Runninghead:SOCIALNETWORKING

SocialNetworkingintheClassroom:TheNextMovementinEducation
KimberlyMcWilliams
EDCI750:EmergingTechnologiesinEducation
KansasStateUniversity
Instructor:ClarkHarris

Runninghead:SOCIALNETWORKING

Acontroversialtopicrightnowintheworldofeducationisshouldteachersbe
usingsocialmediaandnetworkingtoteachstudents?Ifyes,howso?Manyteachersbelieveit
wouldbeagoodideaforacademicengagement.However,manyparentsandadministrators
areconcernedwithpossibledistractionandsafetyissues.Intheend,onemustrecognizethat
thevaluesandbenefitsofsocialmediaintheclassroomenvironmentfaroutweighthehazards.
Astechnologyisgrowingintheworlditbecomesagreaterpartofeveryoneslife.
Becauseithasbecomeanintegralpartoftheworkingworlditisonlyappropriatestudentslearn
howtousetechnologyandbecomecomfortablewithit.Usingtechnologyintheclassroomcan
makelearningmoreexciting,fun,andprovideopportunitiesforinformation.Theutilizationof
technologyallowsformoreimmediateandmeaningfulfeedback.Socialnetworkingprovides
educatorswitharesourceforearlyidentificationofstudentsfacingfailurestatedbyOkoro&
Hausman(2012).Onceassignmentsarecompleted,studentswillknowimmediatelyifthey
grasptheconceptandknowwhatmaterialneedsfurtherstudy.
Socialnetworkingallowsstudentstochoosewhetherornottoworkindependentlyand
managetheirowntimeorworkcollaboratively.Workingcollaborativelyusingsocialnetworking
engagesstudentsinmorerigorousandproductivegroupprojects(Okoro,2012).Social
networkingalsoallowsstudentstobeaccessibletooneanotherandtheteacheralmostatall
timesresultingineasieraccesstoinstructionalguidance.Learningcantakeplacewhenever.
Expectationsandcommunicationsarealmostalwaysarchivedintheclassroomusingwebsites.

Runninghead:SOCIALNETWORKING

Thisallowsforlessambiguityanduncertaintythanmightcomealongwithonlyverbal
communication(Okoro&Hausman,2012).
Socialnetworkingcanalloweducatorstorevolutionizeteachingbycreatingmore
opportunitiesforcreativelearning(Okoro&Hausman,2012).Learningobjectivesandretention
increaseswithcommunicationbetweenteacherandstudent.Itputstheownershipoflearning
andengagementonthestudent.Projectsandwritingassignmentssuchasessaysallowthe
teachertocloselymonitorstudentprogressandhelpensureagreaterendproductwhenusing
socialnetworking.Okoro&Hausmanstatedthatwhenallowedaccess,studentswillbring
emergingconcepts,tactics,andothercoursecontentintheclassroom.Whenencouraged
studentswillsearchforinformationthemselves,lookforsources,andconveythisinformationto
theclass.Infact,onesurveywasconductedthatfoundalmost(60)%ofstudentsdiscuss
schoolbasedtopicsonline.Studentsarealreadyusingsocialmediatodiscussschooloutsideof
theclass,itonlymakessensetotakethatopportunityanduseittoateachersadvantage.
Socialnetworkingorsocialmedia,asitissometimesreferred,isdefinedbyWebster
dictionaryasformsofelectroniccommunicationthroughwhichuserscreateonlinecommunities
toshareinformation,ideas,personalmessaged,andothercontent.Sincethebeginningofthe
internettherehasbeensocialnetworking.Throughtheyears,however,ithasseendrastic
changes.ItbeganwithaBulletinBoardSystemotherwiseknownasBBS.BBSwas
independentlyranandproducedusingtelephonelineswhereeachusercouldpublishor
downloadcodesinalocalsetting.Thecodescouldbeusedforexchangingfilesorgames.
Technologyatthetimerestrictedtheavailabilityanduseofthissystem,butessentiallyitbecame

