The challenge of social media – between prohibition and...
Transcript of The challenge of social media – between prohibition and...
ConferencePaperfortheThirteenthAnnualConventionoftheMediaEcologyAssociation:TheCrossroadsoftheWord.710June2012ManhattanCollegeRiverdale,NewYork
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Thechallengeofsocialmedia–betweenprohibitionandindifferenceintheclassroom
JesperTækkeAssociateProfessor,PhD
AarhusUniversityhttp://www.jespertaekke.dk
MichaelPaulsenAssociateProfessor,PhD
AbstractLike with the emergence of oral language and the invention of writing,printing, and electronic media, today digital media entail a revolution ofsociety.Inourpresenttimewearelivingthroughtheincunabulaofadigitalrevolution.Thismeans thatmany things in society findnew forms,andwemustfindnewwaysofdoingthings,becauseourmediamilieuhaschanged.Alsoinschoolsmanythingsarechanging;theclassroomisnolongeraclosedroomwhere interaction is isolated from the external world. Thousands ofparallelinteractionsystemsareinterminglingwithinthesocialsituationsinclassrooms, andmany problems arise because ofmissing adequate norms.StudentscannowaccessknowledgeintheInternet’sthousandsofdatabasesandwikis.Theupshotisthattheoldteacherauthorityandtraditionalsocialnormsforguidingteachingcanno longerhelpoutlineefficientbehavior inthe classrooms.On this basis,wepresent theaction researchproject SocioMediaEducation,which tries todevelopnewwaysof teaching that feed tothenewmediaenvironment.Theaimof thepaper is, onanearly stage, toreportaboutthechallengeofthenewsocialmediaandhowtheprojecttriestofindsolutionsandthephilosophybehindthesesolutions.
Keywords:SocialMedia;Teaching;Classroom;Norms;Attention;Multiplexing
ConferencePaperfortheThirteenthAnnualConventionoftheMediaEcologyAssociation:TheCrossroadsoftheWord.710June2012ManhattanCollegeRiverdale,NewYork
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ThebackgroundofSocioMediaEducationSocioMediaEducation(SME)isanactionresearchprojectabouthowDanishupper
secondaryschoolscanimprovetheirmediaculture.Wehaveconductedresearchin
anumberofuppersecondaryschoolsinDenmarkandwrittenaseriesofarticles
abouthowdigitalmediaandwirelessnetworksinfluencesocialrelationsin
classroomteaching(Paulsen&Tække2009,2010a,2010b).Ourfindingshave
showedthatthesemediacauseaseriesofproblems:distraction,conflictsbetween
studentsandteachers,andahighdrop‐outrate.Theyhavealsoshowedthat
teacherseitherreacttothenewmediaenvironmentwithprohibition(controland
surveillancestrategies)orindifference(laissez‐fairestrategies).Usingmedium
theory(Meyrowitz1985)andsociologicalsystemstheory(Luhmann1995),weare
abletoexplainandunderstandthistheoretically.Accordingtoouranalysis,
information,communication,andactionsituationshavechangedwiththenew
mediaenvironment.Thishasresultedinasituationwherethenormsformedinthe
formermediaenvironmentdonotefficientlyguidesocialsituationsinthenew
digitalandwirelessnetworkmediaenvironment.Newformsofclassroom
managementandclassroomcultureareneeded.
InAugust2011teachingbeganinanewfirst‐yearuppersecondaryschoolclassin
Denmark,anexperimentationclassinthethree‐yearSMEproject.Thisupper
secondaryschool’sbackgroundforbeingapartoftheprojectfellinlinewithour
resultsandexperiencefrompreviousobservations,interviews,andanalyses
(Paulsen&Tække2009,2010a,2010b).Theschoolrepresentativesfeltso
frustratedwiththesituationthattheyfullyagreedtobeincludedintheproject,
eventhoughthismeanttheyhadtoparticipateinasofarunprecedented
educationalexperiment.Thecoreofthisexperimentisthattheteacherscanneither
meetthestudentswithprohibitionsnorwithindifferencewithregardtotheuseof
media.Inaddition,theyhavetofacilitatestudentreflexivityinrelationtoattention
andmediause,andtheyhavetousetwosocialmediaintheirteaching,namely
Twitterandawiki.
