Participatory Media Education Final Report

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PARTICIPATORYMEDIAFOREDUCATION

RESEARCHERS&AUTHORS

ErinKnight&NathanGandomi

PrincipalResearchers,CenterforNGTL

GraduateCandidates2010SchoolofInformation,UCBerkeley

FACULTYADVISOR

RobertGlushko

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TABLEOFCONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 3

BACKGROUND 5

SOCIALMEDIACLASSROOMANDRHEINGOLDSAPPROACH 22

OURRESEARCHANDMETHODS 30

FINDINGS:USAGEPATTERNS 34

FINDINGS:PERCEPTIONS,MOTIVATIONSANDEXPECTATIONS 47

DISCUSSIONANDCONCLUSIONS 70

IMPLICATIONS 89

APPENDIX 92

BIBLIOGRAPHY 93

SYLLABUSENGINE 98

INTERVIEWQUESTIONS 121

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Introduction

ABSTRACT

IntroductiontoourresearchonParticipatoryMediaforEducation.

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Introduction

ABSTRACT

Participatorymediaforeducationisanemergingspacethatlookstocapitalizeonthesocial,participatoryandactive

natureofvariousWeb2.0toolstofacilitatesociallearning,constructionofknowledgeandstudent-centeredlearning

environments.Researchinthisareaisstillemergingandistypicallyfocusedonasingletoolinasinglecontext.Early

adoptionoftheSocialMediaClassroom(SMC),asuiteofsocialmediatools,infourcoursesprovideduswithaunique

opportunitytoobservepatternsofusageofthesiteandembeddedparticipatorymediatoolsacrossvariouscourses,

instructorsandstudents.Ourmainresearchgoalsweretoobservestudentandinstructorusageacrosscourses,identify

andanalyzeusagepatterns,expectations,motivationsandsocialconstraints,aswellastoinformfutureresearch

questionsanddirections.Ourworkmovesawayfromthetypicalsingletoolinasinglecontextresearchapproach,which

oftenattemptstodemonstrateeffectivenessandgeneralizetoaone-size-fits-allsuggestion.Instead,weexaminethe

organicandemergenttrends,issuesandcomplexitiestostarttoinformaricherunderstandingofthespace.Ingeneral,

ourobservationsdemonstratethepromiseofparticipatorymediaforeducation,whilehighlightingvariouscomplexities

andissues.Wealsomakeacallforamoveawayfromthecommontool-firstfocuswhereeducatorsadoptatooland

thentrytofindusesforit,toalearning-activitywhichfirstidentifiestheunderlyinglearningactivitiesandgoalsandthen

alignsvarioustechnologiestosupporttheactivityorgoal.Thisapproachcanmakeparticipatorymediaforeducation

moreapproachable,morestraightforwardtointegrateandpotentiallyeasiertoevaluate.Otherfindingsandconclusions

includedifferencesinusagepatternsacrosscoursesandamultitudeofpotentialinfluencesdrivingthedifferenceinuse,

includinginstructorinfluence,studentmotivations,courseattributesandsocialnorm.Additionally,wediscussan

observedpotentialforself-directedstudentuseandlearning.Finally,wesummarizeimplicationsforfutureresearch

projectstosupportthisemergingandpromisingarea.

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Background

ABSTRACT

Areviewofthebackgroundtheoryandexistingresearchonparticipatorymediafor

education.

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Background

PARTICIPATORYMEDIA

Participatorymediareferstomediatoolsthatsupportsocialinteraction,participationandcommunication(Rheingold,a).

OftenalsoreferredtoassocialmediaorWeb2.0,participatorymediaemploysweb-basedtechnologiestoallow

userstocontributecontentandinteractwiththecontentandeachother.Thesetechnologiesarecharacterizedbyuser

participation,richuserexperiences,openness,lowbarriertoentryandnetworkeffects,inthatthemorethatuseit,the

morevaluethetoolhas(OReilly,2005).Commonparticipatorytoolsintodayswebworldareblogs,wikis,forums,social

bookmarking,socialnetworkingandsynchronouschat.

WiththeriseofparticipatorymediaintheWeb2.0worldandthesubsequentproliferationofparticipation,sharingand

networking,manyhavebegunexploringhowtheembeddedprinciplesofWeb2.0,suchasopennessandnetworkeffects,

asdiscussedabove,canbeappliedtotraditionaleducationaxiomslikelearnerengagement,interactioninlearning,and

learnerownershipandmanagementoflearning(Mason&Rennie,2008).AsOwenetal.(2006)write,educational

agendasareshiftingtoaddressideasabouthowwecancreatepersonalizedandcollaborativeknowledgespaces,where

learnerscanaccesspeopleandknowledgeinwaysthatencouragecreativeandreflectivelearningpracticesthatextend

beyondtheboundariesoftheschoolandthelimitsofformaleducation(p.4).Whilemanyofthesetoolsandtheir

applicationtoeducationarerelativelynew,theideasandassumptionsbehindtheseeffortsarenotnewandmanyare,in

fact,foundationaleducationaltheoriesandworks.

EDUCATIONALROOTS

Constructivism

OnesuchfoundationalperspectiveisConstructivism(Piaget,1926).Constructivismisrootedinthebeliefthatlearning

andknowledgeoccursthroughmentalconstruction,orthroughfittingnewexperiencesandideasintoexisting

knowledge.Piaget,thefatherofConstructivism,wasconsideredacognitiveconstructivistandemphasizedtheroleofa

learnersinteractionwiththeenvironmentandsurroundingsascriticaltotheirunderstandingoftheworldandcognitive

capacity.

SocialConstructivism,whichgrewoutofConstructivism,claimsthatwelearnthemostthroughsocialandcommunal

activitiesandthatmeaningisshapedandknowledgeisconstructedthroughinteractionwithpeersandreflection(Higgs

andMcCarthy,2005).Inhiswell-knowntheoriesofsociallearningandtheZoneofProximalDevelopment,Vygotsky,a

SocialConstructivist,claimsthatstudentsareonlyabletoachieveacertainleveloflearningbythemselves,butcanlearn

andaccomplishmorebyworkingwithorobservingacapablepeer(Rogoff,1990).

MorerecentadaptationsofConstructivismfurtheremphasizethesocialprocessesoflearning,andclaimthatlearningis

moreeffectivewhenitoccursthroughinterpersonalchannelsandincooperativeenvironments.Theseconstructivists

believelearningiscooperative,collaborativeandconversational,providingstudentswithopportunitiestointeractwith

eachothertoclarifyandshareideas,toseekassistance,tonegotiateproblemsanddiscusssolutions(Miers2004).

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Background

Effectivelearningisconversationalinnature,andthatitnecessitatesasocialdimension,includingcommunication,

dialogueandsharedactivity(McLoughlin&Lee,2007).

OthermodelshavegrownoftheConstructivistmodel,suchasknowledge-creation(Paavola&Hakkarainen,2005),

knowledgebuilding(Bereiter,2002),andexpansivelearning(Engestrm1987,1999).Thesemodelsseestudentsas

producersandconsumersofknowledgewhoengageinlearningthroughinteractionwiththeinstructionaswellasfellow

studentsbycontributingtotheircommunitysgeneralbodyofknowledge.

Constructionism

Anotherkeyunderlyingperspective,PapertsConstructionism,haditsrootsinConstructivismaswell(Papert,1980).With

Constructionism,Papertchallengedtraditionalteachingmethodsandmadeacallforintegratingcomputersand

technologyintotheclassroom.Constructionismassertsthatbymanipulatingandcontrollingcomputers,learnerscan

developadeeperconnectionwithabstractideassuchasgeometryandcalculus.Withlessemphasisonarightorwrong

approach,learnersconstructtheirlearningthroughiterationandexploration.ToPapert,thisnecessarilymeansthat

textbooksandformallectureplansplaylessofarole,andthestudentsthemselvesdriveorconstructhowlearningtakes

place.AnotherkeypartofConstructionismissociallearning.Papertwritesthatlearninghappensespeciallywellwhenwe

interactwithpeers,observesomeoneelseorcollaborativelybuildasolution.Whilesomedebatehisfocuson

programmingandanecdotalresearch,hisunderlyingvisionspavedthewayforagreaterfocusontechnologyand

student-centered,sociallearningapproachesweseetoday.

Student-CenteredApproach

Anotherrelevantandrelatedmovementineducationhasbeentoshiftparadigmsfromateacher-centeredmodeltoa

morestudent-centeredapproach.Thisapproach,alsooftenreferredtoasactivelearningorstudent-centeredlearning,

focusesonthestudentsandattemptstomapthecurriculumtotheirinterestsandneeds.Whereasinteacher-centered

models,theinstructorpossessesallofthecontenttobelearnedanddeliversknowledgetostudents,student-centered

learningstrivesforamoreflexibleandadaptiveapproach(Mason&Rennie).Inthestudent-centeredapproach,

learnersarenotonlyatthecenteroftheenvironment;theyareintegraltoit.Universaloutcomes,activities,and

assessmentsoftencannotbeestablisheda-priori,butmustbederivedthroughtheeffortsofindividuals(Hannfin&

Land,1997,p.187).RelatingitbacktothepreviousperspectivesofConstructionismandConstructivism,Siemens(2004)

coinedstudent-centeredlearningasconnectivism,wherelearningisviewedasthebuildingofconnectionswithin

communitiesandtheactivecreationofmeaningandunderstandingthroughparticipation.