Runninghead:SOCIALNETWORKING

thefoundationforwhatisconsideredsocialnetworkingtoday(Goble,2012).Withexpansive
changesintechnologyanevolutionofsocialnetworkingsitessuchasFacebook,Twitter,
MySpace,Instagram,andsoonhavetakenplace.Allofthesesitesallowuserstohaveopen
linesofcommunication,freeexpression,andconnectwithpeopleglobally.Userscan
communicateefficientlyandeffectivelyresultinginitbecominganintegratedpartoftheaverage
Americanlife,especiallyforteenagers.Todaysyouthconsistentlyinteractswithatleastone
socialnetworkingtoolifnotmore.Teachersandschoolofficialsmusttakeadvantageofsocial
networkingasanaturalextensiontostudentslivesandinterests(Okoro&Hausman,2012).
Twitterisonetechnologicalvenuethathasabeneficialimpactuponstudents.Asurvey
conductedbyYPulse(2013)determinedthatapproximately21%ofmillennialsuseTwitteras
theirprimarynewssource.Itisonlyrudenttousethistechnologytoaidinteaching,particularly
socialstudies.Asocialstudiesteachertypicallyaddresseshistoryaswellascurrentevents.In
2011therewasapoliticalunrestinEgyptdealingunfairgovernment.Egyptiancitizenstookto
Twittertoexpresstheirfeelingsofdistainfortheirdictator.InsteadofturningonCNN,the
teacherhadstudentsfollowthehashtag#Egypt.Thisallowedstudentstoseetherealtime
updatesofordinarypeoplegoingthroughtheordeal(November&Mull,2012).Accessing
Twitterallowsstudentstolearnabouttheworldaroundthem,makingdeepermoremeaningful
connectionstocontentbyabsorbingmultipleviewpointsinlessthan140characters.Many
teachershavehadsuccessincorporatingTwitterintotheirclassroom.ResultsofTweestordom,
creditthesuccessofTwittertoprovidingbothinstrumentalandemotionalsupport.Each
studenthasthecapabilitiesofseekingprofessionaladviceandinformationwhilesimultaneously

Runninghead:SOCIALNETWORKING

beingabletoreceiveencouragement,constructivecriticismandsupport(Sie,Pataraia,
Boursinou,Rajagopal,Margaryan,Falconer,&Sloep,2013).
Bloggingalsohastheabilitytointegrateimportantcontent,socialawareness,and
technologyskills.Inabusinessclassforexample,ablogcouldbekepttotracktrendsinsome
sectorofthemedia.Ithelpstoensurethatstudentswillbekeptuptodatewithcurrentevents.
Fromatechnologicalstandpointithelpsstudentstobecomefamiliarwithhyperlinks,
embeddingimages,citingsources,etc(Fee,2013).Bloggingalsohelpsestablishstudents
digitalidentityinasafemonitoredpresence.Manyteachersuseblogstohelpkeepintouchwith
parents.Studentsmaytakepictures,uploadandsummarizeactivitiesviaaclassblogallowing
parentstoalwaysremaincurrentonclassroomlearningandtheprogressionofstudentswork.
Blogginghelpsthechildtopracticetechnicalskillsaswellaswritingandfluency.Allofthese
elementsreinforcetheideathatbloggingisanimportanttechnologicalavenueeducatorsshould
employ.
Facebook,easilythemostpopularsocialmediatoolinAmerican,caneasilybe
integratedintotheclassroom.TeacherscanmakeaFacebookpagefortheirclass.Here
pertinentinformationcanbesharedinstantlywiththeclass.Classroomannouncements,
activities,andduedatescanallbeposted.Itisalsoanothereasywayforparentstomonitorthe
activitiesfortheclass.Moststudentschecke*mails,orothermessageboardsonceaday,while
theirFacebookischeckedconsistently.Studentswhohavetomissforillnessorforactivities
typicallyhaveeasilyaccesstoFacebook.Itcanalsohelpencouragecollaborationamongst
studentsintheclassroom.

Runninghead:SOCIALNETWORKING

YouTubeishelpingtobringaboutaradicalamountofchangeintheclassrooms.Ithas
begunarevolutioncalledtheflippedclassroom.Theconceptisthatstudentsareassigned
videossometimeswithgraphicorganizerstocompleteoutsideofclass.Studentscometoclass
withknowledgeofhowtoworkonmaterialgivingabetteropportunityforteacherstohave
moreoneononeinteractionwithstudents.Studentsareaccountablefortheirownlearning.
Watchingthesevideosallowsstudentstorewindthemandwatchthemasmanytimesasneeded
tounderstandtheinformation.StudentsalsohavetheopportunitytouseYouTubeforreciprocal
teaching.Students,demonstratingtheirknowledge,andunderstandingofatopiccanmake
tutorialvideos.Thevideocanpotentiallybesharedwithpeersorotherstudentsacrossthe
world.