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ThecoredesignmodeloftheSMEProject
Asthefigureillustrates,theSMEprojecthastwoactionresearchmoves:(1)
facilitationofreflexivitythroughinterventioninstudents’mediausewithout
prohibitionorindifferenceand(2)establishmentofasustaineduseofsocialmedia
(initiallyTwitter,inparticular,andlateralsowiki)inallschoolsubjectsinorderto
exploitthenewpossibilitiesofcommunication.Thecombinationof1and2must
makebothendsmeet,sonewstandards(norms),adequateforthenewmedia
environment,arecreated,anddevelopaformofteachingthatbothexploitsthe
learningopportunitiesofthenewmediaandteachesstudentstousesocialmediaas
learningmedia.Methodologically,weheldtwoworkshopsfortheteachersbefore
thebeginningoftheschoolyear,whereweintroducedthebasicdesignphilosophy,
parametersofreflexivity,andhowTwitterandwikiworkandcanbeusedin
teaching.Onthestudents’firstdayofschool,theteachersintroducedthemto
Twitter,bothtechnicallyandeducationally.Theteacherswerethengiventhetaskof
usingTwitterinameaningfulwayinasmanylessonsaspossible–preferably
ConferencePaperfortheThirteenthAnnualConventionoftheMediaEcologyAssociation:TheCrossroadsoftheWord.710June2012ManhattanCollegeRiverdale,NewYork
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experimenting–andsharetheirknowledgefromtheexperimentsonashared
Googlesite.Similarly,theteacherscommittedthemselvestotryingtotakeona
reflection‐facilitatingteacherrole.Inrelationtowiki,theteachersarguedthatthey
wantedtowaitalittle,untiltheuseofTwitterhadgotofftoagoodstart,whichis
whyweconcentrateonTwitterinthisarticle.Ourroleinthefirstfourmonthshas
beentoobserveclasslessons,makeinterviewswithstudents,andholdredesign
meetingswithteachersonthebasisoftheseempiricaldata,suppliedwithanalysis
oftheclass'sTwitteractivity.Theinterviewshavehadthestudents’relationto
mediaineducationasathematicfocalpoint.Attheredesignmeetings(sofarwe
haveheldthreemeetings)theteachersreceivedfeedbackonhowtheyappearto
meetthechallengeoftheproject.
ThetheoryThereasoningorhypothesisbehindtheprojectdesignisthatthesocietalnorms
thatregulatesocialinteractionandthesemanticsweusetounderstandand
describethesocialwithbecomeinadequate,whenanewbasiccommunication
mediumaltersthe“socialspaceofopportunities,”includingtheinformation
situationandthepossibilitiesforcommunicationandaction.Thisledusto
formulatethehypothesisthattheconstructionofnewnormsthatareadequateto
thenewmediaenvironmentcouldbedevelopedonamicro‐sociologicalleveland
onlygraduallybedistributedglobally(Paulsen&Tække2010a).Itisinspiredby
Meyrowitz’theoryofeffectloops,wherethenewtermsofthesocial,initiatedbythe
newmediabybeingthenewcontentintheverysamemedia,giverisetoasocial
behaviorthatismorecongruentwiththenewinformationsituation(Meyrowitz
1985).Gradually,overaperiodoftime,newsocialstandardsaredeveloped,which
areadequatetothenewsocialsituations,sothatthesocialagaincomesinto
equilibriumwiththenewmediaenvironment.Thistheoryofequilibriumis
neverthelesstoosimple,boththeoreticallyandempirically.Inadynamicalworld
therewillalwaysbeconflictsanddevelopmentsandnotonlyaformofuniversal
consensus.Explainingwhathappensthen,weuseLuhmann’scommunication
sociologywithitsemphasisonlinkageandacceptanceornegationofmeaning
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proposals,andtheconceptofdoublecontingency.Usingthistheory,wecanexplain
howsituationsthatarecharacterizedbymutualuncertainty(doublecontingency)
triggerexperimentalbehaviorthatiseitheracceptedornegated.Thehistoryof
acceptedandnegatedcommunicationandbehaviorformssocialexpectationsfor
thefuture–whichisexactlyhowweunderstandstandards(socialnorms)
sociologically,sincesuchexperiencessubsequentlyformexpectationsaboutfuture
behavior(Luhmann1995).
