Don't forget that the aim-for date for contributions to the knowledge bank is Tuesday, July 8. That way you can use each other's resources for project completion, which is due next Sunday, July 13, at midnight.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/guidebook-social-media-in-classroom-vicki-davis

http://www.academia.edu/1613377/Case_Studies_on_the_Use_of_Online_Social_Networking_in_Formal_Education

http://research.daffodilvarsity.edu.bd/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/E0342733.pdf

The tool I chose to use was Facebook along with Polleverywhere.  For my classroom, a more appropriate tool that is just like Facebook, but safer is a thing called My Big Campus.  Another tool that I already use is a thing called ClassDojo.  It is a behavior/communication tool that both students and parents can use daily.  It is very effective.

Facebook basics tutorial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUnmowztKMQ

Poll Everywhere tutorial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfgkN2zZIlA

Lampe, C. (2011). Student use of facebook for organizing collaborative classroom activities.International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning,6(3), 329; 329-347; 347.

College students are using Facebook to talk to their peers and form a “group mind” where students can work together to make sense of the course and the assignments. The students can find out what each person in the group knows and can help each other search for new information. Facebook is a great tool since it has many different tools for students to engage with one another such as groups, walls, adding each other as friends, private messages and apps. Collaboration can be online only or a mixture being online through Facebook and face to face. Out of 2 studies done at a Midwestern university with 638 students over 97% of the students said that they used facebook. Of those students about 70% said that they used Facebook to collaborate on an assignment, arrange a study group or meeting, ask another student a question releated to the classwork or just discuss classes or schoolwork in general. About 17% of the students who used Facebook in a negative way such as sharing homework answers or sharing answers from a test or a quiz with someone who hasn’t taken it yet. Overall many of the students in the study used Facebook for collaboration without the instructors having to force them to use it.

Many colleges are more willing to try Twitter than Facebook since it’s more like microblogging instead of talking to friends. Through two studies this paper found that if you use Twitter its best to require it and structure it to be relevant to the course. Faculty should engage with the students on Twitter for everyone to get the most out of it. For the first study out of 125 students, half were required to use Twitter and the other half were required to use Ning. Instructors would interact with students on the platform that they used. These were mostly used for continuing class discussions, giving students an easy way to ask questions, discuss the book, give support and organize study groups. Students were required to post two times and reply to two students to different prompts such as a reading, a video and online papers. Students who used Twitter were more engaged and more likely to collaborate and talk to fellow students. For the second study 135 students were given the option to use Twitter to collaborate or not. The instructors did not work with the students on Twitter for this study. This study showed that there was no real difference in the grades of students who used Twitter versus those who did not use Twitter even though those who used Twitter collaborated together.  The major finds of the study was that requiring students to use Twitter helps students, when you use Twitter in a class it should be in an educationally relevant way and that having the faculty engage with the students is essential to help the students succeed.

Ahlquist, J. (2014). Trending now: Digital leadership education using social media and the social change model.Journal of Leadership Studies,8(2), 57-60. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jls.21332

Social media can give people both positive and negative exposure. Hannah Brechner used social media to spread a message of love through the use of love letters which eventually became an organization that continues to send love letters. On the other hand Justine Sacco wrote a racist tweet while flying to Africa and when she landed she found that she had lost her job and her credibility because of it. People need to be aware of what they post and how it affects their life and one model to keep in mind while posting is the Social Change Model. This model concerns itself with how you present yourself online and how you can become a leader of society through what and how you post. A framework is proposed to go along with this that includes topics such as establishing personal virtual boundaries, building a personal learning network and how to handle cyber conflicts. Through this leaders can help make a better world through what and how they post on social media.

