The value and practice of social
networks and social media in
education
@ellenhel
Ellen Helsper
Media and Communications Department
London School of Economics and Political Science
NetworkED lecture, 6 March 2013
The internet in everyday life
The internet in education
Social media in everyday life
Social media in education
Adults
&
Young people
THE INTERNET IN EVERY DAY LIFE
Fully digital?
I have
I can
Access:
Skills
• Mobility
• Ubiquity
• Privacy
• Technical
• Social
• Critical
• Creative
Motivations
I feel
•Societal
•Personal
(Helsper, 2012)
Engagement
•
•
Civic
Educational
•
Social
•
•
Economic
Cultural
I do
Adults
Who?
Between 36 and 45, university educated, studying or employed, male, AB
socio-economic status with children in the household.
Where?
Midlands or London, countryside home, at home, work or mobile.
What?
Traditional broadcast content (36% daily user)
Web2.0 (35% daily user)
UGC (5% daily user)
Information seeking (21% daily user)
Informal learning (21% daily user)
Source: Oxford Internet Surveys (2011, World Internet Project-UK) – 19+ yrs old
Young people
Who?
First online > Between 7 and 10
Daily users: older teens, boys and girls, single child, single parent /both and older
sibling, AB socio-economic status and varying levels of education parent.
Where?
Semi-detached or terraced housing, in village or large city using….
Shared PC (69%), Mobile Phone (54%) and Games Consoles (57%)…
in School (91%), Living room (87%), Bedroom (52%), and at a friend’s home (57%).
What?
Schoolwork (92%)
Watched videos (75%)
Visited Social Networking Site (71%)
Sent email (60%)
Used instant messaging (60%)
Source: EU Kids Online Survey 2011 UK data (www.eukidsonline.net) – 9 to 16 yr olds
The internet for all?
skillatlevel
Estimated
home
access
% that has broadband
Average ---------------------------------------------------Expert
100%
High educ/employed,
90%
High educ/employed
80%
High
educ/unemployed,
75%
High
60%
Loweduc/unemployed
educ/employed,
Low educ/employed
60%
40%
20%
0%
Low
educ/unemployed
Low
educ/unemployed,
24%
17%
12%
7%
2%
2003
2003
2004
2005
2005
2006
2007
Source: Oxford
Office ofInternet
National
Statistics
(UK)Internet Project-UK)
Source:
Surveys
(World
2007
2009
2008
2009
2011
THE INTERNET IN EDUCATION
Teachers….
Helped you in the past when something has
bothered you on the internet
35
Talked to you about what you would do if
something on the internet ever bothered you
58
Suggested ways to behave towards other
people online
68
Explained why some websites are good or bad
79
Helped you when you found something
difficult to do or find on the internet
80
Talked to you about what you do on the
internet
81
Suggested ways to use the internet safely
82
Made rules about what you can do on the
internet at school
85
0
Source: EU Kids Online Survey 2011 UK data (www.eukidsonline.net)
20
40
60
80
% of children who said teachers had..
100
School barriers to digital opportunities
“1) endless technical problems – problems of
access and adoption (e.g., hardware doesn’t
work, wi-fi too slow, teachers don’t have time to
learn how the technology works)
2) ‘Everyone’ – parents, teachers, and students –
has no idea of the sophistication and creativity
[possible through connected learning]…..”
Sonia Livingstone interviewed about ‘The Class’, 2013
Parents - Schools - Students
Gets
safety
info from
schools,
28%
Does not
get safety
info from
school,
72%
Would not
like to get
info from
school,
65%
Would like
to get info
from
school,
35%
26% of young people say that they often spend less
than they should on schoolwork, family or friends
because of the time they spent on the internet.
Source: EU Kids Online Survey 2011 UK data (www.eukidsonline.net)
Equal Rights to Digital Education?
“Teachers of the lowest income students are
more than twice as likely as teachers of the
highest income students (56% v. 21%) to say
that students’ lack of access to digital
technologies is a “major challenge” to
incorporating more digital tools into their
teaching”
Purcell, 2013 – in the US
Made rules about what you can do
100%
on the internet at school
87%
87%
85%
77%
Suggested ways to use the internet
safely
84%
85%
86%
73%
80%
Explained why some websites are
Parents’
education
good or bad
primary or less
Helped you when you found
60% something
difficult to do or find on
the internet
70%
lower secondary
Suggested ways to behave towards
other people online
40%
upper and
post-secodnary
83%
Parents’ education
tertiary
84%
77%
74%
71%
72%
70%
63%
36%
Talked to you about what you
26%on the27%
would do if something
internet ever bothered you
20%
81%
79%
85%
tertiary
upper and post-secodnary
lower secondary
39%
34%
57%
65%
59%
51%
primary or less
33%
18%
90%
81%
79%
84%
13%
Talked to you
about what you do
on the internet
Helped you in the past when
28%
39%
0%something has bothered you on the
40%
internet
Advice from school on safety tools and safe44% Wants advice from school in the future?
use of the internet?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
EVERYDAY LIFE
SOCIAL MEDIA
Adults
Who?
Under 25s, Single, Men, Employed with Higher SE Status…
…with strong intimate and social support networks .
Where? 27% access SNS on mobile phone.
What?
Basic content creation: frequent
Advanced CC: less common
Passive use UGC: frequent
Social value
50% checking email daily, 25% maintains SNS weekly
± 15% monthly blogs, posting pics, discussion boards
e.g. 20% read blogs on weekly basis
28% met someone through social network/6% in online community
16% use SNS to communicate with others (60% just email)
25% of drop outs used to use internet for social media related purposes
Source: Oxford Internet Surveys (2011, World Internet Project-UK) – 19+ yrs old
Social media for adults
Time saving, socialising tool for offline
relationships with risks of personal data misuse
and distraction from things that really matter.
Relatively uncomfortable providing personal
data (easiest with email address and name, least
comfortable with phone number).
Source: Oxford Internet Surveys (2011, World Internet Project-UK) – 19+ yrs old
Young people
Who?
Older teens, girls and boys equally skilled but girls’ use less
broadly
Households with only child/both parents and adult sibling,
higher educated and socio-economic levels AB and DE
….but also those discriminated against
What?
Basic content creation: frequent
68% email & IM, 74% SNS
Advanced participation: frequent
49% online games, 25% virtual world
Advanced CC: less common
31% adds pictures, writes blogs
Source: EU Kids Online Survey 2011 UK data (www.eukidsonline.net) – 9 to 16 yr olds
Social Media for young people
Ubiquitous space where
…the offline meets the online for better or for
worse.
…the adult world sometimes interferes (but
maybe shouldn’t).
…use often outpaces skill and knowledge about
dealing with difficult situations.
Source: EU Kids Online Survey 2011 UK data (www.eukidsonline.net) – 9 to 16 yr olds
SOCIAL MEDIA IN EDUCATION
Perceptions
US Teachers
... 69% say the internet has a “major impact” on their ability to
share ideas with other teachers
… 67% say the internet has a “major impact” on their ability to
interact with parents and 57% say it has had such an impact on
enabling their interaction with students
(Purcell, 2013)
UK School lockdown & Resistance to de-silo-ing
(Sonia Livingstone interviewed about ‘The Class’, 2013)
Practice
44% of children with a social
networking profile include the
name of their school in their
profile
Source: EU Kids Online Survey
2011 UK data – 9 to 16 yr olds
Vickel Narayan
Questions…
Considering inequalities in experience and skill
in using the internet can education using social
media be equal for all students?
Considerable issues in relation to invasion of
privacy and resistance to spheres mingling on
both sides, how can/should social media be
used as a teaching tool in this context?