Using Social Media in the Classroom

In the 21st century, digital technology is changing the way our kids think, learn, and interact with each other, and digital skills are what kids need to be prepared for their futures. However, social media have to be used effectively in the classroom to avoid the harmful effects. 

Kathy Cassidy, a primary school teacher in Moose Jaw uses digital technology as a learning opportunity for herself and her students. She has had a classroom blog and a blog for each of her students since 2005. She believes that exposing kids to the world in a safe, teacher-moderated way is a great way to build empathy. 

Source: http://dailygenius.com/social-education/

Posted by: Leow Ee Xin B1401260

5 Social Media Tools for College Students

Apart from sharing social lives online on Facebook and Twitter, there are some new social media tools which are effective for students to share their academic work online. Here are some social media tools students can use to share everything from homework help to book rentals.

1. Prezi.com

Prezi allows collaborators around the world to create interactive presentations to share with others.

2. GradeGuru.com

On GradeGuru, students rate their peers' class notes so that only the strongest survive. 

3. Notehall.com

Notehall allows students to buy and sell their notes to other students.

4. Dropbox.com

Students can store their electronic files on Dropbox, which enables students to access them remotely from smart phones or computers. 

5. Chegg.com

Chegg specializes in online textbook rentals, homework help, online tutoring, scholarships and internship matching.  

Source: http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2010/05/12/5-social-media-tools-for-college-students

Posted by: Leow Ee Xin B1401260

Talents got discovered faster

Talents can be discovered using social media. It is a platform that links to all around the world including the western countries. Instead of saying that one has a talent, one should have shown it to everyone by uploading performance video on the websites.

In this case, people that are interested in viewing and having likes the video will eventually share it to their friends. The numbers of likes, comments and shares can be powerful when the number is huge, meaning that there are overwhelming numbers know about ones. Perhaps number is just a number, but the king is the content of the performance that attracts everyone’s attentions.

Source: http://www.seomworld.com/2013/09/the-effect-of-social-media-on-education.html#.VYeGpPmqqkr

Posted by: Phang Jue Wei B1401266

Humanizing Interactions

There is always a downside when comes to usage of technology which is ‘human touch’ whereby there is no sign of empathy with other people’s feelings and understanding of human side of things. However, things has been improved when advancement and improvement of technology with lower cost barrier, virtual face-to-face interactions are starting to be popular and utilised among educators, lecturers, tutors as well as students. (Online Learning Insights, 2013). Skype is commonly used for webcam communication purpose. Student portal in universities give a stage for students to have discussions with lecturers or tutors via-online as well.

Source: https://onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com/2013/12/13/three-social-trends-that-will-influence-education-in-2014/

Posted by: Phang Jue Wei B1401266

Seamless Collaboration

Google Docs can be a great example in explaining this interesting topic. Google Docs is an online are available to collaborate and discuss relevant matters efficiently and effectively. In this case, with the availability of internet connection as well as advanced internet browser, files can be viewed by authorized third parties, depending on the given permission set by the document creators. Since files can be viewed by third parties, the feedbacks, comments as well as live-chat communication hen collaborations occur via-online, it greatly ignores geographic, transportation as well as insufficient time barriers and therefore benefits educators, lecturers, tutors and students in terms of cost and time.

Source: http://www.techopedia.com/definition/13626/google-docs

Posted by: Phang Jue Wei B1401266

COST-FREE !

In this reality, it is true that almost everything comes with a price. Making payments to internet service providers is necessary in order to gain privilege of surfing online websites. As the educators, in other words, the high education leaders progressively have to plan budget cuts, it is essential for the students to utilize the tools that is cost-free. Despite safety being significant, software cost is worth paying due to teaching internet safety as well as establishing new websites (Couros. G., 2011)

Source: http://connectedprincipals.com/archives/3024#

Posted by: Phang Jue Wei B1401266

Google Apps for Education

Google Apps for Education (GAFE) is an enterprise level software solution for cloud based collaborative teaching and learning. Applications include but are not limited to Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Sites, Google Slides, Gmail and Calendar. 

Google Apps facilitates student centered collaborative learning in a cloud based environment rich with possibilities and help to prepare the students for their place in the 21st Century workforce. However, there will be concerns over data privacy and the ownership of data though Google have a clear privacy policy and Google are clear that users own the data. Security will be an issue but Google can spend more on security than just about any organization in the world. 

