Social media has become very popular in the world today. According to Ortiz-Ospina (2019), Facebook is the largest social media platform with about 2.4 billion users. It is probably the most common social media platform on the internet, but other social networks such as Twitter and Instagram are popular as well. Many people spend a lot of time scrolling through various social media. It has become an important part of how we connect and communicate. In their book Argument in the Real World, Turner and Hicks (2017) explain that students did not view reading a text message or Facebook posts as reading and they reported that they did not view writing in online platforms as “real writing”. Turner and Hicks (2017) pose the question, “But what if we could help students make the pivot to recognize that it is, indeed, reading (or writing)?” (p. 107).
As a teacher of third grade, my students usually do not have their own accounts for these social media networks, but they are exposed to them and know what they are. By incorporating ideas from these popular social media sites into our classrooms, our students will be more engaged and learn how to communicate appropriately through social media. Turner and Hicks (2017) mention, “By engaging students in analyzing their language and the moves they made in their commenting, [the teacher] could help students to see themselves as critical readers and writers of social media, a stance we feel is vital in today’s society” (p. 103). Teaching and modeling digital citizenship has become very important in today’s world when young students are communicating with one another outside of the school day. It is essential to teach students how to act responsibly online. Even though my students do not have accounts for Facebook, Twitter, etc., they are able to communicate with one another through Google Classroom and other online platforms that we may use in the classroom such as Flipgrid or Padlet, and need to know how to do so appropriately. Holland (2013) discusses the topic of social media on Edutopia and explains that while young students need to play outside and engage with hands-on materials and activities, “it has become imperative for us as educators -- and parents -- to model appropriate digital citizenship to even our youngest learners.”
There are many controversial topics in the world of education. One of these topics includes whether homework is beneficial or not. I found this visual on Twitter that includes three questions to consider if you are thinking about giving homework to your students or not.
Here are 3 questions to consider if you are re-evaulating your stance on homework. This from #DitchHW by @alicekeeler & @jmattmiller https://t.co/3Xuu3AeES9 #tlap #DitchBook pic.twitter.com/IuOyRnF9JB
— Dave Burgess (@burgessdave) July 6, 2018
Using the MINDFUL acronym by Turner and Hicks (2017) to explore this interaction on Twitter, the writer of this argument is Dave Burgess, who is a well-known educator, PD leader, keynote speaker, and author of the book Teach Like a Pirate. Burgess speaks to educators about how to increase student engagement and help teachers be more creative. The intended audience would be educators to get them thinking about whether giving homework is beneficial for students or not. The argument is presented as a visual which includes three key questions. If a teacher’s answer is “no” to any of the questions that are presented that means homework is probably not benefiting the students in that classroom. The evidence connects clearly to the claim by having teachers think about the reason they are giving homework. Are they simply giving homework to give students something to work on or does it serve a purpose? This information seems to be accurate at a quick glance, and there is even a book dedicated to the topic of getting homework that this post stemmed from, Ditch that Homework. As I continued to look into this argument on Twitter, many people shared their viewpoints on this topic through comments and retweets. One commented sharing, “By assigning independent work during class I am available to help and correct in the moment.” Another person commented that we should think about the students who may not have anyone at home to help them. There was also a retweet with a comment that stated, “It really helps put in perspective the amount of homework we give.” Sharing this information will allow educators to evaluate their purpose for giving students homework. Where do you stand on giving students homework?
Ortiz-Ospina, E. (2019, September 18). The rise of social media. Retrieved November 14, 2020, from https://ourworldindata.org/rise-of-social-media
Turner, K. H., & Hicks, T. (2017). Argument in the real world: Teaching adolescents to read and write digital texts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Brittney,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post! I, too can relate to being a primary teacher and trying to find the best methods for engaging students through forms of social media. Although students may not have the “official” means to login and “post” their thoughts on social media platforms, teachers can create opportunities that give students that practice and ownership of their thoughts ideas. Turner and Hicks (2017) describe the importance of teaching students to be critical thinkers and developers of their writing; teachers can model for students through their interactions on classroom blogs, Google classroom, and other sources of digital media present in the classroom. Shin (2018) describes the importance of preparing our students for social media in the 21st Century; therefore, we must keep developing meaningful and relevant activities that teach students about real world skills. Furthermore, educating students on digital citizenship and the proper etiquette for interacting via social media is crucial in the development and success of students.
