Faculty Members and Academic TechnologyServices Professionals:

Paula Dagnon, Peter Agras, Kevin Dixeyand Karen Hoelscher

How Can Social Media BeUsed Effectively in Higher

Education?

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First a bit of background…

Social media growth from 2006 to 2012

These seven social media sites combine for an estimated 2 billion

accounts in 2012

The average compound annual growth rate of these social media

sites was 900% between 2006 and 2012

Facebook alone has 1 billion registered users and accounts for

11.5% of the global population

Population 7.125 Billion

But all the knowledge is just sittingon the internet just waiting to be

found!

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Right?

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No

There is a new cultureof learning

The old ways of learning are unable to keepup with our rapidly changing world.

(Thomas & Seeley Brown, 2011,location 577)

(Thomas & Seeley Brown, 2011,location 577)

New media forms are making peer-to-peer learning easier and more natural.

(Thomas & Seeley Brown, 2011,location 577)

Peer-to-peer learning is amplified byemerging technologies that shape

the collective nature of participation withthose new media

According to Vygotsky, “Every function

in the child's cultural developmentappears twice:

first, on the social level and, later on,on the individual level…

…first, between people(interpsychological) and then inside

the child (intrapsychological).”

Change Theory

NEED DEFINITION!!

Three themes from paperIncrease in collaboration from social mediaIncrease in interactionRethink pedagogy

Mostly quantitative Survey sent toall faculty and students using Canvas

17 questions; 5 Likert-type items

Asked about the use of sociallyoriented tools in Canvas

• n=75

• 45.3% from Humanities and Social Sciences

• 54.7% of respondents using Canvas for the first time in Spring 13

StudentsFaculty

Using Canvas for all levels of courses 100 Level-Graduate

• n=113

• 79% from Humanities and Social Sciences

• 54.1% using Canvas for the first time in Spring 13

Demographics

Use of Social Media

• YouTube or other video sharing tools53%

• Personal networking, such as Facebook48%

• Don’t use social media30%

• Use social media daily63%

• Personal networking, such as Facebook 90.3%

• YouTube or other video sharing tools 74%

• Pinterest or other content sharing tools 52%

• Wordpress34.5%

• Twitter28%

• Don’t use social media 2.7%

• Use social media daily 87%

StudentsFaculty

I adopted more socially oriented tools andincorporated more interactive activities in my

Canvas course than I did in myprevious courses.

More socially oriented tools and activities were incorporated into my courses using Canvas than in

previous courses.

When working in Canvas,did you reconsider your pedagogical

approaches to include socialmedia tools?

Explain.

“YES.I have been thinking about including elements from

Canvas to better facilitate teaching-learning process.”

“YES.I have been thinking about including elements from

Canvas to better facilitate teaching-learning process.”

“YES. Attempting to get students to work more collaboratively

using online tools. Teaching one another, etc.”

“YES.I have been thinking about including elements from

Canvas to better facilitate teaching-learning process.”

“YES. Attempting to get students to work more collaboratively

using online tools. Teaching one another, etc.”

“NOT YET. I WILL THOUGH. My students already use Google Docs and Facebook

to collaborate and communicate, especially forgroup projects.”

When working in Canvas,did you reconsider your pedagogical

approaches to include socialmedia tools?

Explain.

“NO.It's a strange line between professional and personal,and I lean toward keeping them separate. I do have a

"professional" account on Facebook, but I haven't seen any pedagogical reason to use it in the classroom.”

“NO.It's a strange line between professional and personal,and I lean toward keeping them separate. I do have a

"professional" account on Facebook, but I haven't seen any pedagogical reason to use it in the classroom.”

“NO. I don't feel the need for additional technological tools

that would invariably displace low-tech techniquesI regularly use.”

“NO.It's a strange line between professional and personal,and I lean toward keeping them separate. I do have a

"professional" account on Facebook, but I haven't seen any pedagogical reason to use it in the classroom.”

“NO. I don't feel the need for additional technological tools

that would invariably displace low-tech techniquesI regularly use.”

“I have considered using social media tools but havethus far shied away from it. I feel that using such tools

would put students who do not use them ina difficult position.”

Implications

What’s next?