Social Media in English Education
or(Social Media: It’s Not the Enemy!)
Laura Nicosia, PhDAssociate Prof. English
Director, English EducationMontclair State University
Who am I?
This is the iconic Bell Tower of College Hall at Montclair State University in NJ
My upcoming book is: Educators Online: Preparing
Today’s Teachers for Tomorrow’s Digital LiteraciesPeter Lang, Publishers
In my book, I attempt to dispel numerous myths and anxieties regarding
Web 2.0 uses and social media participation--specifically regarding
educators.
A recent study* of over 1000 educators shows:
Only 16% of English/LA teachers are frequent users of technology, as opposed to 33% of all social studies
or science teachers.* Report by Grunwald Associates LLC June 2010: www.grunwald.com
Why Is That So?
Their answer is:
49% say: “The device [technology]isn’t necessary for my lessons.”
* Report by Grunwald Associates LLC June 2010: www.grunwald.com
But teachers who use technologies frequently in their livesand classes report greater benefits to student learning,
engagement and 21st century skills.
CollaborationAccountabilityCommunicationCreativityCritical ThinkingEthics
Global AwarenessInnovationLeadershipProblem-solvingProductivitySelf-direction
If English/LA teachers choose not to use Web 2.0 technologies & social media to
deliver instruction or in their own lives, how can they model valid uses of these tools?
This Begs the Question:
Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education
“In the 21st Century, educators must be given and be prepared to use technology tools; they
must be collaborators in learning—constantly seeking
knowledge and acquiring new skills along with their students.”
March 3, 2010: Grunwald pp. 5
Let’s discuss a few select Web 2.0
sites and social media first as PD and
second, as to their importance for our own
personal growth and enjoyment.
Don’t be fooled into
thinking that you can’t
DO technology—
You CAN!
I wasn’t trained in Web 2.0 tools and wasn’t born a digital native*
Regardless, I’ve effectively used
several technologies in my classes.
These are some I currently use*Twitter*PlurkNing*Diigo*FacebookPandoraWikispaces*Second Life*
Flickr*GlogsterGoogleDocs*DeliciousWordleLinkedinSlideShare* & YouTube*Skype
* These are the tools & sites I use with my English and English Education classes.
These sites can be grouped into like
“genres” & we can talk about them after
this slide show
Collaborative
Work Spaces:
GoogleDocsWikispaces
Social Bookmarking:Diigo*DeliciousFlickr*Pandora*SlideShare* & YouTube
*These are “crossover” tools and can be categorized in several “genres”
Micro-Blogging:
TwitterPlurk
Social Networking: Ning*Diigo*FacebookSkypeLinkedin
*These are “crossover” tools and can be categorized in several “genres”
Creative Production:GlogsterWordle
3-D Virtual Reality Environments:
Second Life (think of Webkinz
or the Sims)
My SL avatar: LauraMaria Onomatopoeia
Frankly, I’ve learned
more from my
professional learning
network [PLN] than
in any PD course I’ve
ever taken.
“The social benefits of internet use will far outweigh the negatives over the next decade...because email, social networks, and other online tools offer ‘low-friction’
opportunities to create, enhance, and rediscover social ties that make a difference in people’s lives.”
-Pew Research Center, 2 July 2010. www.pewinternet.org
TwitterWikispacesDiigo
Since our time is limited, I’d like to talk about:
Have You Twittered Today?
What IS Twitter?It is the most popular micro-blogging systemIt is robust, elegant and simpleHas 75 million users*Permits numerous mash-ups & open source applications
Twitter is a Microblog
It is a mini-blog of 140 characters or less answering the question, “What’s happening?”
This is my Twitter Homepage
Twitter pages are vertically
oriented, linear and very ‘clean’
You may ask, “So, what’s the big deal?”
Meet colleagues from around the worldMake friendsCollaborate with my peersShare information and resourcesReceive links, insights and adviceShare my scholarship with peers
I post Tweets because I:
Tweets are, by definition, to-
the-point. They take little time to write and less time to read.
Tweets can be used to share links to websites and articles.
Here are some sample Tweets I’ve archived
With Twitter, you don’t have to be alonewhen traveling at a conference.
You make a request...
You get
responses
almost
immediately
Tweets can be used in class, too.
You can keep up with the newest YA titles and authors...
You can even offer one-question quizzes, short answers or extra credit questions using Twitter.
You can use Twitter to teach
creative writing in round-robin storytelling
fashion
I’ve taken attendance with Twitter
and I’ve used it for polling students
I’ve even used it with writing tasks:
Students have Tweeted their titlesor their Thesis Statementsor their Topic Sentencesor even Summaries
I use Wikispaces. When I want more depth & development...
I create a new Wiki for
every class I teach and
nearly every PD I offer.
I prefer Wikispaces.com
They offer Ad-Free educational spaces
You can create a Wiki EASILY
You use simple icons to manage and administer your wiki
You can even send email ‘blasts’ to all or some members of your wiki or to all
your wikis.
I’ve used Wikis in Literature Classes
Here are some of the students’ individual pages for their tasks
When students research topics, however...
The Web 2.0 tool we use is Diigo.
Diigo
This is my profile page
With Diigo you can annotate & highlight articles as you read them. These notations will remain there. That’s pretty cool already. But you can also send those articles as emails and/or as URLs.
When you sign up with Diigoyou download a tool bar menu
Standard Tool Bar:
You create bookmarks (like filing cabinets) for
resources, links and articles you find useful.
Imagine the possibilities for researching a new text or for a student doing a research
paper. Bookmarked articles can be mailed via email. You can also comment
on articles with a stickie note and mail those commented-upon articles.
Here’s how you bookmark, tag and send an online resource:
Here is the Bookmark box
This is a portion of my TAGS(arranged in size by frequency of my use)
These tools have been instrumental in
keeping me active, productive, current and
continually learning. I encourage you to
explore these tools--for YOUR use and
for your classroom implementation.
Let’s Talk:Any questions or comments?
Dr. Laura NicosiaMontclair State University, NJ
Slide 2: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joemorgan/4613982435/
Slide 3: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bunnyrel/4309044350/
Slide 4: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stabilo-boss/93136022/
Slide 5: http://www.flickr.com/photos/66312989@N00/199538463/
Slide 7: http://www.flickr.com/photos/17877600@N03/3502818574/
Slide 10: http://www.flickr.com/photos/93813154@N00/400841798/
Slide 12: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pointofdesign/2371903317/
Slide 13: http://www.flickr.com/photos/trywhistlingthis/3949360768/
Slide 17: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dylanmurphy/3550585942/
Slide 18: http://www.flickr.com/photos/69659670@N00/2475156004/
Slide 19: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nochuckingaround/2526794634/
Image Credits: Flickr.com (unless otherwise noted):
Slide 20: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bjoernehlers/456462870/
Slide 23: http://www.flickr.com/photos/krish4u/3367656155/
Slide 25: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brainbikerider/4358972488/
Slide 26: http://twitter.com/about/files
Slide 31: http://www.flickr.com/photos/flaneur/2646032688/
Slide 33: http://www.flickr.com/photos/34930587@N05/3362529958/
Slide 34: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cml/241395048/
Slide 37: http://www.flickr.com/photos/belljar/18171527/
Slide 40: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shreddedrabbit/1780373693/
Slide 42: http://www.flickr.com/photos/46783336@N00/905120/
Slide 43: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pikturz/3497330484/
Image Credits: Flickr.com
Slide 23: www.pewinternet.org
Slide 27: http://themetricsystem.rjmetrics.com/2010/01/26/new-data-on-twitters-users-and-engagement
Works Cited