Bates Chapter 7.6: Social Media

I'm going to use the Make it Stick philosophy again and do the questions at the end of Chapter 7.6.

1.  Take one of your courses, and analyse how social media could be used in your course. In particular:

• what new learning outcomes could the use of social media help develop?
• would it be better just to add social media to the course or to re-design it around social media?

The course I'm going to pick is CLT Skills One, which is the first skills class in learning how to transliterate using Cued English, (which is similar to the first interpreting class in ASL.)  

I think the best way social media could be used in this class would be to let some of the lessons move from Instructor led to learner-led, in groups.  For example, they could look at file sharing sites to find a source to transliterate slow English, or different accents in English, or clips of foreign language, background noises, etc.  They could work on a piece to demonstrate to the group.  Right now everyone watches videos of OTHER people demonstrating.  Of course this is the intro class, so they wouldn't be able to demonstrate without knowing what to do.  But I think there's a balance somewhere.

Another way to use social media in class would be to connect to the Cueing community that already exists on Facebook, etc.  I'm trying to think of a learning outcome....  maybe they do a survey or ask a question to the group.  A big move in Interpreter Education lately is to make sure there is Deaf community involvement in the training right from the start.  There have been some complaints that go viral in the last few years about interpreters and the (sometimes very embarrassing) mistakes or mis-steps they make while on the job, with an idea that Interpreter Education has lost sight of its main goals.  So getting students involved with the community right away in a positive manner could be a good start.

I think I would just add social media to the course, not re-design it around social media.  First of all because my original content in there is good!  :)  But Skills One is very Instructor led.  Not a lot of room for Constructivist or OCL learning in the class right now.  I'm enjoying this question--  ultimately we've got 10 courses we would like to move to DL courses.  There's so much to think about!

2. I have offered only a cursory list of the unique pedagogical characteristics of social media. Can you think of others that have not already been covered in other parts of this chapter?

The first thing that comes to mind is how short-lived many Social Media sites are.  In chapter 7.6 there is a wheel of different Social Media technologies, in 2010.  The FIRST one I tried to look up was called WetPaint.  It's now a Hollywood gossip site.  I dug a little deeper and found out it used to be a way people could make their own Wiki's, but it was sold to an Entertainment company.  So, fleeting?  A characteristic Bates does not mention is that the very site you ask your students to use could be gone already.  Another characteristic Bates doesn't really mention is the potential for danger.  Asking students to use specific websites in Social Media could lead to the potential for bullying, harassment, doxing, identity theft, phishing, just some really nasty comments on a post, or accidentally giving money to a Nigerian Prince.  I can imagine, if I taught minors, I might get some parents who don't want their students to use certain types of social media at all.  Actually, I know adults who purposefully have no presence on Social Media and might refuse an assignment.  Something else to think about.

3. How does this chapter influence your views on students bringing their own devices to class?

Not really.  I know instructors who limit their student's devices; I don't.  And for DL classes, I wouldn't know it anyway!  The thing that drives me crazy is how students see making videos as such an informal process now.  I get so many video assignments where students are sitting on their bed in their pajamas!!!  That drives me nuts.

4. Are you (still) skeptical about the value of social media in education? What do you see as its downsides?

Well, yes.  I mentioned them already-  the fleeting nature of some websites, and the potential for danger.  Third being students who can't do an assignment because they do not want a social media presence.  But the first assignment I talked about in number 1, I could still do without most of those dangers.  So saying no to ALL social media in 2019 is not necessary or practical-  especially when students are already using the internet to take the class!