Thereareseveralwell-researchedunderlyingtenetsthatsupportthestudent-centeredmodel(adaptedfromHannafin&

Land):

Understandingevolvescontinuously Individualsmustassumegreaterresponsibilityfortheirlearningthanintraditionalenvironments Studentsmake,orcanbeguidedtomake,effectivechoices

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Background

Knowledge/Understandingismostrelevantwhenrootedinpersonalexperienceorrelevantcontexts Teacher-centered,top-downinstructionistoonarrowtosupportthesevariedlearningrequirements

Astudent-centeredmodelsupportsanenvironmentthatallowslearnerstoconstructtheirunderstanding,testandrevise

theirowntheories,activelycontroltheirlearningandconnectdeeplywithconcepts.Manyhaveempiricallydemonstrated

thatwhenitisproperlyemployed,student-centeredmodelscanleadtohigherretention,deeperunderstandingand

increasedmotivationtolearningthaninothereducationalmodels(McKeachie,1994;Bonwell&Eison,1991;citedin

Felder&Brent,1996).However,theproperlyemployedqualification,whichisoftendifficulttomeasureformany

contexts,isakeyreasonthatstudent-centeredlearningisstilldebatedtoday.Further,additionalbarrierssuchas

instructorlackofskillwithorknowledgeabouthowtointegratethenewapproach,thepotentialsenseoflossofcontrol

frombothinstructorsandlearnersanddisconnectininstructororlearnerrolesoridentitiesalsomaylimittheshiftto

student-centeredlearning(Bonwell&Eisen,1991).However,thepromiseofstudent-centeredlearningremainsan

alluringtopicforeducatorsandresearchers,manyfocusingonhowtolowerorreducethebarrierstotheshift.Hannafin

&Land(1997)pointtotechnologyasapotentialsolution.Byactingasacapablepeer,enablingtestingandrevisingof

hypothesesandunderstanding,supportingactivecontroloflearningandpotentiallyprovidingmoreavenuesfor

guidance,technologycanovercomemanyofthebarriersandfacilitateabalancedandintegratedstudent-centered

model.

Summary

Thereisasignificantamountofexpertiseandliteraturearoundthebenefitsofstudent-centered,socialenvironments

wherestudentscanconstructadeeperunderstandingandconnectiontolearning.Manyarelookingtotechnology,

specificallyparticipatorymedia,asonewaytohelpfostersuchlearningenvironments.

PARTICIPATORYMEDIAFOREDUCATION

PullingfromPiaget,Papert,Vygotskyandthestudent-centeredmovement,theuseofparticipatorymediatoolsin

educationistypicallygearedtowardscreatingamorestudent-centered,adaptiveenvironmentwherelearnerscan

contributetothecoursematerial,formulateandexpresstheirowninsightsandopinions,constructtheirown

understandingofmaterialbyconnectingconceptstopersonalexperienceorcurrenteventsandlearnfromoneanotherin

collaborativeenvironments.

Thus,theideasbehindparticipatorymediaforeducationarefarfromnew.Evenwiththisunderlyingfoundation,itisstill

unclearexactlyhowtousethesetoolseffectivelyforeducation.ManyaretryingallofthemajorLearningManagement

Systemprovidersoffersocialmediatoolsinsomecapacity.Butevenwhenthesocialmediatoolsareavailable,most

instructorsrarelyusethem.Onestudydemonstratedthat95%ofLMSusageinvolvedasetoffivecorecontent

managementandbroadcastcommunicationtools,suchasasyllabus,announcementsandassessments,whichfitthe

teacher-centeredparadigmandmerelyreplicatedthetraditionalcoursemodelonline;whereastoolsthatencourage

participation,collaborationandamorestudent-centeredparadigm(Wiki,DiscussionBoards/Forums)werenotused

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Background

muchatall(Hanson&Robson,2004).Useofparticipatorytoolscurrentlyoccursinthelong-tailofteachingandlearning

andisoftenunsupportedandisolated(Severance,2009).

Onereasonwhyparticipatorymediamaynotbewidelyusedineducationcouldbethefactthatincorporatingthetools

oftenrequiresashiftineducationalparadigms,towardamorestudent-centeredparadigm.Aspreviouslydiscussed,

thereareanumberofbarrierstothisshift,includingtheadjustmenttoamoreopenandflexiblelearningenvironmentfor

instructorswhoareusedtocontrollingthecoursecontentandflow.Anotherreasonadoptionofparticipatorymediafor

educationhasbeenslowmaybetheuncertaintyofwhichtoolorsuiteoftoolstouseandhowtousethem.Selectinga

tooltousecanoftenbeoverwhelming,sinceparticipatorymediaencompassessuchabroadspacewithanarrayof

toolsthatenabledifferenceuserexperiencesandaffordances.Also,theexistingsetofbestpracticesandinformation

abouthowtousethetoolsismostlybasedonobservationsofsuccessstoriesoutsideoftheclassroom,gutfeelorsingle-

tool-in-single-contextresearch.Theresearchitselfisstillemergingwithlittleconsistencyinunderstandingofgeneral

applicationoreffectiveness.Todemonstratetheexistinglandscape,wewillbrieflyreviewoftheliteratureforeachof

fivekeyparticipatorymediatools.

EXISTINGRESEARCHLANDSCAPE

Again,theexistingresearchlandscapeisheavilytool-focused,withinconclusivefindingsacrossstudiesduetheircontext-

specificnature.Someresearchersattempttoprovetheeffectivenessofcertaintoolsincertainenvironments,andoften

makeboldgeneralclaimsaboutthevalueofsocialmediatools.UsingaframeworksimilartotheoneusedbyMason&

Rennie(2008),includinggeneraldetails,benefitsandlimitationsofeachtool,wesummarizethecurrentliteratureon

eachtoolbelow.

Blogs

General

Ablog1,oraweblogisawebtoolthattypicallysupportsaparticularindividualsopinions,thoughtsandprose.Blogs

areoftencomparedtoofflinejournalsordiaries,althoughwithoneimportantdistinctionblogsaretypicallypublished

ontheWebwhereothers,oftenthegeneralpublic,canviewthem.Ablogisthustypicallyone-to-manymediumof

expressionandrecord.Bloggingsoftwareiswidespreadandoftenfree,makingblogsaneasyandapproachablewayto

giveindividualsavoiceoraplatformthroughwhichtosharetheirideasandthoughts.Manyrefertoablogasasoap-

boxforaparticularindividualtoexpressthemselves.

1Thewordblogisoftenalsousedasaverb,meaningtopostcontentonablog.

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Background

ExistingResearch

Duetothelowbarriertoentryandwriting-for-an-audiencenatureofblogs,manyinstructorshavebeenexploringwaysto

usethemintheclassroom.Muchofthisattentionhasoccurred,notsurprisingly,withintheblogosphereitself([a],[b],[c]

asexamples).Empirical,academicresearchonblogsforeducationislessplentiful,stillemergingandhasexhibited

inconclusivefindings.

Benefits

Existingresearchhasfoundthatblogscan:

Givestudentsmoretimetoreflectandarticulateideas,socouldleadtomoreeffectivedebatediscussionsandcollaborationthanface-to-face(Koschmann,1996)

Facilitatestudentsuniquevoicesbyempoweringthemtoasserttheirideasandopinionsandencouragingthemtothinkcritically(Oravec,2002,citedinWilliams&Jacobs,2004)

Fosterreflection(Ferdig&Trammel,2004) Facilitatedeeper,richerunderstandingduetohyperlinks,contextualinformationandrevisitingconcepts(Ferdig

&Trammel,2004)

Provideopportunitiesforstudentstoexpressdifferentopinions,thusstimulatingcognitiveconflictanddiscussion(Herringetal.,2004)

Limitations

Otherstudieshaveshownthatblogs:

Donothavethesamebenefitsoradoptionforallstudents:theeffectsofblogscandifferbasedonlearningstyle(Saeed,2008),studentfamiliarityandpreferences(Flierl&Fowler,2007),andstudentwillingnesstoacceptthe

tool(Raajj&Schepers,2008)

Oftenrequiresignificantadministrativeinterventionstostimulateusage(Tri-Dangetal.,2008) Aretypicallypublic,whichcanintimidatestudentsanddiscourageuse(Mason&Rennie,2008) Mustbekeptactiveandmaintained;lackofconsistentattentionorflowmayleadtolessuseorvalue(Mason&

Rennie,2008)

Requireahighlevelofstudentandinstructormotivationtoparticipate(Mason&Rennie,2008)Inanatypicalstudy,WilliamsandJacobs(2004)observedtheuseofablogintwocoursesattheBrisbaneGraduate

SchoolofBusinessatQueenslandUniversityofTechnologyandinadditiontotrackingusage,alsosurveyedstudents.