UsingresourcessuchasEdmodoorGoogleDrivehelpsupportvisualandauditory
learnersbyallowingstudentsandteacherseasyaccesstoresourcematerials.PowerPoint,
presentations,flashcards,andmanyothermaterialscanbesharedanddistributedusingthese
sites.Whenaccesseditincreasesthestudentspreparednesswhilealsoallowingstudentswho
areilltolearnthematerialontheirown.Thesemediasitesallowforpostingboardstodiscuss
topics,shareideas,andaskforhelpamongstpeers.Assignmentsandmaterialscanbeshared
usingEdmodoorGoogleDrive.Studentscanalsoshareandhandintheirworkusingthese
sites.Sinceeverythingissubmittedelectronicallyitallowsteacherstomonitorwhenandhow
oftenstudentsareworkingonassignments.Thisallowstheteachermorechancestogive
immediatefeedbacktostudentshelpingtoensurehigherqualitywork.

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StudentscansummarizeandinfercontentforeachclassbypostingonaBlog,Twitter,
Facebook,etc.indirectsupportoflearningobjectives(Okoro&Hausman,2012).Students,
whenreadingnovels,cantweetquestionsduringclassastonotinterruptthereaderspeaking.
Attheendofclass,asafinalreview,theteachercanreadthroughthetweetsnotice
misconceptionsandanswerthemostcommontweets.Alsowhenstudentspostreflectionson
eitherFacebookorTwitter,thebrevityrequiredstudentstosummarize,edit,andconveyonly
themostpertinentinformation.Blogging,anothertoolfostersopportunitiesforstudentstoread
thoughtsofothers,analyzetheirviewpoints,andthenasserttheirownbeliefs.Allofthese
aspectsincreasestudentlearning,engagement,andaccountability.
EnglishLanguageLearners(ELL)canbenefitfromusingsocialmediadevicesaswell.
Mahmud(2012)statedthatwhenusingFacebookorsimilarsitesstudentshadincreased
readingandwritingskillsversusELLstudentswhodidnot.Studentscanlookback,reference
oldposts,expand,andtracktheirownprogress.WritingonFacebookismuchmoremeaningful
andrelevanttothelearnerwhichmakestheirlearningmoreproductive.Itallowsforblended
learning,amixtureofatraditionalclassroomandonlinelearning.Sincetechnologyisbeing
utilizedithelpschangestudentsperceptionoflearningresultinginthestudentlearningwithout
consciousthought(Mahmud,2012).Themorepositiveastudentsoutlook,thegreater
prosperityforthelearning.
Peopleareconcernedaboutthestigmasandreputationsthatareattachedwiththese
websites.Cyberbullyingiseffluentinthemedia.Almostaquarterofstudentshavesaidthey
havebeenbulliedonasocialnetworkingsitetosomedegree,however,propermonitoringand

Runninghead:SOCIALNETWORKING

interveningonminorincidentsbeforetheybecomeseriouscanhelpdeterthesesituations
(Lederer,2012).Manyparentsareconcernedaboutprivacy,bullying,andanyphysical
altercationsthatmightarise(Huffman,2013).Everyonemustthinkcarefullyaboutwhatshould
andshouldnotbeshared.Aseveryoneknows,onceinformationisplacedontheInternet,no
mattertheinnocence,itisapartoftheWorldWideWebforever.Informationsharedcan
potentiallyputthechildoreventheteacheratrisk(Huffman,2013).Therefore,teachersmust
monitorsocialnetworkingsitesusedforacademicpurposeswithgreatdiligence.Teachers
abilitytooverseethesocialnetworkingcanbemonotonousandtimeconsumingwhen
specificallymonitoryonlinediscussions.However,whendoingtheirduediligenceteacherseasily
preventbullyingandpotentialsafetyissues.
Manyparentsandeducatorsfeelthedecreaseinfacetofacecommunicationwillresult
inalackofsocialskillaswellasbasiccommunicationskills.Manywonderhowstudentswhen,
putinsocialgatheringsandjobinterviews,willconductthemselves.Theyfeelstudentsabilityto
commandattention,deliverconcisethoughts,andconnectwithothersmightbehindered
(Lederer,2012).Asidefromthatmanyfeelsomestudentexhibitaninabilitytounderstandand
followcomplexinstructionsonline,aswellasinconsistentparticipationonlinediscussionsand
assignments.Whiletherearelegitimateconcerns,theavailabilityofcontent,assistance,and
collaborationfaroutweighanynegativeaspects.Thisisaconcernbutmanyemployersarenow
lookingforpeoplewhocancommunicateeffectivelyandquicklyonline.Beingfamiliartyping,
talking,andsharingonlineisessentialinthejobmarket.Ateachercansynthesizeadigital
learningwithsocialmediaandverbalclassroomdiscussionstoworkonbothneeds.