TheproblemTheactualsituationinuppersecondaryschoolsinDenmarkisthateverystudentin
aclasshasalaptopconnectedtotheInternetinfrontofhimorher.Manystudents
aredistractedbytheirownandotherstudents’screenactivities.Theyspendtime
oncomputergames,amusingnewspaperarticles,andsocialmedia–especially
Facebook.Ifteacherssimplybanuseofthenewsocialmedia,studentwilllosetrust
intheirteachersandstarttodeceivethem,andsubsequentlytheywillfailtolearn
howtousethenewmediaforeducationalpurposesandtoself‐regulatetheirusein
areflectedandresponsiblemanner.Iftheteachers,ontheotherhand,reactwith
indifference,manystudentswillspendtoomuchtimeonotherthingsthanthe
educationalinteraction.Furthermore,thestudentstendtosegregateintoclosed‘in’
and‘out’groupsthroughdifferentkindsofmediause.Theyalsomeetmanyofthe
problemsmentionedinrelationtothesituationwithprohibition,e.g.notdeveloping
theskillsforusingthenewmediaforeducationalpurposes.
Tohelpthesituationwehavedevelopedadualstrategytobridgethegapbetween
prohibition(controlandsurveillancestrategies)andindifference(laissez‐faire
strategies)consistingof(1)aninterventionphilosophywheretheteacherstryto
facilitateandhelpthestudentsreflectontheirmediauseand(2)apractical
requirementusinganewinteractionmedium(Twitter)foreducationalpurposes.
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EducationaluseofTwitterThechoiceofTwitterastheprimarysocialmediumintheexperimentisinspiredby
anAmericansemester‐longexperimentalstudyinvestigatingtheeffectofthe
introductionofTwitterinteaching(Juncoetal.2010).Thestudygroupincluded70
individualandthecontrolgroup55.Theexperimentshowedincreasedcommitment
andimprovedgradesintheTwittergroupthaninthecontrolgroup.Accordingto
thearticle,theresearcherssucceededinimprovingthecontactbetweenfacultyand
studentsinawaythatwasinagreementwithdigitallifestyle(ibid.,10).Theuseof
Twitteralsoprovedtoencouragestudents'cooperationwitheachother,both
professionallyandsocially.Twitterhomeworkgavemoreactivelearning,andboth
studentsandteachersexperiencedimprovedfeedbackopportunities.Itisnotclear
fromthearticlehoworhowmuchteacherswereinstructedbytheresearchers,or
howmuchcontacttheresearchershadwiththestudents.Theresearcherswritethat
theycannotsaywithcertaintywhetherthesignificantimprovementinengagement
andgradesstemsfromtheuseofTwitterorfroma"possibleteacherorientation."
ReferringtoCrook(2008)theynotethattheintegrationofsocialmediadependson
creativeteacherinvolvement.Sincetheexactinvolvementisnotexplicitinthe
experiment,itprovidesnomethodfortheimplementationofTwitterinthe
classroom;itsimplypointsoutthatitcanbedone,iftheproper(butunknown)
teacher‐madeframesandinvolvementareestablished.
FacilitatingreflexivityIncontinuationoftheabove‐mentionedproblems,itisagoalofSMEthatthe
teacherstrulyencouragethestudentstoreflectonhowtheyperforminrelationto
concentrationanddistraction.Studentsmustgothroughaprocess,wherethey
acceptthatitisnotpossibletomultitask,butthattheyhaveanabilitytoswitch
betweendifferentactivities,dependingonhowwelltheirshort‐termmemoryis
(O'Brien2011)andhowstrongtheirwillandsituationalinvolvementare
(Markowitz198?).Itispossibletomoveonsuchacontinuum,butitisindividual
howcompetentoneisinmakingtheswitch,e.g.betweenreadingupdateson
Facebookandlisteningtotheteacher.
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Severalconditionsarerelevantwithregardtohowmuch“multiple”attentionone
canafford.One’sstandardinthedifferentschoolsubjectshasaninfluenceonwhat
youcanaffordintermsofavertedattention,ifyoualsowanttokeepupwiththe
schoolsubject.ITskillsalsohelpdeterminethedegreetowhichapersoncan
successfullyshifthisorherattentionfromoneobjecttoanother.Sociallyspeaking,
onemustlearntoparticipate(throughTwitterandothersocialmedia)inthepartly
virtualclasscommunityandlearnnottodisturbotherswithregardtotheir
individuallimitationofdistraction.Furthermore,particularlyyoungpeopleneedto
workhardtomaintaintheirrelationshipsinthesocial–alsooutsidetheclass.In
digitalmediapeoplemustwritethemselvesintoexistenceonadailybasis,ifthey
wanttomaintaintheirsocialidentityingroupsandnetworkswheretheyare
recognized(Tække2011).Inaddition,interactionwithlovers,parents,andsiblings
couldhaveanurgentcharacter.Thisraisesthequestionofhowgoodorbadyouare
atsayingnoandevaluatingthesituation;thatis,reflectingonhowimportantitisto
react,whenyouareaddressed.Theteacher'sroleistohelptheindividual(andthe
class)reflectuponhisorherattentioninrelationtoboththeacademicandthe
sociallevel.