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Background

Theirmainfindingswerethatstudentsgenerallyfavoredtheblogandfeltitwashelpfultotheirlearning.Alsoofinterest

isthattwo-thirdsofrespondentssaidthattheywouldhavecontinuedtoblogregardlessofbeinggraded.Thisstudy

startstomoveawayfromcontextually-basedeffectivenessmeasuresanddelvesintotheunderlyingperceptionsand

motivations,somethingwewouldliketoseemoreofandinfact,wasamaingoalinourresearch,asdiscussedbelow.

Summary

Existingresearchpointstothepotentialofblogsforreflectionandstudentopinioninsomecases,butalsoreportslackof

useorvalueinothercasesandcautionsthatsignificantinfrastructureandsupportmaybeneeded.Theseconflicting

findingslikelymirrorthedifferencesacrosslearningenvironmentswherethestudieswereconducted,butthisisrarely

discussed.Whileafewnewerstudiestouchuponindividualpreferencesandlearningstyles,therealsoseemstobea

generallackofattentiontodifferencesinuseandperceptionsacrossstudentsandinstructors,andacrosscourses.

Forums

General

Forums2aretoolsthatsupportmany-to-manyasynchronousdiscussions.Typicallyoneuserstartsaconversationby

postingaforumtopicandthenothersrespondviarepliesorcomments.Thesediscussionscanbeeitherflat,wherethe

repliesarepresentedlinearlyinreversechronologicalorder,orthreaded,whererepliesarepresentedinahierarchy

basedontheparentpost(Mason&Rennie,2008,p.91).Forumsandblogsaresimilarinthattheybothprovideavenue

forstudentstoexpressopinionsandinsights.However,whereasblogsputtheindividualintheforeground,forumsare

typicallysharedcommunityspaceswithmultipleparticipantsastheforeground(Duffy,2006).

ExistingResearch

Theconceptofdiscussionasalearningtechniquehasbeenaroundineducationforsometime.McKeachieetal.(1986)

demonstratedthatclassroomdiscussioncouldcontributetohigherretentionofmaterial,increaseinstudentmotivation

anddevelopmentofhigherlevelthinkingskills.Thus,forums,whichinitiallyemergedevenbeforetheWebitselfto

provideameansofdiscussingtopicsorissueswithawideronlinecommunity,werethoughttobeobviousearlytoolsfor

theclassroom.Thiswasevidencedbythefactthatdiscussionboardsweredefaultfeaturesintheearlyiterationsofthe

firstonlineLearningManagementSystems.However,despitetheseeminglynaturalfitandyearsofexperience,thereis

stillongoingworktodeterminehowtouseforumseffectivelyforlearning.

Benefits

Existingresearchhasdemonstratedthatforumscan:

2Forumsarealsoreferredtoaswebforums,discussionboards,threadeddiscussionboardsorbulletinboards(Mason&Rennie,2008,

p.90)

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Background

Provide24/7availability(Mason&Rennie,2008) Leveltheplayingfieldformorestudentstocontribute(versusface-to-face);forexample,somestudentsmaybe

morecomfortableparticipatinginadiscussiononlinethanintheclassroom(Mason&Rennie,2008).Also,

forumscanreducethedominantstudenteffect,whichsometimescharacterizesface-to-faceclassroomsessions

(Groves&Pugh,2010)

Facilitatedeeperdiscussionsonissuesorconcepts,whichcanfostersocialconstructionofknowledge(Mason&Rennie,2008)

Leadtomorestudentsatisfactionandhigherstudentoutcomes(Jungetal.,2002;Kentler&WillisFlurry,2005).Althoughitshouldbenotedthatsincethesestudiescomparedgradesandparticipationrates,theirfindings

couldalsobeexplainedbythebetterstudentsparticipatingmoreaspartoftheirquestforagoodgrade.

Buildcommunityandencourageprofessionalidentityformation(Duemeretal.,2002)Limitations

Ontheotherhand,theliteraturecautionsthatforums:

Donotleadtomuchusagebeyondtheminimumlevelrequiredtoqualifyfortheassignmentmarks(Palmeretal.,2008)

Areasynchronous,sotheyrequireagreatdealofmotivationforstudentstoparticipateandweighinwhenthereisnoassuranceofresponse(Mason&Rennie,2008)

Aretypicallytext-only,whichcanbeoverwhelmingandlengthytoreadorcatch-up,andtypicallypresentedasathreadedinterface,whichoftenbecomesunwieldy(Mason&Rennie,2008)

Requireacoursemediatortocontinuallypaycloseattentioninordertocoordinatelearnersactivities.Monitoringaforumistimeconsuminggiventhatitisimpossibletoknowinadvancewhennewmessagesare

goingtobeposted(Gerosaetal.,2010).

Summary

Forumshavebeenaroundforsometime,andwhileexistingliteraturepointstotheircapacityfordiscussionanddebate,

andeveninsomecases,higherstudentoutcomesthanthosethatdonotuseforums,thesefindingsarenotconsistent

andmanypointtouserexperienceissuesthatmaylimitthequantityandqualityofthediscussions.Again,thesestudies

aretypicallycontext-boundandverylittleworkhasexploredthedifferencesinusageandperceivedvalueacross

students,instructorsandcourses.

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Background

Chat

General

Chat3isatoolthatprovideslightweight,synchronouscommunicationbetweentwopeopleoragroupofpeople.

Messagesaretypicallytext-basedandshortinlength,fosteringconversation.Forthesereasons,chatisoftenmorelike

telephoningthanemailing(MasonandRennie,2008,p102).

ExistingResearch

Theimmediacyoffeedbackandinformalityofthechannel,andthusthelowbarriertoentry,hasattractedmanytochat

asaneducationaltool.Muchoftheresearchwithchathasbeeninthelanguagesdiscipline,perhapsbecause

conversationissocriticaltolearningalanguageandachievingfluency.

Benefits

Chathasbeenshowto:

LeadtobetterstudentoutcomesinESLbecauseitallowedstudentstousethelanguagetoexpresstheirownideasandhaveconversationswithpeers(Yaun,2003).Theyfoundthatpeerswouldcorrecteachother's

grammarandspellingalongthewayaswell,providingahigh-quality,student-drivenplatformforlearningthe

language.

FosterdeeperunderstandingofthematerialandmorestudentengagementinanEnglishcourse(Cameron,2006)

LowerthedisadvantageforESLstudents(Cameron,2006).However,Cameronqualifiestheseresultswithanacknowledgementthatthecoursewasdesignedtosupportthesediscussions,includingsmall,assessabletasks,

easyandapproachablechatsoftwareandasmallgroupenvironmenttoensurethatstudentsdidnotneedtobe

assertivetotakepart.

Encouragemoreinstantcommunication(Jeong,2007) Expandthestudentcomfortzone(Jeong,2007) Providemoreflexibleofficehours(Jeong,2007)

3Chatisalsoreferredtoaschatrooms,instantmessaging,IMorIRC,thelatterofwhichreferstoaparticulartechnologythatsupports

synchronouscommunicationonline.

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Background

Lowerthebarriertoentrysincechatcanbemoreinformalandintimatethanemailorevenface-to-faceandlogscanserveasremindersofdiscussionsthatcanberevisitedlater(Mason&Rennie,2008)

Limitations

Thesamequalitiesofchatthatareoftenconsideredbenefits,suchasimmediacyoffeedbackandlowbarriertoentry,can

alsobeitsbiggestlimitations.Chatcan:

Haveoverlappingmessagesanddiscussions,whichcanunderminelanguageandcommunicationskillsdevelopment(Jenks,2009)

Leadtomiscommunicationduetolackofcues(Jeong,2007) Createissueswithprivacyorsecurity(Jeong,2007) Encouragestudentstoexpectthattheinstructorbeavailableatalltimesandexperiencefrustrationand

decreasedsatisfactionwhenthoseexpectationswerenotmet.(Jeong,2007)

Oftenbedisruptiveforstudentsandinstructors,especiallywhenthereareseveralconversationsgoingonatonce.Typicallyperceivedasaninformalmediumthatsometimestranslatesaslowerquality,andcanencourage

poorgrammar,gossipandnon-educationaluse(Jeong,2007;Mason&Rennie,2008)

Summary

Theresearchonchathighlightsthelimitationsofcontext-specificstudiesinthatthosefeaturesandqualitiesofchatthat

arebenefitsinsomecontexts,canbemajorlimitationsinothers.

