Alan CannSchool of Biological Sciences

University of Leicester

Find me here:   bit.ly/AJCannThis talk: www.slideshare.net/AJCann

Social Media and Microbiology Education

MicrobiologyBytes.com

What is “social media” ?

• The part of the Internet where the content is generated by users of the service.

• It's not about tools - it's about conversations.

Is using social media in education a terrible idea?

• Time

• Authority ("quality")

• Just not needed - traditional tools have proved their worth?

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What do students want?

• Guidance and leadership through the maze

• Compete with professional media (Facebook, games, television)

• Value for money

What do we give them?

• By and large, we give them what we experienced in education.

• Where technology makes it easy for us to increase the pressure on them, we do so (email, online assessment).

What do we want?

• Engaged, self-motivated, lifelong learners

• And ... ?

So how do we get there?

• Invest time & effort in not just doing it but in understanding how new media work.

• Manage expectations - in particular that education is active not passive.

• Give them clear targets and something to aim for.

Digital Natives versusVisitors and Residents

?

Pedagogies of Online Education

PLE versus PLN

• Personal Learning Environment (PLE) - a collection of tools

• Personal Learning Network (PLN) - a collection of people

It’s not about tools, it’s about creating the right network

Bad networks!

Good networks!

Peer networks- professional development?

• Facebook but not Facebook

• Minimalist guidance

• Reflection

• Feedback

• Discussion (object centred)

1. Content

3. Network

2. Context

More?

• bit.ly/AJCann

• microbiologybytes.com/blog/tag/education

• scienceoftheinvisible.blogspot.com