Manystudents,however,believetheycanmultitask,i.e.performtotallydifferent
taskssimultaneously,andthussplittheirattentionsynchronously.Thisishardly
possible.IfstudentswriteanupdateonFacebook,theirattentionmovesawayfrom
theeducationalcontent.Onlyifataskisautomated,i.e.becomesahabitthat
demandsaminimumofattention,isitpossibletomultitask.Studentswhouse
Facebookeverydaymaymanagetoseethatthescreenpictureischanging,meaning
thatthereisanewupdate,buttheycannotreaditanddefinitelynotwritea
commentwithoutlosingattentiontotheschoolsubject.Thephenomenologyofman
seemstobethatwhenwefixourattentiononsomethingcognitivelydemanding,we
pushotherissuesintothebackground(Pietersma2000).
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However,onecanlearntomultiplex,whichmeansthatyoudirectyourattentionto
thesametopicthroughmultiplemedia.Thishappens,forinstance,ifyoulearnto
listentotheteacher,lookathiswritingontheblackboardand,atthesametime,
writeyourownnotes.IfTwitterisusedtocommunicateinparallelthetopicthatis
thefocusoftheoralteachinginteraction,thestudents’teaching‐orientedattention
ismultipliedfurther.Commontobothmultiplexingandmultitaskingisthefactthat
youcannotfocusyourattentionontwodifferentactivitiesatonce;however,in
multiplexing,whenyoufocusyourattentionononeandonlyone“intellectualitem,”
youmaylosesomething,butyouarelikelytogainmorethanyoulose(Fahey&
Meaney2011).Thisrequiresreflectiononwhatyouareawareof.Toteachstudents
tomultiplex,therefore,goeshandinhandwithteachingthemtoreflectontheir
individualandcollective"attentioneconomy"–andbotharethereforegoalsofthe
SMEdesign.
TheinitialresultsWewillhighlighttworesultsfromtheproject'sfirstfourmonths(August‐November
2011).Oneresultistheestablishmentofself‐reflexivity;thesecondisconcerned
withhowtheclassiscurrentlyworkingwithTwitter.
ResultsaboutreflectionThemostsignificantchallengeofreflexivityhasbeentogettheteacherstoactwith
neitherprohibitionnorindifferencetostudents’useofnewmedia.Roughly
speaking,theparticipatingteachersfellinoneofthreecategories:(1)teacherswho
founditdifficultnottoresorttoprohibition;(2)teacherswhodidnotresortto
prohibition,butfailedtomanagetofacilitatereflection;and(3)teacherswho
actuallybegantosuccessfullybridgethegapbetweenprohibitionandindifference
withreflectionandteachingthatwasinaccordancewiththenewmedia
environment.Allthreecategoriesappearedinobservationsandinterviews.
Anexampleoftheprohibitioncategoryappearsinalessonwhereastudentusesher
cellphoneandtheteachersubsequentlybansitsuse.Aroundthestudentin
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questionotherstudentsuseFacebook,andthereforetheprohibitionappearsfrom
thestudents’perspectivetobeanarbitraryattack,bothtechnologicallyand
personally:whyme?,thestudentthinks,itmustbebecauseshe(theteacher)doesnot
likeme.Itappearsintheinterviewthatboththe"attacked"andseveralother
studentsreactwithoppositiontotheteacherandlosefaithinher.Theintervention
didnotmakethestudentsreflectonwhenitisusefultousedifferentmediain
education:onthecontrary,theybegintodeveloptechniquestohidetheirmediause.
Anotherexampleisafailedattempttoinitiatestudentreflection:theteacherasks
questionsabouttheimproperuseofaspecificmedium,becausetheteacher
unambiguouslywantedthestudenttoadmitthatherusewasimproper.