Wiki

General

Awiki4isatypeofwebpagedesignedtoallowitscontenttobecreatedandeditedbyanyonewhohasaccesstoit.They

canbeaccessedwithawebbrowserwherechangescanbearchivedandrecoveredeasily.Awikicanprovidetoolsto

allowonlymemberstoeditapagescontentoritcanbecompletelyopen.Consequently,wikisofferalowtechnical

barriertoentry,andevennoviceuserscancontributetobuildinganonlinecommunity.Themostobviousexampleofa

wikiistheonlinecollaborativeencyclopedia Wikipedia;howevermostwikisservemuchsmaller,morespecific

communitiesorknowledgemanagementgoals.

4ThetermwikicomesfromtheHawaiianphrasewiki-wikiwhichmeansquick,highlightingtheeaseofuseofthiswebtool.

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Background

Havealimitedassuranceofaccuracy(Denning,2005) Behighlyvolatile.Contributionsandcorrectionsmaybenegatedbyfuturerevisions(Denning,2005) Havebiasandlackofappropriatenessincoverage(Denning,2005).Unmonitoredenvironmentcanleadtoa

verylowlevelofcontentornocontextualrelevance(Mason&Rennie,2008).

Teachimproperattributionduetothecollaborativenatureofwritingandlackofclarityaroundownershipandaccountabilityinsomecases(Denning,2005)

Summary

Whilesomeresearchshowsthatwikiscanbeusedtoencouragewiderparticipation,deepunderstandingandgroup

collaboration,otherstudiescautionthatwikisarehighlycontextualandcanleadtoissuesinaccuracy,accessand

appropriateness.

SocialBookmarking

General

Socialbookmarkwebservicesweredesignedtoallowuserstosaveorbookmarkwebresources(URLs)andorganize

themwithkeywordsortags.Theseservicesleadtoeasysharinganddistributionofresources,whereuserscollectand

annotatetheirresourcesinanopen,onlineenvironment(Kamel&Bolous2007).Thisservicehasmanyadvantagesover

bookmarkinglocallyorwithinabrowser.First,resourcescanbeaccessedfromanycomputer.Second,thebookmarksare

oftensharedwithalargercommunitysothateachuserisnotconfinedonlytoresourcetheycanfind,butcandiscover

relevantresourcesthroughotherusers.Also,theabilitytotagresourcesmakessocialbookmarkingvaluableasa

communitybasedtool.Emergenttagtaxonomies,orfolksonomiescanmakeiteasiertofindresourcesfromausers

owncollection,aswellasthelargercommunitycollection.Additionalmetadata,suchasthepopularityofaresource

basedonhowmanypeoplehavebookmarkedit,canbeusedtoorganizeandcategorizeresourcesinnewways.Finally,

someservicessuggesttagsandnotesfromotherusersforpreviouslytaggedresources,allowinguserstolearnfromother

taggers(Alexander2006).

ExistingResearch

Whilereferenceandcitationmanagementtoolshavebeenusedforyearsineducationandacademia,socialbookmarking

isfairlynewtotheclassroom.Thepotentialforsupportingstudentresearchandcourse-specificresourcerepositories

thataredynamicandresponsivetostudentinterestsandcurrenteventsmakesocialbookmarkingatoolofinterestfor

manyeducators,howeverexistingresearchisinconclusiveonitsvalue.

Benefits

Socialbookmarkingcan:

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Background

Providepersonalinformationmanagementforresourcesthatmightbelosttotimeorscatteredacrossdifferentmachines(Alexander,2006)

Fosterdiscoveryrelevantresourcesorotherpeoplewithsimilarinterestsandabroaderscopeforstudentandgroupresearch(Alexander,2006)

Fosterdevelopmentofcommunitiesofpracticeinthatitprovidesacommonlocationforcommunity-generatedlinks,encourageslearningfromothersandpromotescollaboration,potentiallyrevealsrelationships

betweeninformationandpeoplethatmighthavebeenmissedinamorecontrolledenvironment,permits

collectivegenerationofcommunity-valuedartifactsandallowscommunitymemberswithsimilarinterestsor

researchgoalstofindoneanother(Evans&Powell,2007)

Limitations

However,otherstudieshavedemonstratedthatsocialbookmarking:

CannothandleresourcesthatareburiedintheLMS,library-licensedorotherwiserestrictedorprotected(Churchilletal.,2009).Inessence,theconceptofwebresourcecanbetoolimitingforeverydayusebyteachers

andstudents.

Oftenlacksacontrolledvocabularywhichcanleadtoamessylearningenvironment,andthiscanoccurformanyreasonssuchaslackofstandardsforstructureoftags,spellingmistakes,polysemyorsynonymy(Brown&

Duguid,2008)

Involvespersonalizedschemasandtagswhichcanlimitthecollectivevalue(Mason&Rennie,2008) Isoftenopentocontributionfromallwithoutmoderation,leadingtolittleassurancethattheresourcesare

valuable,relevantandappropriate(Churchilletal.,2009)

Summary

Again,despitethebenefitsandpromiseofsocialbookmarkingforcertainlearningcontexts,someresearchalsopointsto

lesssuccessfulimplementationsinothers.Inthiscase,theinconsistencyofuseofsocialbookmarkingmaycomefromthe

natureofthetoolandnotnecessarilyjustfromcontextualdifferences.

SummaryofExistingResearch

Thisresearchreviewisnotmeanttobecomprehensive,butinsteadtodemonstratethepotentialforparticipatorymedia

foreducation,andtheinconclusivenessoftheexistingresearch.Clearly,thesetoolscanhavecompellingpositiveeffects

onlearningandthelearnerexperience,butresultstendtobehighlycontextualandasdemonstratedabove,whenused

inothercontexts,resultscansometimesshownegativeusageoreffects.Further,thecurrentsetofbestpracticesor

instructionalmaterialisalsoheavilyreliantonthesestudiesofasingletoolinaparticularenvironment,orbasedsolelyon

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Background

usageofthetooloutsideoftheclassroomandagutfeelthatitshouldalsobeapplicableinaclassroom,bothofwhich

arelimitedinvalueandapplicability.Theinconsistencyoffindingsisnotsurprisingsinceeveryclassroomisnuancedanda

differentcombinationofcoursestructures,instructorstylesandstudentneeds.Forthisreason,itisdifficulttomake

generalstatementsabouteffectivenessorlistbestpractices.However,muchoftheexistingworktriestodojustthis,

oftendeclaringdirectimplicationsforgeneralfutureusefromthefindingswithinasinglecontext,whileignoringthe

manycomplexitiesandsocialforcesinplaysuchasinstructorandstudentexpectations,perceptionsandmotivations.

OURRESEARCH

Giventheemergingnatureofthespaceandthecomplexityofeachlearningenvironment,wefeelthatresearchshould

focuslessondefiningasingleapproachorprovingeffectivenessinasinglecontext,butinsteadonimprovingour

understandingofusagepatternsandperceptionsacrosscoursesandcontexts.Identifyingandanalyzingthesetrendscan

helpusstarttounraveltheissuesaroundwherethesetoolsaresuccessfulandwheretheyarenot,bothfromausage

perspective(Didstudentsusethetool?),butperhapsmoreimportantly,fromtheperspectivesoftheinstructorsand

studentsthemselves(Whydidtheyuseit?Whatdidtheythinkofthevalueadded?Whatdotheyexpectinfuture

courses?).Furthermore,insteadofanenvironmentwhereasingletoolisused,observinginstructorandstudentchoicein

anenvironmentwithasuiteofparticipatorymediatoolscancapturetheinterplaybetweentools,usagetendenciesand

socialnormsthatemerge.Andfinally,insteadofatool-firstfocuslikemostofthetool-specificresearchcited,wefeel

thatidentifyingtheunderlyinginstructorandstudentgoalsfirstandthenlaterapplyingvarioustechnologiestowards

meetingthosegoalscouldlowerthebarriertoentry,providemoregeneralguidancetotheuseofthesetoolsand

empowerstudentsandinstructorstocreatelearningenvironmentsthatfittheirneeds.

OurresearchlooksatfourcoursesusingtheSocialMediaClassroom(SMC)asthededicatedcoursesite.TheSMCisan

opencoursesuiteofparticipatorymediatoolsdevelopedbyHowardRheingold,whichisbuiltaroundfiveembedded

participatorymediatools-ablog,wiki,forum,chatandsocialbookmarkingtool.Earlyadoptionofthissystemprovided

uswiththeuniqueopportunitytoobservetheusageacrossdifferentcoursesandcontexts,andanalyzestudentand

instructorusagepatterns,perceptions,expectationsandmotivations.

RESOURCES

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Augar,N.,Raitman,R.,andZhou,W.(2001).Teachingandlearningonlinewithwikis.Introducingwikis:95-104.

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DevelopmentCommunity.DesigningforVirtualCommunitiesintheServiceofLearning,812.

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forvirtualcollaborativeclinicalpracticeandeducation. BMCmedicaleducation,6(41).doi:10.1186/1472-6920-6-41.

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Background

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EducationAnnualConference&Exposition,Portland,Oregon:June12-15.RetrievedMarch2009from

http://riee.stevens.edu/fileadmin/riee/pdf/ASEE2005_Paper_Wikis_and_Weblogs.pdf

Denning,P.,Horning,J.,Parnas,D.,Weinstein,L.(2005).Insiderisks:Wikipediarisks.CommunicationsoftheA.C.M

48(12),152.