I chose this case study because it deals with learning through the use of social media and collaboration, both of which could, and probably should, be applied within my classroom.  The case study looks specifically at Foreign Language Learning, but the concepts can be applied to any subject.  According to the authors “the case-study findings indicate that collaborative learning processes that are embedded in a social media enhanced learning platform are supportive and conducive to successful problem-solving which leads to successful adult foreign language learning (Mondahl & Razmerita, 2014).  I propose that improved problem-solving skills can be applied to learning a variety of subjects.  This case study also is based on the idea of social-constructivism, which again applies to a variety of subjects.  Some of the ideas discussed are the need for student motivation, the importance of student empowerment, and how the two working together “enhances knowledge acquisition.”  (Mondahl& Razmerita, 2014)

Mondahl, M., & Razmerita, L. (2014). Social media, collaboration and social learning - A case-study of foreign language learning. Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 12(4), 339-352.

http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1132&context=agb_fac

I chose this case study because I am asking the same question posed right at the beginning, "Can social media be used in higher education to enhance learning through student and faculty collaboration?” (Wolf, Wolf, Frawley & Torres, 2012.)  They also addressed the concerns that most instructors tend to have regarding social media in the classroom:  integrity, time, institutional support, and privacy concerns.  The study specifically uses a platform called ValuePulse at California Polytechnic State University and National University of Ireland Galway, but the appropriateness of other platforms was also looked at. Three quarters of the students preferred ValuePulse for communication with faculty, and almost half of the students said it increased their critical thinking skills.  The conclusion in the study states “It is recommended that faculty in higher education engage their students by using a social media platform that is specially designed for higher education to bring their courses up to date with current information and combine knowledge management with social media to enhance the learning of their students.” (Wolf, Wolf, Frawley & Torres, 2012.) 

Wolf, M.M.,Wolf, M., Frawley, T., & Torres, A. (2012, ). Using social media to enhance learning through collaboration in higher education: a case study. Retrieved July 6, 2015, from http://digitalcommons.calpoly.ed/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1132&context=agb_fac

I found this article to be a wealth of information in that it reviews a variety of studies regarding social media and collaboration in the classroom. It draws some very informative, and logical, conclusions, “social media for collaborative purposes is best utilized when: (a) social media is not redundant to current practices but offers something new, (b) strategies are in place to help students learn how to work collaboratively, and (c) the tasks are appropriate.  I found it very enlightening that the authors point out that we can’t assume just because young people use social media, it doesn’t mean they know how to use it for learning.  In fact, they found that students tend to be consumers of information on social media, and often lack experience in producing and publishing information. 

Henderson, M., Snyder, I., & Beale, D. (2013). Social media for collaborative learning: A review of school literature. Australian Educational Computing, 28(2). Retrieved from http://journal.acce.edu.au/index.php/AEC/article/view/18

Review of Scholarly Literature

Steve Smith

Arizona State University

EDA 598

Dr. Foulger

July 7, 2015

Using Technology to Foster Writing Collaboration

  My focus will be on writing collaboration in the high school classroom. In previous years, I’ve had my students share their printed essays in groups.  This was done post facto and was never immediate.  I’d like to look at different ways to share student work in a quicker fashion.  First off, though, I’d like to research how to effectively use group work in my classroom.  Without this foundation, all the bells and whistles go by the wayside.  And so, as a teacher who teachers freshman English, I’d like to do a better job of having my students work in groups, critique their own writing, and offer real-time suggestions to their peers. 

  I definitely see myself using Google Docs and Twitter as a technological response to my issues with students printing out their essays and sharing them right before they turn them in to me.

  Google Docs seems really fun. I have learned that students can set their documents so that they are both “owners” and “editors” of the same document. That way, they could work on a shared doc together in real time. One student could, for instance, write the first sentence and his partner could write the second. Additionally, one student could write a sentence, and his partner could improve it with better adjectives or stronger verbs. Really, the possibilities are endless. 

  In terms of Twitter, I think there is so much that could be done as well. Given its character limitations, word economy would be something to concentrate on. No longer can students write and write and write themselves into their central theses.  Five pages later, they have it. Instead, they would have to think out exactly what they’d like to say and be mindful of word choice. One student could Tweet his partner and the other could Tweet him right back with a suggestion. Another method that could use Twitter is I could Tweet out a writing prompt to my entire class, and my whole class could Tweet me back with a thesis. The writing would be economical, immediate, and succinct.  That having been said, I also need a better framework to creating and utilizing groups in my classroom before I get to the exciting stuff.  Once I become a group work master, I’ll be able to use things like Google Docs and Twitter to promote positive group work experiences in my classroom. 