Therearealsosituationswheretheteachersneitherbantheuseofdigitalmedianor
makethestudentsfeelashamed,butunwillinglyendupinanindifferentposition,as
theydonotknowhowtoinitiatereflectionorfailtorealizehowtheycanchange
anddeveloptheirteachingpracticesincongruencewiththenewmedia
environment.Theylackconcretetoolsforconstructiveinterventionandfeel
powerlessandcaughtinadoublebindthatpreventsthemfrombeingthekindof
teacherthatis"natural"tothem.Anexampleisateacherwhodisplaysan
information‐saturatedfilm,butdefeatistandpassiveshewatchesthestudentsfrom
thebackrowdoanything–ontheircomputers–butpayattentiontothefilm.
Finally,someteacherstakeonareflection‐enablingpositionandevensaythatitisa
newteacherroleforthemandthattheycannotimaginereturningtothewaythey
usedtoact(witheitherprohibitionorindifference).Theseteachersseemtohave
gonepasta"pointofnoreturn,"althoughtheyareconcernedthattheywillinfact
endupveryclosetothepositionofindifference.However,theyalsoreportthatthey
enterintodialogwiththestudentsinnewandfruitfulways.Thus,confidenceand
trustbetweenstudentsandteachersgrowinconnectionwiththisposition,aswas
alsothetheoreticalexpectation(Tække2011b).
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Insummary,weconcludethatitisdifficult,butpossible,forteacherstotakea
reflection‐enablingpositionandthatthispositionseemstowork,butreliesonthe
developmentofconcretereflection‐initiatingformsofintervention.Inaddition,our
repeateddiscussionswithteachersaboutthereflectionpositionhavemadeitclear
thatprohibitionandindifferencecannotbeavoidedinteachingaltogether.There
willalwaysbeadegreeoflatentprohibitioninuppersecondaryschools:ifthe
studentscontinuallyruintheirchancesoflearning,teachersmayhavetoresortto
prohibition.However,therewillalsoalwaysbeadegreeofindifference:ateacher
cannotreacttoeverything,butmustignorethisandthat.Onthisbasis,itcanbe
clarifiedthattofulfillthereflectionpositiononeshouldavoidthegeneral
prohibitionandindifferencepositions,justasoneshouldavoid"attacks"on
individualstudentswhoaredistractedbythenewmedia,asstudentsperceivesuch
interventionsasmistrustandunjustand,therefore,donotreflectonthesituation,
whichwasthepurpose.
Ifweturnourattentiontothestudents,theydonotseemtoexperiencethe
problemswehaveobservedinotheruppersecondaryschools.Theydonotfeel
distractedbytheirownorothers'useofnewmedia.Theinterviewsindicatethat
studentsinthecourseoftheautumnsemesterdevelopedadegreeofself‐reflection,
enablingthemtodifferentiatebetweendifferentschoolsubjectsinrelationtotheir
degreesofattention.Somestillseemtobelievethattheycanmultitask,butagain
theydistinguishbetweendifferentschoolsubjectsandbelievetheycanmultitaskin
somesubjectsandnotinothers.Thismighthavesomethingtodowithconceptual
issues,asitiseasierto‘jumponandoff’subjectsthatyouareontopoforamongthe
bestat.Herethegoodresultisthatstudentsdodifferentiate.Asinallotherupper
secondaryschoolsthestudentsuseFacebookandcomputergamesinwaysthat
havenothingtodowithschoolsubjects.Buttheydoitless,whenteachersinclude
Twitterintheteaching.Wearealsoabletoseethatthestudentsinourexperiment
consciouslyplanwhentheycanaffordabreakfromteaching.Finally,wenotethat
studentsrelatefairlyautonomously.Forexample,theclasshascreatedaFacebook
groupthatexcludestheteachersandwherestudents,accordingtointerviews,help
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eachotherwiththeirhomework,exchangeanswerstoassignments,andcoordinate
classpartiesandthelike.Anotherexampleisagroupofboyswhointhreemonths
createdaLANnetwork,whichtheyusetoplayagamewherethey,withgreat
enthusiasm,raceagainsteachotherduringschooltimeinawaythatisdistracting.
ResultsaboutTwitterTheintroductionofTwitterasapermanentteachingandlearningmediumhasbeen
asuccess–bothacademicallyspeakingandinrelationtolearningpurposes.
Studentswereintroducedtothemediumontheirfirstdayofschool.Sincethenthey
havesentthousandsoftweets,mostlyonschooldays.Duringthefirstinterviewswe
conducted,thestudentsrevealedthattheywereskepticalaboutthemedium.
