in our Facebook group are
always more engaged overall.”
“My younger students have no problem posting to YouTube. Older students
often get help from others and soon are adept at posting to and viewing on
YouTube. I notice that students now seek out other students’ speeches, from
other colleges, offering my students an even wider perspective on public
speaking skills.”
“Receptivity was always excellent…clips were used for motivational
purposes…”
“Students come alive with video and/or any other visual materials.”
Students’ receptivity to these tools: comments
Mixed comments:
“Students’ receptivity was mixed, as it is with any teaching tool. Some
responded well to the videos, others did not even watch it. The class blog
was met with resistance until they saw how it tracked hits, etc. That made
them more interested.”
“Some students like to engage in these tools and furthering their learning via
these channels. Other students do not like to engage in using them for
academic purposes (as opposed to private ones).”
Negative comments:
“Students appreciate the fact that I do NOT use this sort of garbage, but
instead concentrate upon useful technology. Shared ignorance – which is
what social media are – is still ignorance.”
What worked best…
On YouTube:
“Students enjoy (and seem to learn better) when presented with visual content and with
personalized content. “
“Students like the YouTube clips because the break up the class time. They are completely used
to this tool, they don't think it is any different than showing something from a CD.”
“They LOVE the videos! The ones I find are helpful in illustrating ideas beyond just words in a
textbook, and my video instructions on different course tasks/features are quicker and easier to
understand than written directions.”
About others…
“Students tend to like the integration of blogging and Facebook in our classes. Our students may
be more technically savvy than other disciplines, simply due to the nature of our coursework. It's a
great way for students to learn to communicate and document their work and time here.”
“When I post hints and tips on Facebook and Twitter, students who are diligent seemed to
appreciate such information.”
What didn’t work well…
Four main areas of concern:
1. Complexity and the high/sustained level of effort/attention both for faculty
and students.
•
“I’m hesitant to use tools such as Second Life that have a steeper learning curve,
require better computers, and don’t seem to me to do much that I can’t do with simpler
tools.”
•
“Twitter seems too high maintenance unless a student is online constantly…some are,
some aren’t.” “Not many of my students are Twitter users.” “My use of Twitter never
seemed to appeal to students…”
•
Blogs - “Students were initially excited and receptive, but over the course of time, they
utilized these tools just as infrequently as they utilize office hours, tutoring, and other
such supplemental tools.”
What didn’t work well…
Four main areas of concern:
2. Differential access to course information based on the ease of access to and
preferences regarding social media.
General point: There were some who said that students complained that since usage of
these tools wasn’t a requirement, it was unfair to post course information (on Twitter or
Facebook) that wasn’t generally available elsewhere, such as within Angel.
Example:
“Facebook groups create a divide. Student who join the group like it. Some students who do
not want to join the group have expressed concern that they shouldn’t have to join the group
to get access to additional course content.”
What didn’t work well…
Four main areas of concern:
3. Privacy, both for faculty members and students
General point: Blurs the line between personal lives and school. Issues of identity theft.
Example:
“[Using Facebook] I [the faculty member] felt that there was too much access to my personal
information. Plus, it seemed to make them [the students] less formal with me, but not in a
good way.”
“I have had many students tell me they do not have Facebook accounts. I suspect there are
many students who do use Facebook but are not interested in class related material being
involved in their Facebook accounts or they have privacy concerns about me or their
classmates seeing their profiles.”
What didn’t work well…
Four main areas of concern:
4. Intellectual property rights; ensuring content is appropriate.
General point: How do you control the content, ensuring that it is legally used and
appropriate?
Example:
“Any site that has to be monitored for appropriate content or inappropriate ads could be not
worth the effort…”
Social Media and Angel…
Nearly one-half of faculty used social media tools outside of the Angel learning
management system.
Within Angel learning management system
Outside Angel learning management system
Both
Total
Percentage
Utilizing
18
49
33
100
Some faculty members maintained both Angel and non-Angel Web sites.
