The concept that social media could be helpful in a learning environment seemed to be a bit of an oxymoron when I first heard about it. After al I grew up in the era where being social at school was frowned upon, unless it was outside of class!
My introduction to social media was following my kids on Facebook and My Space about ten years ago, and considering some of the things people put out there it was hard for me to see Social Media as a learning environment. So when I began a master’s program where discussions on use of social media for learning were introduced I thought, this should be interesting…
The interesting twist here was that it turns out social media can be a very effective way to share tips, tricks, tools, and techniques! It can be a way for asking questions and getting quick answers from others when you are new to a field or concept. It’s a way for learners and educators to express their perspectives and receive feedback from others. It’s also a place for someone who has been in the field for a very long time to learn new tricks. And the best part is, you can be the “stealth stealer” of information, or be very vested and involved. And I think it’s quite likely that even the “stealth stealers” of ideas and information will be come vested and involved the more they get their feet wet.
In Getting Social to Engage Learners Laurie Goslee notes that we really are social learners, and social media is a way to engage the learner and give them some control over their learning. Think back to the days of the caveman where learning was all tribe based via stories told in face-to-face communication, you can’t get much more social than that. Now social media may not be face to face but it is communication between people, and it not only has the ability to stretch outside of your realm but it’s also a quick avenue to becoming super connected to bring thoughts, answers, and new ideas into your space, thereby expanding your horizons with very little effort. Another really nifty thing is that it in addition to changing the learning from passive to active, which is more easily and likely to be retained, it engages the learner and gives them more control over their learning. That ties into personalized learning where learners are connecting with things that resonate with them, and that’s a win since it opens the door for deeper learning.
So I have to admit it, although I never thought I’d ever consider it, Social Media can contribute a great deal to the learning environment. And I am looking forward to testing out the waters with my theory students in the fall by coming up with some social media learning exercises to increase engagement and see just what we can accomplish by using this new tool!
Sounds a bit like a disaster waiting to happen to me, but I lived it and it was the best thing that ever happened to our family!
Recently I was introduced to a concept I had not heard before, disruptive innovation. Well I hadn’t heard of it but it turns out I’d lived through it! As two words on a page I could imagine the direction they would be heading with the article but I had no idea how close to home this concept would hit. I began thinking about education, and more specifically online education, as I read Education Is Ripe for Disruption by Eric Sheninger. And as I read I reflected on a situation that rocked my world about ten years ago, and the fact that it was that experience that was likely the beginning of events that have led me down a path to pursue my master’s degree in an online program! Who would have thought this would be possible a generation ago?
I was introduced to online education about a decade ago and as intriguing as it was, quite frankly it was also terrifying. I don’t know if it was more terrifying because of the situation around which we stumbled into studying online or because it was my son, who was in the latter part of his high school career at the time, that I was sending down this unfamiliar path as a last ditch resort to ensure he completed High School. But a we needed a plan and by combining Florida’s online virtual school, classes and the local community college, and a two year technical certificate course in the culinary arts at a local trade school, we had effectively put together a blended, personalized, online plan for his education. Did I really say that?
It sounds very strange to me even now as I reflect on the position I found myself in the day he came home, very agitated and proceeded to explain that another high school student had pulled a gun on him as he was leaving campus. There were witnesses and no doubt it had happened, yet since the officer assigned to the school hadn’t seen the incident the school couldn’t do anything about it. How could I be surprised or refute him when he announced he wasn’t going back, EVER! The school’s best answer was see you Monday, mine was I think not. I started searching for options. I knew of the dual enrollment with the local community college and thankfully Kyle did well in school and could pick up some classes there. For his electives he opted to enroll in the culinary arts program at a technical school nearby and for the rest of the required courses….?! I learned through one of his gymnastics coaches that Florida had an online program for high school students called the Florida Virtual School. Thankfully that would round out our program so he could finish the requirements for his diploma.
I’m still not sure why all the legwork seemed to fall on us, I suppose the school figured he would just come back, business as usual. We weren’t of the same mind so it was a stressful few days figuring out what to do. And of course now he would need a car to get from one place to another, that wasn’t in the budget either. But what a relief to have a plan, and at the same time what a nightmare. Who had ever heard of virtual school? Would he learn what he needed to? Would he even do the work when I left for work and his brother was at school all day? Would a college accept these online credits? Was this going to be a constant battle to get him to stay engaged for two years? Talk about forced disruptive innovation.
Thankfully I was pleasantly surprised, in fact I’d venture to say it turned out to be one of the best things we ever stumbled into. Oh we had our days and our battles but it didn’t take long to see that he was learning far more than his classmates and was much more engaged than they were. It was then that it dawned on me that it may be a long while off, but I could see this online learning thing as the wave of the future. Well here we are about ten years later and an online degree is no longer unheard of but readily accepted with more academic institutions stepping into online coursework. There are commercials on TV for online virtual schools, employers are calling for tangible and soft skills in those who are graduating. Somehow we landed ahead of the curve. I’m just glad we landed – on our feet!