Amongotherthings,severalstudentssaidthattheywouldratheruseFacebook,as
theywereaccustomedtothatmedium.Wecouldalsoobservethatsomestudents
werereluctanttosendtweets.Inthecourseoftheautumnsemester,thestudents
becamemorepositivetowardthemedium,andthegeneralexperienceisthatthey
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feelmoreinvolvedandlearnmorethroughtheuseofTwitter.However,mostofthe
studentsonlyuseTwitterontheteachers’request.Studentsperceivethemediumas
apureteacherandeducationalmedia.1
Specifically,wehaveseenfourkindsofTwitterusedevelopinclass.Firstly,wehave
seenteachingsequencesbasedsolelyonTwitter.Oneexampleisthattheteacher
asksaquestiononTwitterandstudentssubsequentlycomeupwithanswers.
Usually,thisissupplementedwithverbalinteractioninclass.Theadvantageisthat
all(oratleastmore)studentsparticipate,practicewritingconcisely,and
acknowledgebyhavingtoexpressthemselvesinwriting(intheoralmediumonly
onepersoncanspeakatasametime).Classeshavealsousedstudentreportsfrom
companyvisits,sharinganddiscussionofacademiclinksinavarietyofsubjects,and
exercisesinlanguagesandmathematics.Wehavealsoseenfewsequencesoutside
schoolhours,wherestudentsdiscussschoolrelevanttopics,helpeachother,and
discusshowtheteachingcanbeimproved.
Secondly,wehaveseenteachingsequenceswithteacher‐initiatedmultiplexingin
whichTwitterisusedsimultaneouslywithothermedia.Forexample,theclass
watchedafilmandusedTwittersimultaneously.Duringtheviewingofthefilmthe
teacheraskedanalyticalquestionsonTwitterandthuslaunchedananalyticdialog
aboutthefilmduringtheviewing.AdozenstudentswerewritingonTwitter,while
virtuallyallofthestudentsreadthetweets.Intheinterviewswiththestudents,they
revealedthattheyhadlearnedalotviathismethod,eventhoughitismorerelaxing
tojustwatchmovieswithouthavingtoanalyzethematthesametime.Accordingto
theteacher,thesubsequentanalyticaldiscussion(afterthefilm‐viewing‐and‐
tweetingsession)wasbetterthanwhatisstandardinotherclasses.Thepointis
presumablythatthestudents’filmreceptionwasframedanalyticallyalreadywhile
watchingthefilm–consequently,eventheacademicallyweakeststudentsseemed
toembarkonananalyticalunderstandingofthefilm.Anotherexampleistweeting
1NoneofthemhadbeenonTwitterbeforetheybeganintheclass.
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duringstudentpresentations,whichalsoprovidesaseriesofbenefits.Normally,
manystudentsgoonFacebook,butwecanseethatthisnumberisreduced,when
theteachertweetswiththestudentsaboutthecontentofagivenpresentation,
givingacriticaldiscourseratherthanpassivelisteningorparticipationinother
onlineactivities.Inaddition,Twitterwasusedinthiswaywithsuccessduring
teacherpresentations,wheresomestudentsaskedtheothersaboutthecontentof
thepresentation.
Thirdly,wehaveexperiencedstudent‐initiatedmultiplexing,whereTwitterisused
inandoutsideschooltimeasabackchannel.Anexampleisadiscussioninclass
wherestudentscommunicatetogether"behind"theteacherusingTwitter.However,
thishasonlyhappenedtoalimitedextent,andpreliminaryresultssuggestthat
studentsonlytakesporadicinitiativestodoso.Especiallyinmathematics,nowand
thenstudentsuseTwittertoaskeachotherortheteacherforhelp,but,again,thisis
usedtoalimitedextentandmostlyifandwhentheteacherinitiatesit.
Fourthly,teachershavebeguntodevelopmediachains,wheretheyplanactivities
priorandsubsequenttoaparticularuseofTwitter.Oneexample,whichwehave
seenindifferentvariations,isthattheteachersmakeanassignmentthatthe
studentssubsequentlyworkwith;consequently,thestudentswriteanswerson
Twitter,andtheirresponsesarethendisplayedonadigitalwhiteboardand
discussedandusedforfurthergroupprocessing,whichisuploadedontotheclass
wikiandlaterpresentedandperhapsevaluatedandadjustedbasedonfeedbackand
assessments.