Article 1:

“The Discourse of Collaborative Creative Writing: Peer Collaboration as Context for Mutual Inspiration” by Eva Vass

  The author acknowledge collaboration as something central to human survival in her article, which is so foundational and simple, and I wonder why we’ve gotten away from it in education. I am guilty of this as much as the next teacher. I lecture too much.  This is hubris – I mean, I am not Socrates, and even he asked more questions than he lectured. In this article, Vass articles that creativity is not necessarily innate, but rather it can be observed and learned. I agree.  I’ve always enjoyed “stealing” from my more creative peers, and I think observing their creativity has enabled me to tap into my previously fallow creative side of my brain.

  And so, this article is important because it argues that group work is a means for enhancing creativity in individual students. I agree wholeheartedly, I need to be reminded of this sometimes, and I need to loosen the reins on my classroom structure with more group writing projects that promote creative experiences.

Article 2:

“Collaboration through Writing and Reading: Exploring Possibilities” by Anne Haas Dyson

  This piece by Anne Dyson compares writing collaboration to Sisyphus’ punishment, which was to push a boulder up a hill over and over again because as soon as he’d almost finish his task, the boulder was destined to fall down the hill again. I think I’m more with Eva Vass here.  I want to believe collaboration is intuitive and innate within as us. Still, maybe Dyson is right because if it’s so easy, why don’t more teachers use writing collaboration or collaboration in general in their classrooms? Dyson must be on to something.  She writes about the cognitive processes and strategies that students employ when they work in groups. So much more is going on in their brains when they collaborate as opposed to passively taking in information from a lecture. Yes, there are times and places for lectures, sometimes they are needed as a means to dispense information (though this is even going out of style with the implementation of the flipped classroom), however, when connections can be made within groups amongst peers, these discoveries and understandings are so much more powerful than when information is gleaned from lecture.

Article 3 (Theoretical Lens):

Sense of Community Theory

  McMillan and Chavis (1986) describe the Sense of Community Theory and how its understanding evolved at their college.  Its growth ties into the ideas of the theory itself as the authors write, “For several years many of us at Peabody College have participated in the evolution of a theory of community” (6).  This small fact seems both unimportant in the overall context of their research and theory, but it also seems to befit and represent the theory at is apotheosis.  The Sense of Community Theory was developed not by a lone researcher but by a community itself. 

  I believe the Sense of Community Theory is a good lens to look at writing collaboration in the classroom with. I believe that no good collaboration can occur if a teacher has not fostered a positive classroom community. This takes the form of modeling appropriate behaviors and setting rules and norms for collaboration and group work. The teacher cannot simply let his or her students “have at it” in terms of groups. This is one fundamental flaw of group collaboration.  Too many times, teachers assume students know how to effectively work in groups. This is something that needs to be taught.  This is why I liked the use of “different hats” in group work that I learned about in Unit 1. One student might wear the Encourager hat.  Another student might wear the hat of keeping students on-task. I think promoting roles in group work is vital to creating a community of learners who positively support each other and understand that they are all in this together as a means of mutual support and learning.

References

Dyson, A. H. (1989).  Collaboration through writing and reading: Exploring possibilities. National Council of Teachers of English. 

McMillan, D.W. & Chavis, D.M. (1986).  Sense of community: A definition and theory.  Journalof Community Psychology, 14(1),6-23. 

Vass, E.  (2008).  The discourse of collaborative creative writing: Peer collaboration as a context  for mutual inspiration. Thinking Skills and Creativity.  3(3), 192.

I'd like for my students to create shared documents to draft essays together. I still want them to turn in their own papers, but I'd like their peers to help each other on the front-end in terms of editing suggestions. Theoretically, one student could receive editing help and suggestions from, say, three of his peers on the front end prior to him turning in his paper to me. The converse of this is that this student would have edited and given feedback to three students as well as he is drafting his own essay. Honestly, the possibilities are endless, and I'm giddy at the prospect of trying this in my class.

Depending on who I can get to help me with my professional purpose experiments I might instead look at how Twitter can be used to collaborate with a Professional Learning Community (PLC). This would allow me a way to see how Twitter could be used among my peers at my school.

I also plan to use LinkedIn to create some sort of group that can further connect some of the people I work with here. I plan to get to know some of the advanced features of LinkedIn as I only know the basic features right now.