Duemer,L.,Fontenot,D.,Gumfory,K.,&Kallus,M.(2002).Theuseofonlinesynchronousdiscussiongroupstoenhance

communityformationandprofessionalidentitydevelopment.TheJournalofInter-activeOnlineLearning,1(2).

Duffy,P.D.andBruns,A.(2006)TheUseofBlogs,WikisandRSSinEducation:AConversationofPossibilities.In:Online

LearningandTeachingConference2006,26Sep.2006,Brisbane.

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universalaccess?UniversalAccessintheInformationSociety, 7(4),199207.doi:10.1007/s10209-008-0115-2.

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Glogoff,S.(2005).Instructionalblogging:Promotinginteractivity,student-centeredlearningandpeerinput.Innovate:

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Jung,I.,Choi,S.,Lim,C.,&Leem,J.(2002).EffectsofDifferentTypesofInteractiononLearningAchievement,Satisfaction

andParticipationinWeb-BasedInstruction.InnovationsinEducationandTeachingInternational,39(2),153.doi:

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Koschmann,T.,Kelson,A.,Feltovich,P.,&Barrows,H.(1996).Computer-supportedproblem-basedlearning:Aprincipled

approachtotheuseofcomputersincollaborativelearning.InT.Koschmann(Ed.),CSCL:Theoryandpracticeofan

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Krentler,K.A.,&Willis-Flurry,L.A.(2005).DoesTechnologyEnhanceActualLearnerLearning?TheCaseofOnline

DiscussionBoards.JournalofEducationforBusiness,80(6),316-321.

Kvavik,R.,&Caruso,J.(2005).Studyoflearnersandinformationtechnology:Convenience,connection,controland

learning.EducauseCenterforAppliedResearch,ResearchStudy,6,Boulder,CO.

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Lamb,B.(2004).Wideopenspaces:Wikis,readyornot.EDUCAUSEReview,39(5)(September/October),36-48.

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Mason,R.&Rennie,F.(2008).E-learningandsocialnetworkinghandbook.Routledge.

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Piaget,J.TheLanguageandThoughtoftheChild.Routledge&KeaganPaul.London,1926

O'Reilly,T.(2005).WhatIsWeb2.0-DesignPatternsandBusinessModelsfortheNextGenerationofSoftware.O'Reilly

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http://socialmediaclassroom.com/community/wiki/introduction-social-bookmarking

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TheSocialMediaClassroomand

RheingoldsApproach

ABSTRACT

AbriefbackgroundontheSocialMediaClassroom

andhowHowardRhein oldusesit.

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HowardRheingoldandtheSocialMediaClassroom

TheSocialMediaClassroom(SMC)hastwokeyfeaturesthatpositionitasapowerfulandpotentiallysignificanteducation

solutionforeducatorsandresearchers:

1. Openness-opensource,freelyaccessibleandopeneducationalcontentandresources2. Embeddedsocialmediatools -toolsbuiltdirectlyintothecourseenvironmenttoempowersocialconstruction

ofknowledgeandastudent-centeredlearningenvironment

Openness/OpenEducation:

TheSMCisalightweight,open,freelyavailablesolution.ItisbuiltasasetofmodulesontopofDrupal,anopensource

contentmanagementsystem(http://www.drupal.org)andisreleasedasacompletepackage,includingadatabase

template.OnecandownloadthepackagefromtheSocialMediaClassroomwebsite

(http://www.socialmediaclassroom.com)andinstallitonalocalserver,orrequestahostedinstanceforamoreturnkey

solution.TheDrupalcoreenablesaflexibleandextensiblesystemforthoseusingnon-hostedversions.Thissetsthestage

foralowerbarriertoentrythanmanyofthelargerLearningManagementSystems,whichrequiresignificantsupporting

infrastructuresandinmanycases,largefinancialcommitments.Instead,theSMCcanprovideasolutionthatiseasily

accessiblewithoutneedinginstitutionalbuy-in,heavytechnicaloverheadorlargepaychecks.

Inadditiontothelowerbarriertoentryandopensourcecore,theSMCfurthersupportstheidealoftheopenaccess

movement,thatknowledgeandknowledge-sharing(education)shouldbeopenandeasilyaccessiblebyallwhoseekit.

TheSMCfostersthismovementinthatitisapubliclyavailableresource.Also,asindicatedinRheingold'soriginal

proposal,hisgoalforthiseffortistonotonlyprovideacoursesitesolution,butalsouseitasaplatformtoresearchsocial

mediaanddevelopacoresetoftutorials,instructionalvideosandcommunity-builtbestpracticesthatareopenly

available.

SocialMediaForEducation:

TheotherkeyfeatureoftheSMCistheembeddedsocialmediatools.TheSMCisdeliveredwithfivesocialmediatools

integratedintothecoursesite:awiki,blog,forum,chatandsocialbookmarking.Rheingoldintentionallychosethesefive

toolstofitdifferentgoalsforhiscourse.Infact,healignseachtoolwithspecificlearningactivitiesandobjectives,as

indicatedbelow(Rheingold,2007).

1.

Blogsaffordtheexpressionofindividualvoice,theemergenceofamarketforintelligentinformation-filteringandknowledge-disseminationandpublicinteractionsintheformofcomments.

2. Forumsaffordmany-to-many,multimedia,asynchronousdiscussionsamongsmallorlargegroups,regardlessofdistance,overextendedperiods.

3. Wikisenablecollaborativedocumentandknowledgecreationaswellasweb-buildingasalearningmethod.4. Chataddssynchronousonlinetextchannelsthatcanbetunedandcultivatedforspecificpurposes.24


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5. SocialBookmarking makespossiblesimple,bottom-up,collectiveknowledge-gathering.TheSMCattemptstocapturethepossiblebenefitsofeachsocialmediatool,aswellasthepotentialvalueofusingthem

intandem,byintegratingthemdirectlyintothecourseexperience.IntheSMC,thetoolsforsociallearningarerightin

linewithcoursematerialtocapitalizeonthesocialinteractionandencouragecollaborationandsociallearningtooccur.

Theideaisthatthiscanfosteradynamiclearningenvironmentthatcanadjustitselftostudent'sinterests,provide

appropriatecontexttothematerialandkeepstudentsengaged.

RheingoldsCourse

Aspreviouslymentioned,Rheingoldteachesacourseondigitalsocialmedia,andbuilttheSMCspecificallytoservethe

needsandrequirementsthathadbeenrefinedandwell-tunedoverhismultipleexperiencesteachingthecourse.

Regardingthedevelopmentofthetoolsandthecourse,Rheingoldwritesthatworkingcloselywithstudentsaboutthe

newmodesoflearningthatthesenewmediaafford,thewaytheclass[was]taughtbegantochange.Muchofthe

pedagogythatemergedinvolvedlettinggoofteachingandlearningtobethechieflearnerofacollaborativelearning

community(Rheingold,2009).

Again,RheingoldisanevangelistandhisuseoftheSMCandembeddedtoolsisprogressiveandfine-tunedforhiscourse,

withheavyscaffoldingandmanytechniquesrefinedovertheyearstoencouragestudentparticipation.Thecourseis,

afterall,aboutdigitalmedia,sotheconnectionwiththetooluseisobviousandexplicit.Additionally,hesets

expectationsupfrontthatstudentuseisrequiredandisveryclearaboutthetypeofuseexpectedwithineachtool.

CourseassignmentsarebuiltintotheSMCparticipatorymediatoolsandthestudentsgradesaredirectlytiedtotheir

participationthroughthesite.Healsoactivelyparticipatesthroughthesitethroughhisownpostsandcomments,and

employsawiderangeofpedagogicalapproachessuchasdedicatedcontentownersandcollectiveincentivestoencourageanddriveuse.Hiscomprehensiveandconsistentapproach,aswellashiscommittedparticipation,isreflected

intheusageaquickviewintooneinstanceofthecoursedemonstratedveryheavyandconsistentuseacrossallofthe

tools,exceptforchatwhichRheingoldhasrecentlyremovedandinsteadusesaTwittermicro-bloggingfeedinclasson

topoftheSMCuse.

RheingoldstatesthathefeelslikethecoursewiththeSMCisnowverysuccessful,basedonofhisinformalassessments

ofstudentengagement,aswellasmoreformalmeasurementsofstudentcontributionandevaluation.However,heis

stillconstantlyinnovating,addinginmindmapping1,presentationandvideotoolsoverthecourseofjustoneinstance.

Asdiscussedabove,theSMCisfreeandopenandcanthusprovidealighter-weight,moreaccessiblecoursesitesolution

forinstructorslookingtoincorporateparticipatorymediaintotheirclassroom.However,mostinstructorsadoptingthe

1Amindmapisadiagramusedtorepresenttherelationshipsbetweenconcepts,typicallyfocusedaroundacentral

conceptoridea(Buzan&Buzan,1996).

