Kirsten Thompson Zooms into Class

Our class met with Kirsten Thompson (Follow her on Twitter!) via Zoom on February 6, 2019. Her presentation discussed the use of social media in the classroom and how to do it properly. She provided insight on how to implement different platforms and which ones she uses for different purposes.

A lot of teachers are very cautious of even having profiles on social media, let alone incorporating it within their classrooms. I can understand why people feel that way due to the repercussions of some posts, but that is why there are privacy settings on these different platforms. One of Kirsten's points that made me think, "Okay, maybe I might actually use social media in my classroom." was that the three skills she touched on (prevalence, digital literacy, and relevance) all come through when using social media. She also explained that by using social media, we are connecting to the students with something that they already know plenty about.

When discussing prevalence Kirsten pointed out that 91% of Canada's population has access to the internet and that 25 million people in Canada use social media. I think the class was shocked by these numbers, but honestly, I feel like that sounded low to me. This number is only going to continue to grow, so I feel that technology is going to become more a part of our lives like it has been over the years already. Thinking back to when I was going into grade 9, Smartphones weren't even "a thing" but now it's all anyone really has. Technology is constantly growing and impacting more lives.

Digital Literacy was another point we touched on. Kirsten believes that we can teach different skills we want our students to learn through social media. Different issues that teachers want to see addressed including being safe online, cyberbullying, "fake news", etc. can all be taught and discussed through different social media platforms. I used Instagram, memes, and different YouTube videos in a Grade 12 LIT English class in one of my placements to teach and discuss bias and "fake news" with the students. They all loved the discussion we had and I feel that the videos and photos added something to the lesson that helped them understand and relate to the topic more.

Another point that Kirsten brought forward was that the implementation needs to be purposeful. WHY are you introducing technology, in this case, social media into the class?

Does it:

1. Relate to the 4 C's
2. Lead to new or more fulfilled educational opportunities?
3. Make students' and your life easier?

If the piece of tech hits all these points, then chances are it is worth implementing. She shared other models with the class that could be helpful when deciding (SAMR, TPACK).

I do believe that by using social media in a class that students would be more engaged, but there are many issues that can possibly arise such as distractions, misuse, etc. I believe that the teacher should have clear rules and expectations when using social media in their class. Setting these rules and testing and modeling them with students would take time or might not even catch on, so that aspect could be frustrating for educators after putting the time in to set everything up. Overall, I feel that using social media for communication, engagement, helping students to understand, etc. is a great addition to the classroom when done properly and professionally.