Accordingtoourinterviews,thestudentsfinditannoyinganddifficulttomultiplex,
butastheyearprogresses,wehaveseenagreatersatisfactionwithtweetingduring
classhours.Therearemanynuancesofwhichonlyafewarementioned.The
studentsarecomfortablewithhearingtheteacheraskaquestionandoneofthe
usualthreeorfourvoicesofthedominantstudentsanswerit.Incontrast,theyare
insecurewhentheteacherasksatwitterquestionandtheclassroomiscompletely
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quiet,whileeveryonewritesareplyonTwitter.Italsoshowsthatthereisno
absoluteconjunctionbetweenthestudentswhoaretraditionallysilentandthe
studentswhoaresilentwhenitcomestowritingonTwitter.Thismeansthatmore
students,evenwhenitisvoluntary,jointheteachinginteractionwhenTwitteris
used.
Discussion–furtherquestionsandunsolvedproblemsTheinitialresultsshowaspectsofanexplicitmethodfortheinclusionofTwitterin
theclassroom;thisislackingintheAmericanexperimentthatweareoriginally
inspiredby(Juncoetal.2010).Yet,sofarourstudyalsohasitsunknowns.Onething
isthattherelationshipbetweentheestablishmentofself‐reflexivityandtheuseof
Twitterisnotyetfullyelucidated.UnliketheAmericanstudy,wecanseethatthe
constructionoftheteachersubjectiscrucialforreflexivityintheclassroom.Inthe
Americanstudythereisnoteachersubject,merelytheassumptionthatifyou
introduceTwitterenthusiasm,itgeneratesbetterstudentengagementand
improvedgrades–regardlessofhowteachersotherwiserelatetostudents'media
use.Thisisanunrealisticscenario,asyoucannotexpectresearcherstoalwaysbe
abletoassistuppersecondaryschoolteachers.Herewehaveaclearresult:the
teacheriscrucial.IfwemovebeyondcomparisonwiththeAmericanstudy,which
neitherdealtwiththeproblemofreflexivity,wehaveobservedthatevenprohibition
teacherscanuseTwittersuccessfully.Thisindicatesthattherelationbetweenthe
useofsocialmediaineducationandthefacilitationofreflexivityhasnotbeen
explainedinitsentirety.Similarly,itbecomesclearthatthepossibilitiesofTwitter
arenotthesameindifferentclasses(schoolsubjects),ifthemediumisused
exclusivelyinask‐and‐answeractivities.HereahermeneuticsubjectsuchasEnglish
withitsmanyinterpretationanddiscussionopportunitiesisamorelikelycandidate
fortheinclusionofTwitterthan,say,mathematics,wherethereisoftenonlyone
answer.Twittermaywellbeusedinmathematics,though;thepointisthatmedia
workdifferentlyinrelationtodifferentschoolsubjects.OurTwitterlogsincludea
numberofempiricalexamplesofhowstudentsinmathematicshelpeachotherand
asktheteacherforhelpviaTwitter.
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Ifweturntothestudents,theAmericansurveyfocusedontheaveragestudent
engagementandgradelevels,butinconnectionwiththeexperimentalclasstheSME
projectclarifiedthatsomestudentsaresilentonTwitter,astheyfinditdifficultto
takethemediumtoheart,despitethefactthattheirpeersareabletouseTwitterto
improvetheireducationalparticipationopportunities.Themediumcanthusserve
toreinforceorcreateasymmetryintheclassroomculture,whichisasignificant
probleminDanishuppersecondaryschools,whereteachingisboundupinclass
teaching(notinteamsandcourseteachinglikeintheAmericanstudy).Thisposes
theadditionalquestionofhowteachersinaDanishuppersecondaryschoolcontext
areabletoincludeallthestudentsinclassroomcommunicationthroughan
interactionmediumlikeTwitter.Ontheirowninitiative,thestudentscreatedthe
Facebookgroupwheretheyhelpeachother,butsinceneithertheteachersnorthe
researchershaveaccesstothisgroup,itisdifficulttosaywhethersimilar
asymmetriesalsoareformedthere.Allthisraisesafundamentalquestionof
whetherandhowteacherscanandmustinterveneinstudents’mediause.The
projecthasbeendesignedtourgeteacherstointerfereconstructivelyandinaway
thatfacilitatesreflection,buthowcantheydosoefficiently,whenthespecific
contentoflargepartsofthestudents’mediauseremainunknowntotheteachers?