Runninghead:SOCIALNETWORKING

Socialnetworkingcanbeadistraction.Thereisntawayaroundit.Therewillbe
studentswhoseeutilizingtheseresourcesasachancegoofoff(Lederer,2012).Itcan
potentiallybedisruptivetothelearningprocess.Thisiswhereclassroomexpectationsanddirect
communicationareessentialclassroommanagementalongwithclosemonitoringbytheteacher
areessential.Anotherdistractionthatoftencausesanissueintheclassroomisthatof
technologicaldifficulties.Thereisatimestrainintheclassroomwhentechnologyisnotworking
properlyifatall.Italsoputsastrainonservers,bandwidth,andITpersonnel(Okoro
&Hausman,2012).Whilenotundertheteachercontrol,thesecanbeplannedforand
expected.Withpropermanagementandplanningmostdisadvantagescanbeavoidedor
minimized.
Socialnetworkingshouldbeutilizedintheclassroom.Thereareaplethoraofoptions
forintegratingtechnology.Eachteachercanuseasocialnetworkingwebsiteorappamillion
waystobestfittheneedsoftheirclassroom.Thepossibilitiesareendless.Mostofthesesocial
sitesarefree,costingnomoneyfortheteacherandthestudent.Asfarasconcerns,ifthe
teacherpossessstrongclassroommanagementandsetsapositiveexampleofdigitalcitizenship,
theprosfaroutweightheconsforimplementingsocialnetworkingintheclassroom.This
technologyshouldbeimplementedbecauseitfacilitatesteachersandstudentscommunication,
quickerfeedback,engagesthelearner,andhelpsmakethestudentaccountableforlearning.
Therewillcontinuetobeadebateoverwhethersocialnetworkingshouldbeusedinthe
classroom.YouTubeandothernetworkingsitesarealreadybeingusedtohelpstudentsstudy.
Itwouldonlymakesensethatschoolswouldutilizethisinterest.Itshouldbeimplementedinto

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theclassroombecauseevidencehasdemonstratedanimprovementinstudentlearningthat
exceedsthepotentialdisadvantages.Wheneducatorsplanaccordingly,haveprecise
instructions,monitordiscussions,andprovidefeedbackconsistentlyitwillenrichstudent
learning.Communicationisenrichedbetweenthestudentandteacher.Perhapsthegreatest
benefitisthatstudentswillnotonlybelearningthematerialbeingtaughtbutskillsneededforthe
realworld.

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References
Fee,J.(2013,August18).7waysteachersusesocialmediaintheclassroom.Retrievedfrom
Mashablewebsite:http://mashable.com/2013/08/18/socialmediateachers/
Goble,G.(2012,September6).Thehistoryofsocialnetworking.RetrievedfromDigital
Trendswebsite:
http://www.digitaltrends.com/features/thehistoryofsocialnetworking/#!E4nOr
Huffman,S.(2013).BENEFITSANDPITFALLS:SIMPLEGUIDELINESFORTHEUSE
OFSOCIALNETWORKINGTOOLSINK12EDUCATION.Education,
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Lederer,K.(2012,January19).Prosandconsofsocialmediaintheclassroom.Retrieved
fromCampusTechnologywebsite:
http://campustechnology.com/Articles/2012/01/19/ProsandConsofSocialMediain
theClassroom.aspx?Page=1
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(2013,May29).Millennialsandnews,factchecked.RetrievedfromYPulsewebsite:
http://www.ypulse.com/post/view/millennialsandnewsfactchecked

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November,A.,&Mull,B.(2012,October18).Howtwittercanbeusedasapowerfuleducational
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