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SMCwillnotbeteachingaboutdigitalsocialmediadirectly,willbefirst-timeorearlySMCusersthatwillnothavehada

chancetorefinetheuseanddirectivesaroundthetoolsormaywanttoseehowthetoolsareusedwithouthavingto

significantlychangetheirteachingstyleorthecoursecontent.Therefore,itisimportanttoobservetheusageinthese

morecommonandorganicinstances,togetabetterunderstandingoftheusagepatterns,perceptionsandneedsof

instructorsandstudents.

ADDITIONALUSAGETODATE

RheingoldreleasedtheSMCforpublicuseinMay2009.Whilethetotalnumberoflocalinstallsisnotknown,thereare

currentlyoverfifty(59asofApril2010)hostedinstallations,andtheSMChasbeenemployedinfourcoursesatthe

UniversityofCaliforniaBerkeley,threeofwhichareSchoolofInformationcourses.Thisearlyadoptiongaveusthe

uniqueopportunitytoobservethepatternsofuseofthesiteandtheembeddedtoolsacrossdifferenttypesofcourses,

withfirst-timeinstructorsatthehelm.Again,Rheingoldisoneexampleofaninstructorthatisveryfamiliarwiththe

tools,hasadirectconnectionbetweenthetoolsandcoursecontent,iswillingandabletotakerisksandrefineusageof

thesetoolsandinfact,activelyinnovatesashegoes.Hisusageisnotlikelytobereplicatedbymostadoptersofthe

systemsincetheywillhavedifferentgoals,experiencesandpedagogicalapproaches.ObservinghowtheSMCisusedina

widerarrayofclassroomswithdifferentteachingstyles,coursestructuresandneedsiscriticaltounderstandinghow

socialmediaisadoptedandused,andhowtopotentiallyguidefutureadoptersandusers.

SMCAdaptation

OnethingtonoteisthattheadoptersfromUCBerkeleyadaptedtheSMCtomeettheirneedsbydevelopingtheSyllabus

Engine.ThisnewfeaturegivestheSMCmoreinterconnectivitybetweentoolsandcontenttypesbypullingallofthe

relevantcontentintoadedicatedpageforeachlectureorsession.TheinstructorforCourse1and2,alongwithAuthor1

andanotherstudent2,wereresponsiblefordesigningandimplementingtheadditionalfunctionality:

TheSyllabusEngineconsistsofthreekeyelements,LectureTags,LecturePagesandaDynamicSyllabus:

LectureTags:WedevelopedasimplecontrolledvocabularycalledLectureTags,andconsistedoftagssuchasL1,L2,

throughL30whichwasthelastlecture.StudentsusedtheLectureTagstoaddmetadatatothesocialcontentthey

created,includingblogposts,forumrepliesandsocialbookmarks.Studentswereinstructedtotagtheirsocialcontent

withtheappropriatelecturetag,inadditiontotheirothertags,andadoptionwasquickanduniversal,allstudent

contributionsweretaggedwithatleastoneLectureTag.

2WewouldliketoacknowledgeandthankHyunwooPark,afellowgraduatecandidateattheUCBerkeleySchoolof

Information,whoassistedwiththeSMCinstallationanddocumentationforthefirsttwoinstances.Formore

documentationontheinstallandset-upprocess,seetheAppendix.

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LecturePages:Wethencreatedadedicatedpageforeachlecture,theLecturePage,which,inadditiontotheinstructor

synopsis,readings,lectureslidesandotherinstructor-providedmaterial,alsoincludedtherelevantblogposts,forum

topicsandsocialbookmarks,orstudent-providedcontentpulledin.Thiscreatedadedicatedlocationforallofrelevant

contentforeachparticulartopic.TheappropriateLectureTagdeterminedrelevantsocialcontentandallowedusto

identifyandpullcontentfromacrosssocialmediatoolsdynamically.

DynamicSyllabus:RheingoldusestheSMCwikifortheagendaforeachsession,buttheinitialISchoolinstructorneeded

amorerobustsyllabusthatpulledinalloftheinstructor-providedcontentinadynamicandrobustway.Wetherefore

createdadynamicsyllabusgeneratorthatpulledintheappropriateinformationfromtheLecturePages,aswellasother

sourcessuchasAssignments.ItshouldbenotedthattheDynamicSyllabusispowerfulandappropriateforcoursesin

whichthesyllabusissetandfinalizedupfront.ForCourse3and4,thedynamicsyllabuswasabandonedduetotheneed

formoreflexibilitywithlecturetopicsanddatesandinsteadwejusthandbuiltthesyllabus.Bothcoursesstillusedthe

LectureTagsandLecturePages.

SampleLecturePage:

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Syllabus:

RESOURCES

BuzanT.&Buzan,B.(1996).TheMindMapBook:HowtoUseRadiantThinkingtoMaximizeYourBrainsUntapped

Potential.PenguinBooks.

DigitalMediaandLearningCompetition.(2009).RetrievedOctober13,2009,fromhttp://www.dmlcompetition.net/

Drupal.(2009).Theofficialwebsite.RetrievedOctober15,2009,fromhttp://drupal.org/

HowardRheingold.(2,May2010).InWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia.RetrievedMay5,2010,from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Rheingold

Rheingold,H.(1993).TheVirtualCommunity:FindingConnectioninaComputerizedWorld.Addison-WesleyLongman

PublishingCo.,Inc.Boston,MA.http://www.rheingold.com/vc/book/intro.html

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Rheingold,H.(2007).WhytheClassroom.Retrievedfromhttp://socialmediaclassroom.com/index.php/why-the-

classroom

Rheingold,H.(2008,February23).HowardRheingoldoneof17winnersofHASTAC/MacArthurFoundationCompetition.

[Weblogcomment].Retrievedfromhttp://www.smartmobs.com/2008/02/23/howard-rheingold-one-of-17-winners-of-

hastacmacarthur-foundation-competition/

Rheingold,H.(2009,December29).TheSocialMediaClassroom.[Weblogcomment]Retrievedfrom

http://dmlcentral.net/blog/howard-rheingold/social-media-classroom

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OurResearch&Methods

ABSTRACT

Asummaryofourresearchgoalsandobjectives,aswellasanoverviewofour

methodsofanal sisandobservation.

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Methods

RESEARCHSPACE

Theemerginginterestandinnovationaroundparticipatorymediaforeducationisgroundedinidealsofsociallearning,

constructionofknowledge,personalresponsibilityforlearningandstudent-centeredparadigms.Currentresearchis

oftenfocusedondemonstratingeffectivenessorsuccess,whichtypicallyrequiresaverycontext-specificapproach.

However,manystilltrytoformulategeneralbestpracticesfromthismyopicperspective.Also,manyoftheeducatorson

theforefrontofthismovement,suchasRheingold,areoftenmoreabletotakerisks,investagreatdealofeffortand

refineapproachestofindwhatworksforthem.Buttotrulyunderstandthespace,weneedabetterunderstandingof

howparticipatorymediaisusedandreceivedbeyondasinglecontrolledorfine-tunedcontext,andmoreoutinthe

wild.Identifyingcommontrendsorpatternsofusecouldinformfutureresearchquestions,andeventually,better,more

generalizedguidanceandbestpracticearoundtheadoptionanduseofthetools.

TheSocialMediaClassroomisoneofmanysystemsavailabletoeducatorstoincorporateparticipatorymediaintotheir

learningenvironmentsandstarttomaketheshifttoamorestudent-centeredapproach.EarlyadoptionatUCBerkeley

provideduswiththeuniqueopportunitytoobserveuseacrossdifferentcoursesandgetinsightintoinstructorand

studentperceptions,reactionsandmotivations.

Wewerecloselyinvolvedwiththefourcoursesandwereabletosurveyandinterviewstudentsandfacultytogetamore

in-depthviewintoobservedtrends.Thisreportcombinesdifferentmethodsofanalysisandobservationacrossthese

varyingcourses.Ourgoalwasnottomeasureorproveeffectivenessormakeabsolutestatementsorpredictionsabout

usageorsuccess.Norisittoimplyalinearcontinuumofstudentorinstructoruse,wheremoreequalsbetter.Given

thecomplexityandnuancednatureofeachindividualcourse,itisnotsufficientatthisstage,orperhapsever,totryto

identifyasingle,pre-definedwaytousethesetools.Instead,ourworkobservestheusagepatternsacrossthesedifferent

coursesandtriestounderstandthecomplexitiesandunderlyinggoals,perceptionsandmotivationstoinformfuture

researchquestionsandadoption.

RESEARCHGOALS

ObserveStudent/InstructorUsageAcrossCourses IdentifyandAnalyzeUsagePatterns,Expectations,MotivationsandSocialConstraints InformFutureResearch

OBSERVEDCOURSES

WeobservedtheuseoftheSocialMediaClassroominfourUCBerkeleygraduatecourses,includingthreeISchoolcourses

andonePublicHealthdepartmentcourse.Thiswasatotalofapproximately150students(althoughthereissome

overlapacrossthevariouscourses,soitisapproximately110uniquestudents).Wehaveanonymizedthecoursesand

instructor/studentnamestoprotecttheirprivacy.

