Social Media in the Classroom [KL Sept 2010]

Potentials and Pitfalls of Graduating Skilled Knowledge Workers

Michael Netzley, PhD

Social Media in the Classroom

How are social technologies impacting university pedagogy?

Sociology, Not Technology

Social Media refers to not only the technology but the cultural and behavioral traits of people communicating and sharing with one another. Through social networks, people are listening, sharing, creating, judging, and innovating in ways that reshape relationships (e.g., government to constituents or friend to friend), power bases, financial models, and knowledge.

First Media Age: Greece

Greek alphabet and writing led to one of the most productive cultures in all of history

Second Media Age: Print

Chinese moveable type in 11th century, and Gutenberg's Press in the 15th

century, brought books to the non-elites of society

Third Media Age: Broadcast

20th century broadcasting brought media into homes, and at a low cost, thus increasing demand while decreasing the supply of media channels.

Fourth Media Age: Internet

Everyone becomes their own media company because of infrastructure, Internet, digital technology, and interactive easy-to-use sites.

We Live in Networks

“Innumerable confusions and a feeling of despair invariably emerge in periods of great technological and cultural transition.”

Marshall McLuhan

Tan Siok Siok: Filmmaker

http://www.twittamentary.com/

Twittamentary

Weak Ties: Defined

weak ties (acquaintances, not close friends) enable reaching populations and audiences that are not accessible via strong ties.

Crowdsourcing

Solv

e

Pro

ble

ms

Tech Lowers Cost of Making Weak Ties

Exp

and

s Yo

ur

Re

sou

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Bas

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Messages from Peers more Influential

Why Social Media in Education?

I assert that social media’s strengths canalign beautifully with the aims of higher education, and that as educators we should appropriately leverage upon these strengths in pursuit of participant-centered learning.

A Time for Universities to Lead

Asia Leads the Charge

22% 21% 19% 18% 17% 16% 16% 15%

29% 29% 28% 27% 26% 26% 25% 25%

34% 35% 38% 39% 40% 41% 42% 43%

9% 9% 9% 9% 10% 10% 10% 10%

5% 6% 6% 6% 7% 7% 7% 7%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

North America Europe

Asia, Asia Pacific, and Oceania Latin America and Carribean

Middle East and Africa

Pe

rce

nta

ge o

f W

orl

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ide

On

line

Po

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Source: JupiterResearch Worldwide Internet Population Model (3/08) Steven Noble, Senior Analyst, Forrester Research. Presented Ad-Tech, SG

ICT Development Index (2002-07)

Economy Rank 2007 IDI 2007 Rank 2002 IDI 2007

Sweden 1 7.50 1 6.05

Korea (Rep.) 2 7.26 3 5.83

Denmark 3 7.22 4 5.78

Hong Kong, China

11 6.70 12 5.10

Japan 12 6.64 18 4.82

Australia 14 6.58 13 5.02

Singapore 15 6.57 16 4.83

Malaysia 52 3.79 50 2.74

Thailand 63 3.44 70 2.17

China 90 3.11 73 1.95

ICT Access Subindex (2002-07)

Economy Rank 2007 IDI 2007 Rank 2002 IDI 2007

Sweden 1 8.67 1 7.68

Korea (Rep.) 14 7.48 9 6.82

Denmark 8 8.33 2 7.47

Hong Kong, China

3 8.53 7 6.86

Japan 27 6.89 20 5.93

Australia 19 7.24 19 5.97

Singapore 11 8.06 13 6.54

Malaysia 60 4.14 52 2.73

Thailand 63 3.99 81 1.74

China 64 3.87 71 1.95

ICT Use Subindex (2002-07)

Economy Rank 2007 IDI 2007 Rank 2002 IDI 2007

Sweden 3 5.48 3 2.89

Korea (Rep.) 1 5.85 1 3.21

Denmark 7 5.10 6 2.60

Hong Kong, China

13 4.64 7 2.45

Japan 4 5.41 18 1.96

Australia 12 4.68 15 2.00

Singapore 10 4.83 14 2.01

Malaysia 40 2.26 27 1.09

Thailand 73 0.78 63 0.26

China 71 0.81 74 0.17

ICT Skills Subindex (2002-07)

Economy Rank 2007 IDI 2007 Rank 2002 IDI 2007

Sweden 9 9.17 3 9.14

Korea (Rep.) 3 9.63 6 9.07

Denmark 5 9.26 9 8.74

Hong Kong, China

62 7.16 65 6.85

Japan 26 8.60 28 8.31

Australia 13 9.05 2 9.17

Singapore 66 7.07 56 7.02

Malaysia 96 6.15 86 6.07

Thailand 50 7.65 67 6.83

China 94 6.21 99 5.53

Supply & Demand Reversed

Democratizes Media

Relatively More Diffused Channels

User-Generated Content

Prosumer

Transfer of Power

Changing Stakeholder Expectations

• Transparency

• No corporate speak

• Listen, respond, and engage

• Your statements must be checked and tested

Used for Good or Ill

Traditional v. Digital Literacy

UncertaintyInsufficient or

missing information

OverloadMasses of data at

the push of a button

Four Stories

Innovation

Twitter in the Classroom

Incr

eas

ed

P

arti

cip

atio

n

Memory

Fee

db

ack to

Faculty

Peer to Peer Support

Harvard MBAs on Classroom Tech

Multi-tasking

Problem

Distractions

Responsibility Rests with

Learners

Sometimes We Excel!

Wikitext

Learning within Public

Network

Opportunity of Strong and Weak Ties

Where is the Safe Space to

Learn?

``If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less'‘

- Gen.Eric Shinseki

Hat tip to Mitch Joel

Leverage and Efficiency

Twitter & Queenstown

“The most valuable asset of a 21st century institution, whether business or nonbusiness, will be its knowledge workers and productivity.”

- Peter Drucker

Lenovo’s Mary Ma on Education

Regarding the acquisition and integration of IBM, Mary Ma noted how education socialized employees in ways that impacted their job performance for decades. Passive education translated into passive workplace tendencies, and opportunities to improve the M&A process were missed when initiative was not taken.

McKinsey Interview Here

Social Media in Education!

Social media’s strengths can advance the educational interests of various stakeholders. As educators we should appropriately leverage upon these media in pursuit of participant-centered learning and more productive knowledge workers.

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