Blog Entry #8: Social Media in the Classroom

I am excited to use more social media in the classroom this upcoming school year. I know that there are some cons to consider (such as students misusing social media or becoming distracted by it, etc.), but I think the benefits outweigh the cons, overall. The pros are just greater:  For instance, it increases student collaboration and can encourage more participation ("5 Pros and Cons of Social Media In the Classroom"). Collaboration and participation matter so much, as these are skills employers are looking for in candidates. Plus, there are ways to help students stay on track to avoid misuse and distractions. 

I have used social media in my classroom before, but only a little bit. For example, after my sophomores read Of Mice and Men, I have my students do a Tabletop Twitter stations activity that gets them moving around the classroom before they are asked to come up to my computer and tweet on our classroom account to contribute to the discussion on one of the stations about whether George did the right thing or not (being vague on purpose, as to not spoil the ending of the story). They are confined to to 140 characters, and I encourage them to include hashtags to enhance their stance. The rest of the class can see everyone's responses on the projected screen, as well. Afterwards, we stroll through the feed as a class and discuss some more. It is a lot of fun! Which has me thinking:  why haven't I incorporated more of this in the past? Probably because of the lack of access to technology in the classroom. However, as I have stated before, there are always ways to work around that, so no excuses. 

My thoughts on using collaborative productivity tools in the classroom are that this is the direction society is moving to, and we need to help our kids be successful now, so they can be successful later in life. Now that I am receiving a 1:1 classroom this year, this is even more relevant to me, as it is easier to move toward this style of teaching/philosophy when the technology is available on a daily basis. This year, I plan on doing passion projects with my students and possibly even grouping some students together who are interested in the same thing. I envision them using Microsoft One Drive to share and connect, since that is what our school currently uses. They could also use Padlet and Evernote. This would be a great way to get students collaborating on what matters most to them and to nurture an effective, collaborative learning environment. 

I know I will need to make changes to my classroom management in order to facilitate the introduction and integration of more digital tools into my teaching and my students' learning/work. For example, I know that will need to not only begin the year laying out my expectations, but staying consistent with those expectations throughout the year, too. This way, it is likely to become second nature to them, which is the end goal. I am even thinking about creating some of the norms with my classes, in addition to typing up some on my own. I also plan to look deeper into a free or low-cost tool that will help my manage their Microsoft Pros during the class period. Anyone have any suggestions for those that have worked for them if you are in the same position? DyKnow sounds interesting, but I dont think it is cheap. 

Next, when planning for my digital classroom environment, I know that I need to make digital learning materials a normal part of our day, every day, in order for them to be the most effective. So, I have been working on converting my usual lessons into electronic ones slowly but surely this summer. Lastly, I know I need to be prepared to help my students with our schedule and to maintain deadlines, even though they will be working much more independently or in groups, overall  ("How To Manage a Digital Classroom"). This type of structure sounds like home to me, though. 

My thoughts /opinions about teaching the new literacies  and integrating technology into my curriculum has been impacted greatly by the things I have learned so far this semester. I now see why it is so crucial to do so, whereas before I think I always believed that traditional literacies were what mattered most to students' success. So, my thinking has changed rather drastically, actually. I now believe that traditional and new literacies are best taught hand in hand. It is our job as educators to make sure our students are ready for the very technology heavy futures ahead of them as much as possible. We would be doing them a disservice to leave them out our curriculum. I am grateful for all of the ideas we have learned this semester on how to make this a reality and feel a hundred times more comfortable with the idea of integrating more digital tools into the average school day.