Here are some interesting links I found:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-kanalley/how-to-use-linkedin-effectively_b_2744857.html 

http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/23454/The-Ultimate-Cheat-Sheet-for-Mastering-LinkedIn.aspx 

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/linkedin.htm

Basecamp:  https://basecamp.com/

Basecamp Class - Become a Basecamp Pro ,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6cQBMcCbvo

Basecamp Basics in Less than 4 Minutes, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=503u3nUCOmI

Here are a few sources I found pertinent to Google Docs:

http://lifehacker.com/the-best-google-docs-features-youre-probably-not-using-1570728322

http://www.edudemic.com/10-things-every-teacher-know-google-docs/

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/07/tips-every-teacher-should-know-about.html

All of this is so fun and very relevant to high school level teachers.

Gamification in the Classroom--https://www.smore.com/166s

Edmodo Sync (makes it easier for teachers to connect with each other)--https://www.edmodo.com/sync?utm_source=Shows+2015&utm_campaign=377fcc62ca-ISTE_Teacher_Follow_Up7_8_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1053f416be-377fcc62ca-276172805

Self Guided Trainings-- https://www.edmodo.com/training#self-guided

Boitshwarelo, B. (2011). Proposing an integrated research framework for connectivism: Utilising theoretical synergies. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 12(3), 161-179. Athabasca University Press.

The theoretical lens I chose to view these articles through was connectivism. Connectivism looks at learning as heavily influenced by social and cultural context, and looks at ways educators can capitalize on that aspect of learning with their students. This article put forth “a research framework for connectivism that integrates approaches commonly used in online learning environments,” (p. 161) such as social media, LMS, and SIS. The framework “integrates the theories of online communities of practice, design-based research, and activity theory to construct a research framework that is characterised by a synergistic relationship between them” (p. 161). This framework allows researchers to look at the use of social media in educational settings through the lens of how it connects students to the social world around them and leads them to learn better with connectivist principles. The writers of this article propose this framework and ask that researchers who use it report back as to its usefulness so that they may more fully see its use in educational research settings. Reading this article gave me a way to look at different research results with an overall learning goal in mind. I am very interested in connectivism, as I think it applies even more as a learning theory in this digital age. This article gave a cogent argument for their framework as a way to connect studies back to connectivism.

Meishar-Tal H., Kurtz G., & Pieterse E. (2012). Facebook groups as LMS: A case study. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 13(4), 33-48.

My company is an LMS creator and provider, so free alternatives to LMS are intriguing to me and something my company of course tries to stay aware of as we are constantly innovating. This article details a case study conducted by professors from the Open University of Israel, for which they evaluated the usefulness of Facebook as an alternative to an LMS. They described their methodology for the study, then detailed the pros and cons of using Facebook as an LMS. Some of the pros include no cost, no technical maintenance, Facebook seems to foster more interaction with content, and more synchronous communication is available. Cons include that Facebook lacks some of the sharing capabilities of most LMS, Facebook dictates the organization of the group, and group members and administrators have many of the same capabilities. The biggest con is that Facebook’s assessment capabilities are virtually null, and it is not possible to store and track grades in Facebook. In the case study, the researchers found that using Facebook as an LMS enhanced collaboration and socially-motivated, active learning. Students did find some difficulty in the organization of material, and in separating their social presence on Facebook with their schoolwork. The researchers concluded that depending on the goals and functions of a course, Facebook can be used as an effective LMS, with the support of some other free tools such as Google Drive.

Yamaguchi, M. & Maguth, B. (2011). Using social networking in the social studies for global citizenship: A case study of Japan’s 3:11 quake. Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education, (3260-287).

This article explores the use of social media in social studies courses to track primary and secondary sources, access discussions and groups around the world, and find groups to support victims of natural disasters. These researchers looked specifically at the actions of people as they turned to social media following major natural disasters. They analyzed the use of social media and made conclusions, based on the study of education, of how social media could be beneficial in education. They argue that using social media in education is beneficial for two main reasons: the first-person accounts found on social media can rarely be found in textbooks, and when students produce on social media, they are putting their work in front of an authentic audience that can give them real-world experience. This article is pertinent to my workplace in that we are always searching for ways to engage and connect with our students, and social media is a great way to do this. Using social media as a scholarly research tool is something our teachers could use to create connection with students and connection between the students and the material they are studying.