Cantheteachersbyneitherprohibitingnorreactingwithindifferencetonewdigital
mediagainthestudents’trusttosuchanextentthatthelatteraddressissues,which
therebyhelpthemreflectontheiruseofmedia?
However,agoodITcultureseemstohavebeencreatedintheexperimentalclass.
Studentsarefairlyreflectivewithregardtowhattheyaredoing.Thereisnostrong
formationofcliquesintheclassviathemedia.Apparently,allthestudentsare
membersoftheaforementionedFacebookgroup.Helpisgivenandreceivedvia
TwitterandFacebook.Nostudentsreportthattheyfindthemselvesdisturbedby
otherstudents’mediabehavior.Afterfourmonths,mostofthestudentshavetaken
Twittertoheartandlearnedtouseitasausefultoolforteachingandlearning,
althoughsomestudents–rightly,perhaps–regretthefactthatonTwittertheydo
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nothaveasmany'friends'astheydoonFacebook,theycannotseewhoisonline,
andsomestrugglewithdatawhichcannotbesavedonTwitter,whichisnotaswell‐
organizedasFacebook.TowhatextentandwhytheITcultureintheclassseems
lessproblematic,thanwehaveseeninpreviousstudiesconductedinotherupper
secondaryschoolclasses,cannotbeansweredunequivocally.Thisrequires,notleast,
thatwecontinuetoworkwiththeproject.
ConclusionInthisarticlewehavepresentedahistoricallyrootedmediaunderstandingofthe
challengesandperspectivesthatthenewdigitalmediaenvironment–and
especiallythepresenceofsocialmedia–providesforteachingandlearningin
Danishuppersecondaryschools.Wehaveshownhowuppersecondaryschools
initiallyreacteddefensivelytothechangingeducationalpremisesthrough
prohibitionandindifferencestrategiesandbythelackofinclusionofsocialmediain
education.Secondly,IreportedontheactionresearchprojectSME,whichaimsto
identifywaystoavoidprohibitionandindifferencestrategiesand,instead,facilitate
self‐reflexivityamongstudentsandincorporatesocialmediaineducation,enabling
uppersecondaryschoolstostayabreastofthecurrentmediaenvironment.Wehave
reportedresultsfromthefirstfourmonthsoftheproject,wheretheexperiment
classanditsteachersinparticularhaveworkedwithintroducingthesocialmedium
Twitter,complementedbyattemptstocultivateareflection‐initiatingteacherrole.
Theresultofthefour‐monthexperimentisthattheteachersinvolved–invarying
degrees–areworkingondevelopingnewteachinginteractionformsthatexploitthe
opportunitiesinthedigitalmediaenvironmentandreducethedifficulties.Withthe
useofTwitter,studentparticipationseemstoincrease,andwiththeincreasedfocus
onfacilitatingself‐reflexivityitseemsthataninclusiveandreflexiveITculturehas
emergedinwhichstudentsconsciouslyandreflectivelypredisposetheirattention
underconsiderationforthemselvesandeachother.Therefore,theproject's
hypothesisseemsoveralltobeconfirmed.
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However,wehavefacedconsiderabledifficulties–someofwhichremain
unresolved–inconnectionwiththeestablishmentofareflection‐initiatingteacher
roleintheexperimentalclass;anditisworthmentioningthatthesedifficultiesare
typicalamongDanishschoolteachers,sinceweinourearlierstudiesinthefield
foundthattheprohibitionandindifferencestrategies,respectively–bothofwhich
inhibitself‐reflexivity–areprevalent.Asignificantbiasinthestudyisthereforethat
viewingthepositiveresultsonemustalsotakeintoaccountthesignificantamount
ofpressureandsupportfromtheresearchers.Similarly,itprovesthata
comprehensiveandsustaineduseofTwitterisrequiredbeforestudentstakethe
mediumtoheart.Ithasprobablybeencrucialthatallclassteachershaveusedthe
medium,althoughheretoowehavefoundthatsometeachershaveusedthe
mediuminalmosteverylesson,whileotherteachersuseditrarelyorleftittothe
studentstouseit,whichmeantthatthestudentsdidnotuseit,asthemedium
seemstorequire–inordertobecomeaneffectiveteachingandlearningtool–that
teachersinitiatetheuse.Someunknownsandunansweredquestionsremaintobe
answered,untilfurtherdataandresultshavebeencompiledfromtheprojectwhich
runsuntil2014.
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