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Methods

Thecoursesobservedtodate:

Course1:Graduatelevelcorecourse,theoryandabstractconcepts,midtermandfinalexam,40students

Course2:Graduatelevelcorecourse,businessandappliedconcepts,finalproject,40students

Course3:Graduatelevelcorecourse,theoryandabstractconceptscourse,finalpaper,37students(samestudentsasCourse1)

Course4:Onesectionofagraduatelevelcorecourse,appliedconcepts,multipleinstructors,30students

SOCIALMEDIACLASSROOM

AllcoursesusedtheSocialMediaClassroomasthededicatedcourseplatformandthestudentexperienceofaddingor

consumingcontentwasverysimilaracrossallthecourses.Theonlykeydifferencewasthatbasedonexperiencewiththe

SMCinthefirsttwocourses,inwhichchatwasnotusedatall,chatwasdisabledforCourse3and4.

APPROACHES

LiteratureReview

Wereviewedtheexistingresearchandliteratureonparticipatorymediaforeducationtogetasolidunderstandingofthe

space.SeetheBackgroundsectionandBibliographyformoredetailsonthereview.

Observationofuse

Forallfourcourses,wewereabletocloselyobserveusageduringthesemester.Thisallowedustoexperiencequestions,

issues,requestsandadaptationsinreal-timeandalsogaveusanopportunitytoobservechangesinbehaviorovertime.

Wenotedtheseobservationsasthecoursesproceeded.

Quantificationofusagepatterns

Tounderstandusagepatternsandtrends,aswellastocompareacrosscoursesobjectively,wequantifiedtheusageusing

sitecontent,revisionsanduseraccounts.Thisinvolvedcountingvariousactivitiesandcontenttypesincludingnumberof

blogentries,forumrepliesandsocialbookmarks.Becausethewikiinvolvescollaborativeeditingandresourcebuilding,in

additiontonumberofpages,wealsocountedthenumberofrevisionstoeachpage.Andfinally,weusedindividualuser

pages,whichareafeatureoftheSMCthatdetailsthetotalofeachuser'scontributions,tocountindividualparticipation

patterns.

Forthelatter,weusedarudimentaryequationtocalculateparticipationandcompareacrosscourses:2pointsforeach

initialcontentaddition(blogentry,bookmark,wikipage,forum)and1pointforeachcomment.Wikirevisionsweretoo

difficulttocaptureonanindividualbasissothosearenotrepresentedintheindividualnumbers.

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Methods

Surveys

Weadministeredsurveystostudentsinallfourcourses,whichtargetedfamiliaritywithvarioustools,perceptionsoftheir

educationalvalue,aswellasoverallexpectationsregardingtechnologyintheclassroom.InCourses1,2and4,students

weresurveyedbothpre-andpost-semester,togetasenseoffamiliaritiesandexpectationsbeforetheexperiencewith

theSMCandafterthesemesterofusingthetoolswithintheSMC.BecausethesamestudentswereinCourse1and3,

someofpre-semesterdataisalsorelevantforCourse3.Additionally,Course3studentsweresurveyedpost-semesteras

well.

Interviews

Togetadeepersenseofperceptionsandmotivations,weinterviewedstudentsandinstructorsfromallfourcourses.We

conductedatotalof10studentinterviewsand5instructorinterviews,whichrangedfrom20-45minuteseach.

ContextualInquiry

WealsoobservedseveralstudentswhileusingtheSMCinacourse.Weusedthecontextualinquirymethodtoobserve

theirtypicalexperience/use.Becausethiswasduringclass,wedidnotinterjectwithquestions,butnotedbehaviorsto

comebacktoinafterclassinterviews.Weobservedatotalof4students.

LIMITATIONS

Thesemethodshavesomeacknowledgedlimitationssuchasinconsistencyinapproachesanddatacollectionacrossall

coursesduetoaccessortimeconstraints.Similarly,thecoursesarenotarepresentativesampleofcoursessincewe

wereconfinedtothosecoursesthatwereearlyadoptersatUCBerkeley.However,despitethelimitations,wewereable

toobservetrendsandcompareacrossthecoursesonmanylevels,aswellasconnectvarioususagepatternsandtrends

withreportedperceptionsandmotivations.

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Findings:UsagePatterns

ABSTRACT

AreviewofhowstudentsandinstructorsusedtheSMC.

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GENERAL

EarlyadoptionoftheSocialMediaClassroomatUCBerkeleygaveusauniqueopportunitytoobservetheusageof

participatorymediatoolsacrossdifferentclasses,instructorsandstudents.Ourobservationsandinterviewsgaveustwo

typesofdatawhatpeopledidonthesiteandhowpeoplefeltaboutorinterpretedwhatthey(orothers)did.This

sectiondiscussestheobservationsfromtheformerwhatpeopledid,orhowtheyusedthesite.

STUDENT

CourseComparisons

EachcourseusedtheSMCandparticipatorytoolsdifferently,asindicatedbelow.Onethingtonoteisthatourstudydoes

notconsiderhigherusageasnecessarilyindicativeofmoresuccessorbetteruseoftheSMCsincetheusagewas

differentwithineachcourse.Instead,wearetryingtounderstandthedifferencesbetweenthecoursesandthefactors

thatinfluencetheuse.

Course #Students

Course

Length

(weeks)

#Blog

Entries

#Wikipages,

revisions

#Forum

posts,

replies

#Chat

messages

#Social

Bookmarks

1

40 15 204(13.6

perwk,5.1

perstudent)

2pages,0

revisions

24posts,52

replies

(2.17per

post)

3 115

2

40 15 16(1.07per

wk,0.375

perstudent)

60pages,360

revisions

0 0 21

3

37* 15 67(4.5per

week,1.8

perstudent)

2pages,2

revisions

0 NA** 43

4

52 15 43 7pages,45

revisions

106posts,

368replies

(3.47per

post)

NA** 36

*SamestudentsasCourse1

**TheChattoolwasdisabledforthiscourse.

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ToolTendencies

Asapparentinthenumbersabove,usageinallofthecourseswasmostlyfocusedwithinasingletool,andthatparticular

tooldifferedacrosscoursesaswell.

Course FocusedTool

1 Blog

2 Wiki

3 Blog

4 Forum

IndividualUsePatternsWithineachcourseusagesignificantlyvariedaswell,withusersrangingfromhighusage,withseveralpostsperweek,to

veryminimalusageofoneortwopoststheentiresemester.AsoutlinedintheMethods,forCourse1,wedevelopedan

arbitrarysystemtocompareindividualusage,basically2pointsperoriginalpost,1pointpercommenttheymadeand

pointpercommentfromanotherstudentononeoftheirposts.Thisisaroughrubricbutcanserveasaadequatewayto

compareindividualusageacrosscourses.

Thischartdemonstratestheindividualusageacrosscourses.Course3hadalongtailofuse,withonlyafewstudents

withhighuseandlargenumberwithscoresbetween1and10.Course1and4wereverysimilarinusageacrossthe

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students,witharoundhalfbelowthe15-20markandtheotherhalfrangingfrom20-60+.Course2isanapproximationof

aconsistentrateofuseacrossstudents.Thisisalimitationduetothedatawewereabletocollect-weexpecttherewas

morevariationamongstudentsinwikipagerevisions,butwefeelitisaccuratetorepresentitasmoreconsistentthan

theothercourses.

Course1andCourse3

Course1and3hadthesamestudents,Course1intheFallsemester,andCourse3inthefollowingSpringsemester.

PlottingCourse1andCourse3scoresforeachstudent,thereappearstobearelationship.RunningaPearsons

Correlation,weseeafairlystrongpositivecorrelationbetweenscores,r(34)=0.709,p


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thatinstructorshaveforthestudentuseofthetools.Ourreviewoftheliteratureandourownobservations

demonstratedthatofteneducatorsorinstructorswilladoptthetoolfirstandthentrytofigureouthowtouseit,whereas

startingfirstwiththedesiredlearningactivities,instructorsmayfinditeasiertoselecttoolsandintegratethem,aswellas

evaluatetheiruse.MorediscussiononthisintheDiscussionandConclusionssection.

Whilethelistofpotentiallearningactivitiesisboundlessandmaychangebasedontheparticularcourse,areviewofthe

literatureandresearchhighlightedasetcommonandfairlyubiquitouslearningactivities,outlinedbelow.

DescriptionofLearningActivities

Participationactiveengagementandcontributiontothecourse,throughdiscussionsandcontentcreation. Reflectioninsightandthoughtsaboutmaterialjustlearnedhelpingtoachievemeta-cognition,wherethe

studentdevelopsanunderstandingandawarenessofhis/herlearningprocess.