Social Media and Angel…
How were Angel and social media tools integrated?
• Angel as repository for materials – embedding YouTube videos or links to
outside resources within areas of Angel.
• Angel as an area for postings – discussion forums
Angel LMS advantages:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Training/help available for use
Control over content – legal and appropriate
Limits access to only students – but all enrolled students will have access
Avoids blending of personal and academic lives
Ensures greater privacy
Greater possibility of grading/assessing student work
Angel disadvantages:
• Some links don’t work – problems/limitations of the Angel system
• Doesn’t introduce students to world of social media outside of Angel
Eight best practices for instructors and AACC
1. College policies on the use of social media – are these
necessary?
• Needed: “The College should have user policies and procedures on any
social media tools that are used in a learning environment.”
• Not needed: “I’m not sure we should set college-wide rules and practices
at this point until we see how social media might be useful as a
pedagogical tool.”
• “In a computer course the issue of good virtual citizenship may be
addressed but an official College policy for social media use across
the curriculum seems like hand-holding.”
Best practices for instructors and AACC
2. Professional development and technical support for instructors.
• Needed: Raise awareness of how these tools work, how they can be
used for instructional purposes, how privacy and intellectual property
rights can be safeguarded. Ensure equipment and training are there to
support instruction.
• But is college technical assistance able to do this?
•
“The College’s technical support staff has trouble keeping up-to-date on inhouse software and hardware, let alone be able to support the demands of
these [social media] tools…”
• Is it a good use of college resources?
•
•
College equipment must be able to handle the demands
Is it worth the time and energy of faculty – what is the return on investment?
“Best practices is not using these tools unless you can really justify it. The
amount of work it takes to create something in Second Life or Xtranormal is a
waste of the teacher’s time, doesn’t enhance learning, and students are
generally turned off by it.”
Best practices for instructors and AACC
3. Instruction and technical support for students.
• Where does responsibility primarily reside: college-wide resources or
specific courses?
• Must the use of social media be specifically covered in computer
literacy courses?
• Are individual instructors to be the ‘help desk’ to explain how various
tools operate?
• “Students should take a class showing how to use social media.
There are so many pros and cons that can make or break the
experience…they need to be educated before they can use it.”
• “Take time to show them what you are offering, how it works.”
Best practices for instructors and AACC
4. Should students be required to use social media as a
condition of enrollment in a course?
• Is there an announced policy that specifies that a given course requires
students to use, e.g, Facebook or Twitter?
• Is it fair to expect students to receive course specific announcements,
“hints,” or other communication through tools that might not be available
or desirable for all students?
5. Privacy – are specific policies needed about how and when social
media tools are appropriate and about any risks to privacy and identity
theft?
“I am Facebook friends with many current and past students; I am very
careful about what I post, as well as set up security measures that don’t
allow current students to see my Facebook wall, or allow them to post
anything.”
Best practices for instructors and AACC
6. Be clear about the link between the use of online resources and
course learning objectives. Make sure the instructor has provided
enough guidance for students to competently use social media while
attaining the learning objectives.
“Carefully-designed tasks/projects that are objective-driven [and understood
by students] will avoid many of the “aimlessly wandering around the
Internet” issues. Providing students with starting points, templates, links,
sample projects and the like will help them visualize and customize their
goals for the project.”
7. Ensure that students are aware of the information validity limits from
various online and sources as well as the risks of plagiarism.
“Avoid non-peer reviewed sources of information.”
“There are some valid sites like TED and Khan Academy whose use should be
encouraged. There is another site where the top 100 Web tools are surveyed and
reviewed… We are better off training people how to use such sites properly that try to
restrict their use and allow only selected sites. We should teach them to make
relevant decisions about such sites.”
Best practices for instructors and AACC
8. Netiquette – be sure to convey what are “good online
manners/practices.”
“Do not let students just use Facebook the way they normally use
the tool. Have instruction on best practices…they won’t know any
better if we do not tell them how to use these tools appropriately.”