Anastasia Trekles, Ph.D.
Office of Learning Technology
Why Social Media?
Social media and Web
2.0 technologies can
extend learning into new
and exciting areas
 Web 2.0 can touch
every level of Bloom’s
Taxonomy, from
Remembering to
Creating
 Even better: social
media is FREE and
easy to access – and
usually familiar to
students as well

See
http://edorigami.wikispac
es.com/Bloom's+Digital+
Taxonomy
Advantages of Social Media

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Everyone is using it
– it’s almost
guaranteed to reach
its audience
Free of cost
Naturally creative
and intuitive
interfaces
Enable easy sharing
and disseminating of
information
64.4% of faculty
use social media
for personal
reasons
44.7% use it for
professional
reasons
33.8% use it in
their teaching
Facebook and
YouTube are the most
common social media
in use by educators
Blogs, wikis, LinkedIn,
podcasts, and Twitter
are used a little less
often
With social media, students
can…
Compare and share
notes and resources
 Debate and discuss
 Contribute more
equally
 Learn from one
another
 Learn from experts
and others in the field
 Get exposed to new
ideas, cultures, and
languages

The Flip Side: Potential Pitfalls
Social media is, of
course, social by
nature!
 Posts are not always
private, although they
can be made that way
 Students (and others)
can say and do things
we’d rather they didn’t
 Luckily, severe
incidents are quite
rare, and easy to
avoid

Social Media Can Make Learning
Fun

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Post important announcements and actually get
them read!
Create group projects like collaborative projects,
scavenger hunts, and round-robin discussions
Allow students to showcase their unique talents
and interests through pictures and video
Build a community of learners by encouraging
students to share and ask each other questions
Encourage students to connect in more
meaningful, convenient, and personalized ways
Facebook
Allows for private,
members-only groups to
be created
 Also allows for public
pages to be created for
a class to use for
announcements and
other one-way postings
 You don’t have to
“friend” your students –
that’s a personal choice
 You can create a
“school-only” Facebook
account strictly for your
class activities

About Groups:
https://www.facebook.co
m/about/groups
 About Pages:
https://www.facebook.co
m/about/pages
 Great infographic on
Facebook in college
classrooms:
http://www.schools.com/
visuals/collegeprofessors-onfacebook.html

Twitter

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Lots of neat discussions
can be had in 140
characters or less!
Don’t believe it? Check out
http://twitter.com/FieldingE
ngl102
Keep students engaged
and interested with short
tidbits, helpful hints, and
online resources
Use hashtags to keep
conversations related and
easier to follow
About Twitter:
https://support.twitter.com
 Twitter for Teachers:
http://www.schrockguide.
net/twitter-forteachers.html
 Ways to use Twitter in
academia:
http://academhack.outsid
ethetext.com/home/2008/
twitter-for-academia/
 Twubs – great for
following hashtags:
http://twubs.com

Google+

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Google has a large
number of socialinfused features,
including the popular
Hangout tool
Also, consider Google
Docs as a
collaborative tool or
an alternative to Office


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Google Drive
(formerly Docs):
http://drive.google.co
m
Hangouts:
http://www.google.co
m/hangouts
Google’s Education
page with tutorials
and more:
http://www.google.co
m/edu/teachers/
Pinterest
Pinterest as a teaching
tool? You bet!
 Pinterest can take
information on any topic
and make it visual, userfriendly and easy to
categorize and share
 So many resources are
already available –
students can easily
browse and repin things
they find
 Similar sites include
Scoop.it and Learni.st

Pinterest Help Center:
https://en.help.pinterest.
com/home
 The OLT Pinboard:
http://www.pinterest.com
/pncolt/technology-tothe-rescue/
 How colleges are using
Pinterest for education:
http://teachthought.com/
social-media/howcolleges-are-usingpinterest-in-education/

YouTube

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YouTube provides a great
platform for students to
share and publish as well
as learn
We all know there is a
tremendous amount of
valuable content out there
– just search and you’ll
find something good!
Armed with smartphones
or other camera devices,
students can easily create
and upload their own work
Great for reviews and
study groups,
presentations, and group
projects

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YouTube Education
University channel:
http://www.youtube.com/ch
annel/HCScmg5b9x0xQ
10 YouTube Channels to
make you smarter:
http://mashable.com/2013/
04/04/youtube-education/
Using online video in the
classroom:
http://www.edutopia.org/yo
utube-educational-videosclassroom
What’s integrated into
BlackBoard?

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Blogs – for student thoughts to be shared
and commented on
Wikis – for fluid student conversations and
group document editing
Collaboration – “chat room” and whiteboard
function similar to Adobe Connect (requires
Java)
Kaltura – media sharing tool for videos you
upload (yours or someone elses)
Mashups – integration from YouTube,
Slideshare.net, and Flickr available
Caveats and Parting Thoughts
Social Media can be a terrific tool for
learning
 But, it can be a little “messy” – there’s a
lot to negotiate, and a lot to keep up with
 No tool is perfect, either
 Requires patience and a willingness to
try something different, or think about an
old activity in a new way

Thanks!
 Staci:
atrekles@pnc.edu
 Alex: acrisw00@pnc.edu
 Twitter: @PNCOLT
 http://pnc.edu/distance for all
workshop notes, links, and training
needs
Resources
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Overcoming Hurdles to Social Media in Education:
http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/overcoming-hurdlessocial-media-education
Great blog on social media in higher ed:
http://blog.reyjunco.com
Social Media resource round-up:
http://www.edutopia.org/social-media-education-resources
Six ways to use social media in education:
http://cit.duke.edu/blog/2012/04/six-ways-to-use-socialmedia-in-education/
Friedman, L.W., Friedman, H.H. (2013). Using social
media technologies to enhance online learning. Journal of
Educators Online, 10(1). Retrieved from
http://www.thejeo.com/Archives/Volume10Number1/Fried
man.pdf.