References
Kristen Hawley Turner, & Hicks, T. (2017). Argument in the real world : teaching adolescents to read and write digital texts. Heinemann.
Shin, D. (2018). Social media & English learners’ academic literacy development. 21 Century Learning & Multicultural Education, v25(n2), 13–16.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Brittney,
ReplyDeleteA study I read talked about how ninety-three percent of high school students have online access by which they
may use social media (Bravender, 2010 as cited in Chapman, 2020). While the study discussed secondary-aged students, I think there is a large number of primary and middle school-aged students that have social media accounts as well. Tik Tok is all the rage, and I seriously watched second and third graders have Tik Tok dance battles at a football game this year. I say all of that to say that as educators we need to be harnessing that engaged for the good. I too agree we need to be engaging our students to analyze their writings and those prospective arguments (Turner & Hicks, 2017). As an elementary teacher, I am sure you could relate to the educators mentioned in Chapman's (2020) study on how educators using social media as an instructional tool are concerned about the appropriate use, dynamic movement of social media, and how it influences changes in school policy and classroom instruction (Dixon, 2012 as cited in Chapman, 2020). I do not envy elementary teacher's but I can empathize with how difficult it may feel at times to engage with students in this capacity. But, no matter the age, I do feel passionate about introducing digital citizenship and appropriate usage as early as possible. I promise you that us high school educators would greatly appreciate it and all the hard work that goes into making MINDFUL writing become a procedure.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, and as a side note you had me at the Dave Burgess tweet. I have a legit educator crush on his work. I often share his work with my teachers.
References
Chapman, B. K. (2020). A Descriptive Study of the Pedagogical Use of Social Media in the
Oklahoma Secondary Classroom. Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest LLC.
Turner, K. H., & Hicks, T. (2017). Teaching adolescents to read and write digital texts:
Argument in the real world. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Brittney,
ReplyDeleteSo many things here that I would love to unpack! First, I actually got chills when you talked about your students not having social media accounts of their own, but knowing about them. In part, because I was worried for them on a mom-level, but also because I thought about what an incredible impact you can have on students by addressing things with them early! Think about how many behaviors could be corrected before they even start! Before I read your post, I had really only thought about Turner and Hick's (2017) MINDFUL acronym in terms of a post-evaluation. But could you imaging using it with younger students almost as a rubric? Think about all that they could learn!!
The second thing is the homework piece. I am in full agreement that we give too much homework. I feel that there is a better way to deliver the same stimulus that you want to get from your homework, but in more creative ways. You have mentioned one tool that I use in my own classroom: FLipgrid. I have students work in pairs, each with a single problem to solve. Each student takes a turn recording the other student teaching their problem, in detail, so that the rest of the class can use it as a reference for studying. Then, the students have an all-online video review for the assessment. It is wonderful! In her article, Taplin (2020) discusses her lesson called, "Try it, Talk it, Color it, Check it" (para. 2). This is a similar idea that was modified for an online learning space. Instead of using FLipgrid, it uses Jamboard and is not recorded, but live.
Again, I love your post!
References
Taplin, A. (2020, October 26). Adapting an effective math collaboration activity for distance learning: An instructional coach and math teacher who developed a powerful model for student collaboration have tweaked it for the pandemic. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/adapting-effective-math-collaboration-activity-distance-learning?fbclid=IwAR0bra0yZFUPgRbcijpA4LVatZF928p8n030Wk5Tx3rul06fioAlvi6d4yc
Turner, K. H., & Hicks, T. (2017). Argument in the real world: Teaching adolescents to read and write digital texts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.