Social Media in Education: A Vision

Several of this week's readings discuss student interest in using social media (most notably, Facebook) as an educational tool, with findings indicating ambivalence at best. I, too, feel this way, and some of you have expressed the same sentiment.

I think it's fair to say that most people using social media these days has a Facebook account. But did you know that high schoolers these days are not that into it? At least, not the ones I've been talking to.
From the mouths of babes: "Facebook stopped being cool when parents started using it." They are all about Instagram and to a lesser extent, Twitter - at least from what I gather. (If you're wondering where I get this information, I work with a lot of teenagers. Still, take the information with a grain of salt.) I bring this up to emphasize the (for lack of better term) mortality of any web platform.

Reading the findings on how current college students (we who are actively using the site) feel about integrating the SM platform into education, has got me thinking, "What if there was a social media site devoted to educational pursuits?" Like, what if Facebook and LinkedIn had a baby and it was designed for students of all ages - to grow with as they advance their educational careers?

If you haven't read the papers I'm referring to, they report students generally feeling uncomfortable with the idea of using it to augment their educational experience, mainly citing concerns over privacy issues. I believe that just as the creators of on LinkedIn saw the need for a social network dedicated to professionals and their need to network, there is a need for a social network that doesn't cross the line (however arbitrary and individualized it may be) between students' educational and personal lives.

What would this network be like, you ask?
That's a good question.

The vision is blurry, but I see a platform where students of all ages are comfortable communicating with their professors and other students, where it's clear that the intention is for education. It would be open to the public, so that anyone can connect with anyone else, post about what's interesting to them, have quick access to homework resources, and also provide a way for students and teachers to collaborate in a more private space (something akin to Facebook's "groups").

 

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I think that for my vision to work there would have to be a shift in the educational paradigm that fosters more collaborative learning at younger ages. Kids today are more comfortable with technology than their parents, so it's not about them being able to use the technology. I think it's about changing the way we "do" education nowadays. I wish I could remember where I came across the notion that it's no longer about being able to absorb information so much as being able to access and use it properly. We all have everything we need to know in little handheld computers, so instead of keeping them out of the system, we have to find a way to integrate them. This class is all about that concept, but what I'm referring to is something bigger than using standalone applications in the classroom. I'm talking about bringing the entire system into the 21st century by changing the way we see schools. Now, I'm not saying there's no need for classrooms, but maybe there's a need to reconsider the most effective use for them.

One thing that stood out to me while taking Trends & Issues in IDT last semester was how the advent of new technologies, while continually predicted to make a huge impact on the system, never actually did. Not very much has changed in a couple hundred years.

I wonder if the internet is a game-changer.

Your thoughts?