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Discover the benefits of using popular social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter in the classroom. Engage students, share resources, and build a virtual learning community to boost student interaction and learning outcomes.
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Social Media Lynn W Zimmerman, PhD
What is Social Media? • Virtual communities and networks • Conversations • Community • Connecting with the audience • Building relationships • Not just a broadcast channel • Allows you to hear what people say about you, and enables you to respond
Popular Social Media Sites • Blogs • Facebook • Twitter • YouTube • Vimeo • Flickr • Instagram • LinkedIn • Second Life
Social Media for Students • Fakebook • FakeTweet • Edublogs • Kidblog • Edmodo • "tweets" on post-it notes
Using Social Media in the Classroom • Tweet or post status updates as a class • Write blog posts about what students are learning • Ask questions to engage your students in authentic learning • Connect to other classrooms through social media • Use Facebook to get feedback for your students' online projects • Use YouTube for your students to host a show or a podcast • Create projects with other teachers • Further a cause that you care about
How do I set up a Facebook group? • You need a Facebook account • Click on ‘create a group’ • Give your group a name, e.g. ‘ICT and English’ • Add members • Can add special settings, e.g. make the group ‘private’, create an event etc.
Why a Facebook group with students? • Many students are already active Facebook users and understand how to navigate the website • Students usually like the idea of connecting with one another. • User-friendly • Uploads fast • Helps new students to get to know the other students outside class • Newsfeed record offers them an overview of past class activities • A space for students to ask questions/interact with each other in English. • Becomes an extended classroom for independent learning and self-study • Students are encouraged to take a more active part in their own learning. • Read and ‘receive’ but also post and share materials with one another.
What can I use the Facebook group for? • Share self-study resources from the Internet • Can add links to useful websites • Share materials connected to class discussions • Prepare for the writing paper in Cambridge exams with peer-feedback • Assign homework and to remind students of homework deadlines • Prepare for end of term tutorials • Share files and pictures
Twitter • A sharing community where teachers can find • articles • website links • lesson plans • interactive games • worksheets • Setting up an account is easy.
Who to Follow • Click on the "Who to follow button" • search for terms such as ELT, Tesol, EFL, and ESL • Click on the follow buttons. • @NikPeachey • @ozge • @TheConsultantsE • @Larryferlazzo • @AnaCristinaPrts
Filtering • Use the "Search" button at the top of the window to filter tweets to only view content around a particular topic • For example • only tweets about #Tesol • write that in the search bar and it will limit your tweets to just that topic
Favorites • Click on the "Favorite" button just underneath each tweet • When you want to find the tweets you have marked as favorite, click on "Profile" then "Favorites“ • Can store up favorite tweets and view them when you have time
Tweeting/Re-Tweeting • Share your own comments or ideas as tweets • Retweet material that you enjoy reading. • Add hashtags to your tweets to help followers filter and find your material more easily
How to Tweet • Keep tweets short just 140 characters • If people retweet your material, click on the "Reply" button below the tweet to thank them. • Don't send anything private on Twitter. • Don't be concerned if people "follow" you who you don't know. They only receive the things you tweet or retweet.
Followers • To find out more about the people who send you tweets click on their image and information appears on the right. • Can unfollow or follow; also send a direct message by clicking on envelope icon. • Can see how many followers they have; view list of their followers by clicking on the number. • Receiving tweets with unsavourycontent or plain spam, block those people • Click on the icon of that person and in the right hand column, click on the tab of the small head with an arrow pointing down and then choose "Block". • Be selective about the people and the organizations you follow and you should be fine.
Resources for Twitter • http://www.slideshare.net/halafawzi/twitter-in-efl-classroom • http://www.teachhub.com/50-ways-use-twitter-classroom • http://etcjournal.com/2009/12/15/twit-torial/
References • Davis, V. (2014). A guidebook for social media in the classroom. Edutopia. Retrieved from • http://www.edutopia.org/blog/guidebook-social-media-in-classroom-vicki-davis • Haase, B. (n.d.). Using Facebook groups with EFL students. Retrieved from http://www.excel-college.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Using-Facebook-groups-with-EFL-students.pdf • Stannard, R. (2011). How English language teachers can go with the Twitter flow. Guardian Weekly. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/education/2011/oct/11/twitter-for-english-language-teachers