Monday, July 16, 2018
Social Media- Friend or Foe?
Social media as a whole has been such an integral aspect of growing up as a millennial that most millennials cannot go 30 minutes without feeling the urge to check Snapchat, Instagram, or Facebook to name a few. It has gotten so frustratingly bad that I find myself checking instagram after I just put it down. These feelings and frustrations I have as a seemingly average consumer of social media for my generation are absolutely nothing to the coming generation. For the most part, we grew up entirely with the internet. For myself, it was definitely dial-up to start with, but eventually we got high-speed internet and then I could really play RuneScape with no problem and even talk on the phone if I wanted to- crazy! Even while growing up with this technology and ability to be connected, I was still a very active kid in the outdoors and extracurriculars. I can easily sit through a lecture without the burning urge to check and see if I received a Snapchat from the person sitting across the room from me. With that being said- as a future teacher I know that what I deem as "normal" and/or "appropriate" when it comes to using social media in a classroom setting, will have to change. These students are so engaged and up to date with social media, it's amazing that they can comprehend the amount of information that is being shoved through their eyes each day. Instead of looking down upon this as I have in the past when it comes to a classroom setting, I am starting to see how going with the flow of the river that is social media can absolutely have it's benefits if implemented appropriately. Ultimately, social media isn't going anywhere, so what is the point in attempting to censor it in the classroom, when I can embrace it, use it to my advantage, and engage the students in something that is already so engrained in them. There have been absolutely amazing resources put on sites like YouTube that can almost quite literally teach a classroom the ideas that as a teacher I would try to teach the students. Entire creators devote their channels to teaching history (Crash Course) in a fun and engaging why that honestly is more exciting than I have ever been able to teach it. The difference is creators like John Green with Crash Course understand that students today learn much differently than the baby boomers, and to a lesser degree, even myself as a millennial. We need to begin the transition to teaching students the way that works best for them, not the way that worked best for previous generations.
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Phillip, I'm so happy you mentioned an old pastime of mine: Runescape, the very first social interactive game I played online. You are right about taking the advantages of social media and implementing them into your class. Social media does have its advantages with new forms of creation and critical thinking skills. The students are engaged, completely, with the content. But as you say, it has to be done appropriately. Otherwise you will lose attention of your class and that can impact how well you conduct a lesson. Nonetheless, I believe, since technology has arrived, and, is staying, we have to welcome it with open arms as a friend. Also, the YouTube channel Crash Course with John Green is a great source to introduce your future students, especially as supplemental material.
ReplyDeletePhillip, I definitely relate to a lot of what you said here. I often find myself looking down on kids who are constantly on their phones/social media, but my perspective changed a little bit today when I realized that is their primary way of socializing; just because they are not talking to someone face-to-face doesn't mean they aren't still talking and being social. I agree that whether we like this new reality or not, it is in fact our reality and something that we'll have to learn to embrace and use to our advantage. I'm excited to look at the endless amounts of resources out there and find ones that will work for my classroom - I like how you mentioned that these things need to be implemented "appropriately." While the extreme prevalence of Social Media is the reality, it still has to be managed and balanced in the classroom, which I think will take some experimenting with and a lot of trial and error.
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