Source: http://www.slideshare.net/iaindoherty/google-apps-for-education-gafe

Posted by: Leow Ee Xin B1401260

Social Media Gains Momentum in Online Education

Experts say social media tools such as Instagram, Google Hangouts and Twitter allow online students to share information and build a sense of community. It is believed that social media will generate more opportunities for students to network, communicate informally with their instructors and eventually enrich and enhance the overall educational experience.

However, students can become involved with so many social media platforms that it becomes difficult as a consumer to manage all of the tools available. Besides, anything that’s posted on social media is likely available for anybody to see, which might be a deterrent for students to freely speak their minds.

Source: http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2014/11/05/social-media-gains-momentum-in-online-education

Posted by: Leow Ee Xin B1401260

Social media may lead to poor grades

Updating Twitter feeds or Facebook statuses is a common act for students nowadays. However, according to a recent study led by researchers at the The Miriam Hospital's Centers for Behavioural and Preventive Medicine in United States, using social media may impair academic performance. Students who spend much time online find it harder to concentrate in class, are permanently distracted and have shorter attention spans.

A study released by Ohio State University reveals that college students who utilize Facebook and spend less time on studying will have lower grades than students who do not use the popular social networking sites. College students who use the 500 million member social network have significantly lower grade-point averages (GPAs) than those who do not. There is a correlation between lower GPAs and higher social media use.

Source: http://www.browndailyherald.com/2013/04/24/social-media-use-may-lead-to-poor-grades/

Posted by: Cheu Che Suen  B1300810

Emoticons cannot replace face-to-face interaction

Children unable to accurately read how people are feeling in real-life as they have less time for face-to-face interaction due to their increased use of digital media, according to a UCLA psychology study. UCLA scientists found that sixth-graders who went five days without even glancing at a smartphone, television or other digital screen did substantially better at reading human emotions than sixth-graders from the same school who continued to spend hours each day looking at their electronic devices. 
“You can’t learn nonverbal emotional cues from a screen in the way you can learn it from face-to-face communication,” said lead author Yalda Uhls, a senior researcher with the UCLA’s Children's Digital Media Center, Los Angeles. People need more face-to-face interaction, emoticons are a poor substitute for it because we are social creatures, and we need device-free time.

Source: http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/in-our-digital-world-are-young-people-losing-the-ability-to-read-emotions

Posted by: Cheu Che Suen B1300810

Cyber-Bullying affect child’s development

Cyber-bullying in the form of harassing text messages and derogatory posts on children’s social media accounts is now commonplace. Even though it may not take place in person, the emotional and psychological effects of cyber-bullying are just as destructive. “Kids that are bullied are likely to experience anxiety, depression, loneliness and unhappiness” explains Jennifer N. Caudle, DO, an AOA board-certified family physician in Philadelphia. Making the issue worse is the fact that such negative effects of bullying often go unnoticed, as many victims feel the need to conceal the fact that they are being bullied because they are embarrassed or afraid of further bullying. They may become quieter in class and; as a result, the bullying can become a hindrance on their academic success. Therefore, bullying is a problem that, if left unattended, can become a significant hurdle in a child’s development.

Source: http://www.osteopathic.org/osteopathic-health/about-your-health/health-conditions-library/general-health/Pages/cyber-bullying.aspx
Posted by: Cheu Che Suen B1300810

Facebook in classroom, good or bad idea?

It is a great way to get students involved and connect with their world. Lecturer can created a Facebook page for posting up assignments, videos, or anything that the lecturer might think would help students learn the material better.

Ann-Louise Davidson, an assistant professor with the Educational Technology Program at Concordia, says Facebook would be a great tool for networking students around the world, but the lessons have to be designed to use it properly. Educating students about appropriate use of social media will need to be a part of the curriculum. Students do have access to these technologies outside school. They are powerful tools, and students need to be taught how to use them wisely; they need to develop critical skills to select information and to make decisions about information. Lastly, they also need to be critical about who they meet on the internet and what they tell them, and what they post.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/facebook-in-classroom-bad-idea-1.803105
Posted by: Cheu Che Suen B1300810

Social Media: Risk and Opportunity

Social media is a constant temptation which leads to addiction. Some community like workplace and schools/university placed extreme rules like banning the access to social media during specific time and even forbidden the use of smartphone/laptop. However this would not cure the addiction, especially children who are still too young for such habit. A good way to stop this is to teach them how to control this constant temptation and use it in a meaningful way, schools should allow students using laptop/smartphone rather than simply banning it . The consequence of misused of social media can be serious, but if we use it in a proper way, it could push our current productivity to the next level, just like how drugs save life.

