Social Media Article Review

Why I Use Social Media in My Classes

Click here for the article

Photo credit: screenshot from teachthought.com

After taking this class I feel like I have a better idea of the technology I can use in my classroom. That is why I picked this article. I wanted to get some more insight into how I can integrate social media into my future classroom as well as connect and engage with students. The picture above I think is a great poster showing how social media can impact and change the classroom setting. The article that I picked to read confirms that I think using social media in the classroom is a positive thing. 

I really enjoyed reading this article by Julie Smith. She teaches media courses at a college and is a firm believer in social media being present in the classroom. She uses the students phones to her advantage. She has them join the class Twitter chat to discuss with each other without having to use their voices, Kahoot, and PollEverywhere to get students engaged and having them take control of what they are learning. 

Photo credit: screenshot from heyjuliesmith

I love what she said here in number two. She is trying to make what she is teaching student centered and interesting for her class. Back in college and even now at Dominican every time I enter a classroom it is always said to us to try to keep our phones put away. Teachers should know by now that putting out phones away or turning them off isn't something easy for our generation. With that in mind more teachers should try to integrate social media into their lessons. Julie Smith states, "a quick cell phone activity breaks up the class, re-engages them, and shows them that I am interested in connecting with them through a medium that they love." It allows students to take their phones out as well as to use their phones to learn something new. 

Julie isn't delusional or naive to the fact that students are going to be on their phones regardless of what a teacher says. There is no point in fighting it anymore, instead she uses that to her advantage. When students are interested in what they are learning and it is meaningful they won't need to snap, tweet, surf, or scroll they will be busy with what is being taught. 

This article really got me interested in the idea of using social media in the classroom. If we want kids to learn we need to get on their level and use what they are using to our advantage. Lastly, Julie ends her article by encouraging her students to use social media. Use their Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, etc with their classroom hashtag. She wants students and others to see that learning is taking place 24/7 and not just within a classroom with a teacher lecturing for an hour. 

Reflection

Looking Back

When I signed up for this course I honestly thought we would just learning things that we already knew. Many of the course I have already taken at Dominican are repetitive so I didn't have high expectations for learning new things. To my surprise every week I learned something new! It was great to learn new technology tools and see what other students know as well. I have so many takeaways from this course and truly feel like I not only got something out of the class, but useful things that I can use in my future classroom. I will definitely be keeping up with my website and continue to blog. I found both to a lot of fun and a great way to share thoughts and ideas with others! 

What I Learned:

My viewpoints on technology changed and how technology can be used in the classroom. Some things I learned and loved were:

• Blogging
• Professional Learning Network
• Using Twitter (I was resistant at first)
• Building a website for my professional web presence (This was my favorite! I felt like I got to get creative and show who I am.)
• Learning new apps 
• I learned about trends in educational technology, 
• I also got to learn about digital mapping. 
• I learned about data mining and the importance of teaching students to be mindful of what they are putting online.
• Lastly, I learned that technology is a great tool that can be used to help teach students as well as differentiate instruction as well. We also need to be careful to teach students about the internet and how to responsibly use it. 

Technology viewpoint:

My viewpoint on technology definitely changed throughout this course. I went from thinking I knew what I liked and was comfortable with where I was with technology to learning so many new ways to implement technology not only into my classroom, but also with other teachers and staff as well. I feel more equipped going into a classroom and using new tools that I have learned from this class. I was naive to think that I knew everything I needed to know and that there was nothing else for me to learn. This was a great class that opened a lot of new doors! 

What stood out to me:

Each week always brought something new for me. Learning about TPACK and how inclusive it is for students and engaging it can be will be something I look back on for future use. I again, I loved making the professional website. I found it to be fun and engaging and something I can continue to use and update throughout my career. Lastly, I enjoyed using padlet. I liked getting to work with a partner and use the site to collaborate on the assignment. I think this is something great that students can use to work together and create class projects or assignments with. 

Thank you to everyone for making this class great and teaching me something new each week! It has been great getting to know everyone and good luck on your journey!