Source: http://www.cio.com/article/2604686/social-media/is-social-media-reviving-or-killing-our-classrooms.html

Posted by: Tan Jia Hung B1401241

Students 'Cannot Multi-Task With Mobiles and Study'

Are you depressed by your bad academic performance? Do you practise studying while texting? If so, social media might be the greatest cause of your current academic results. In this highly competitive world we are being asked to multitasking on every damn thing, but we students cant multitasking on studying and texting. A research shows that those who are using social media while studying had a low academic performance compared to those who didnt use, mobile apps are a great distraction which we cant really ignore it. Try challenge yourself to concentrate on a book for 15 minutes and leave your phone alone, you will be impressed by what you can do.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/education-33047927
Posted by: Tan Jia Hung B1401241

Social Media In The Workplace Education

It is true that social media is an overwhelmingly powerful tool as it can crush a business within seconds, but as the wise man once said so: when there is a risk, there is opportunity. Now those ambitious companies are looking forward to using social media as a tool to generate greater value, by implementing social media into workforce. In fact, organizations who deploy social tools across their departments are delivering more revenue and a higher profit growth.

Source : http://www.itbusiness.ca/blog/the-educational-case-for-social-media-in-the-workplace/55903

Posted by :Tan Jia Hung B1401241

The Reason of Reducing The Usage of Social Media

Since we cannot be comfort without our smartphone/tablet, social media has invaded our life long time ago but we still treat it as best friend and cultivate this relationship by using it every single day. A recent study shows that social media is the culprit of anxiety, especially among teenagers. Anxiety is a vital issue among collagers due to the frequent use of social media like facebook, anxiety basiclly affect everything around . Please keep a distance from it and remind your friends and family.

Source : http://www.businessinsider.my/social-media-use-can-contribute-to-anxiety-and-depression-2015-6/#kUpFT0UMFdVqtEUS.97
Posted by: Tan Jia Hung  B1401241

Social Media and The Inappropriate Relationship

Social media facilitates interaction between people, make us easier to build relationship among people. However, there might be having some inappropriate relationships among all of us. An article pointed out that some social media apps such as My Space, Skype, and Viber, foster inappropriate relationship between teachers and students, some schools set guidelines for teacher to follow and punish those who do not comply, but it is still unable to effectively prevent the occurrence of inappropriate relationship. Social media brings great educational advantages, however it should be used with cautions.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/01/20/more-teachers-are-having-sex-with-their-students-heres-how-schools-can-stop-them/

Posted by: Teh Wing Yan B1300856

Mental Problem: Social Media Pressure

People  nowadays especially teenagers feel more stress and worry compared to the people in the old days. An expert in Classic, Mrs Gibbs stated that youngsters look stressful in the university but it is not about exam pressure, it is social media pressure. They have no mental time off as they have to continuously looking at sites such as Instagram and Facebook to ensure that they have posted the right things and be liked. It will indirectly affect the academic performance of the students. As you can see from the video above, this phenomenon become more and more serious over the time and it has the ability to cause teenagers to experience mental problems such as depression and anxiety. Hence, mobiles phone should be banned no matter in high school or university as it will reduce the time that students spend on social media.

Source: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/education/social-media-more-stressful-than-exams-claims-south-london-headteacher-10258011.html
Posted by: Teh Wing Yan B1300856

Improvement of Education System Due to The Present of Social Media

Social media encourage participation from everyone who is interested and is opened to feedback like voting and comment. This characteristic of social media attracts people especially youngster to participate in social networking. Some educators see this as an opportunity and started to tap in the benefits of social media. An article shows that some lecturer are using blogging site to share content and encourage debate; distance learning provider are using social media to enhance learning experience. Although we cannot conclude that the future trend in education will be dominanted by social media but it seems that social media are not just distraction anymore.

Source: http://www.bbcactive.com/BBCActiveIdeasandResources/Howsocialmediaischangingeducation.aspx

Posted by: Teh Wing Yan B1300856

Invasion of Unhealthy Trend: Short Forms Culture

In this era of globalization, our new generation especially high school and undergraduate students used to communicate with each other through social media such as Whatsapp, We chat, Facebook, and so on.  Do you ever realize that some dialect terms and text-speak such as OTW (on the way), TMR (tomorrow), and BTW (by the way) have become our writing culture and language shortcut? Youngster used to write with the habits which they have acquired through texting and social media. This will definitely bring down the writing abilities and the level of communication of our new generation. If this continues to happen, the employ-ability of our new generation will decrease dramatically as their communication is so limited.

Source: http://www.konbini.com/en/entertainment-2/internet-slang-dictionary-wtf-meme/
Posted by: Teh Wing Yan B1300856