Synthesisconnectingideasandtopicstoformabroaderunderstanding. CriticalWritingformulatingopinionsandcritiquesandbeingabletoeffectivelycommunicateandsupport

throughwriting.

ContextualUnderstanding -similartoSynthesisbutinsteadofjustconnectingconceptsfromwithintheclass,thisentailsunderstandingeachconceptortopicinthebroadercontextualspace.Sothismayinvolveconnecting

ideastomateriallearninginothercourses,personalexperienceorcurrenteventsandnewscontent.

CollaborativeResourceBuilding collaborativelyauthoringaresource. Assistanceaskingforandreceivingsupportwithintheclass. Communitybuilding developingasenseofcommunityandcomfortabilitywithclassmates. Researchfindingqualityresourcesandreferences. Classification/Organization effectivelycategorizingcontentandresources(typicallythroughtags). Debate/Discussion criticalownershipofideasandopinionsbydefendingoropposingindebateordiscussionwithpeers. InformationFiltering*evaluatinginformationinfluxtodeterminequalityresources. Accountability*beingresponsibleandaccountableforinformationsharedwithothers. TechnicalCapability*beingfamiliarwithtoolsandhowtooperatethemeffectively.

*Thelastthreearetypicallygroupedunderthebroaderlearningactivityreferredtoas21stCenturyLiteraciesor21

st

CenturySkills.

LearningActivityToolAlignment/Usage

AsdiscussedintheBackgroundsection,currentliteratureinthespacetypicallyassignsparticularlearningactivitiesto

particulartools.Forexample,blogsaretypicallyprescribedforreflectionandindividualexpression,whereasforumsare

fordiscussion.Againpullingfromthevariousresearcharticles,popularpressandothersources(Mason&Rennie,2008;

Rheingold),thecommonlearningactivitiesassociatedwitheachtoolareindicatedbelowingrayandmarkedwithC.

Inourobservations,studentsdidinfactexhibitthecommonlyassignedlearningactivitiesinmanyofthetools.However,

theyalsousedeachtoolforawiderangeoflearningactivities,extendingpastthosecommonlyassignedtoeachtool.

ThelearningactivitiesobservedfromourresearchareindicatedbelowinredandmarkedwithO.

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KEY:Ccommonlyassignedlearningactivities::::OOurobservedlearningactivitieswithineachtool

LearningActivityBlogs Wikis Forums

Social

BookmarkingChat

Participation O O O O

Reflection C O O OX OX

Synthesis O OX OX O

CriticalWriting C O OX O

ContextualUnderstanding C O OX C O

LearningActivityBlogs Wikis Forums

Social

BookmarkingChat

CollaborativeResource

Building C OX O

Assistance OX C OX C

Community-building O C OX C

Research O OX C OX

Classification/Organization O OX OX C O

Debate/Discussion O C O C

InformationFiltering C O C O O C OX

Accountability C O C OX C O OX

TechnicalCapability C O C OX C O C OX C

DescriptionofObservedLearningActivityUsage

ParticipationAllofthetools,exceptchat,wereusedasawaytoparticipateinthecourse.Manyofthecourseshada

participationgradeandusageofthesitewasonewaytoaccumulateparticipation.Severalstudentscommentedthat

theyfeltmorecomfortableparticipatingthroughthecoursesitethanbytalkinginclass.

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ReflectionWeobservedreflectionbehavioracrossallthetools,exceptforchat:

Blog:Despitetrendsinblogentries,suchas"inthenews"stories,reflectionwasalwaysamainplayer.Withthenewstories,mosttiedthembacktoreadingsorlectureswiththeirowninterpretations.Andthereweremany

entriesthatweresimplythoughtsaboutsomethingsaidinclassorpersonalanecdotesthatwererelated.

Commentsinblogsalsodemonstratedreflectioninthatstudentswouldcommentlike"Nowitisclearwhythisis

soimportant.Thanksforthispost." Wiki:InCourse2,thewikirepresentedapointtoreflectonlearningthroughassignmentsanddedicatedrecap

spaces.

Forum:Someforumdiscussionsincludedreflectivematerialwherestudentsattemptedtoexplainaconceptoraopinionbasedontheirowninterpretation.InCourse4,studentspostedquestionsfromreadingstocapture

theirownunderstandingsandchallengeclassmatestothinkcriticallyaboutthematerial.

SocialBookmarking:Descriptionsofsomesocialbookmarkswereusednotonlytodescribetheresource,butalsotoexplainwhythestudentthoughtitwasrelevanttothematerialandtheirownunderstandingofit.

SynthesisAllofthetools,exceptchat,wereagainusedforsynthesisofconceptsandmaterial.

Blog:Manystudentsusedtheblogtoexpressconnectionstheyfoundbetweenmaterialinthecourseandothercourses,withinthecourseitselforwithrealworldexamplesorexperiences.

Wiki:Thewikiwastypicallyusedtotieconceptstogetherorbuildresourcesthatpulledconceptsandmaterialfrommultiplesourcesandstudents.ThewikiforCourse2wasprimarilyusedtotieeverythingtogetherthrough

aseriesofassignmentsbuildinguptoafinalproject.

Forums:Thediscussionsontheforumsweretypicallynotdirectlytiedtooneparticularconcept,butinsteadrequiredasynthesisofmultipleconceptsfromwithinthecourseandbeyond.InCourse1,thepreviousyears

examquestionswerepostedandstudentswroteanswers,whichrequiredconnectingconceptsfromthroughout

theentiresemester.Additionally,inCourse4,studentsansweredquestionsposedbyotherstudentsaroundthe

readingsandmaterialtoconnectconcepts.

SocialBookmarking:Descriptionsofsomesocialbookmarkswereusednotonlytodescribetheresource,butalsototieitbacktomultiplelectureorindicatehowitconnectedconceptsorideasforthem.

CriticalWritingOnebenefitofonlinetoolsisthattoexpressideas,writingisrequired.Studentsusedtheblog,wikiand

forumtoexpresstheirownopinionsorcritiquesofmaterialandconcepts.

Blog:Manyblogentrieswerewell-formulated,professional,well-writtenpieceswhichstudentsclearlyputalotofthoughtandworkinto.Studentscommentedabouttheleveloftheblogentriesinseveralclasses.Further,

manypostscriticallyanalyzedthematerialfromtheclassorrelevantoutsidematerial.

Wiki:InCourse2,thewikiwasusedtobuildfullreportsaspartofthefinalproject. Forums:Criticalwritingisinherentinforumsgiventhattodebateordiscussatopic,somelevelofargument

supportistypicallynecessary.Studentsdemonstratedthisthroughtheirdiscussionsofconcepts.Also,again,in

Course1,studentsconstructedwell-formulatedexamanswers,whichoftenaskedthemtocritiquecertain

concepts.

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ContextualInformation Providingcontextaroundvariousconceptsisoftenneededtohelpstudentsrelatetoor

connectwiththematerial.Examplesofcontextualinformationweobservedwerenewstories,historicalexamplesand

personalexperiences.

Blog:Manyentriesincludednewsstoriesorwebresourcesthatthestudentsfoundrelevanttothecourse,orinsomecases,specificlecturesortopics.Inallcourses,studentscouldtagtheirpostswiththeappropriatelecture

tagsandthenvisiteachlecturepageandseealltherecent,contextualexamplesthatwererelevanttothisparticulartopic,afeaturethatwasveryhighlyratedamongthestudents.(formore,seetheAppendix)

Forums:Forumdiscussionsoftenincludedoutsidereferencessuchasvideos,articlesorexperiences.InCourse4,studentscitednewsarticlesandreportsthatansweredkeyquestionsaboutthematerialtheywerereadingin

thecourse.

SocialBookmarking:Thistoolisallaboutaddingmoreresourcestothecourserepositoryandstudentsandinstructorsusedthistooltoaddrelevantnewsstories,articles,websitesorvideos.Again,studentsalsotagged

theirbookmarkswiththerelevantlecturetagtopullthecontextualinformationallintooneviewforeach

topic/lecture.(formore,seeAppendix)

Assistance-ForumswereusedinallcoursesasawaytoaskquestionstotheTAs,aroundassignmentsortopics.These

weretypicallyveryshortthreadswithonequestionandareplyfromtheTA.

Wiki:InCourse2,studentscommentedthatlookingoverotherstudentsprojectwikipageshelpedthemunderstandvariouspartsoftheirprojectorgetnewideas.

Forums:Theforumswereoftenusedasachannelforstudentquestionssothattheentireclasscouldseetheanswersfromtheinstructor,TAsorotherstudents.

CollaborativeResourcebuilding -Typicallywikisarethetool-of-choicetosupportthecollaborativedevelopmentof

resources.Thusitisnosurprisethatweobservedthislearningactivityinwikis,however,wealsoobserveditinforums

foroneparticularclass.

Wiki:ThewikiwasclearlyconducivetocollaborativeresourcebuildinginCourse2,wherecompletefinalprojectswereiterativelybuiltthroughthewiki.

Forums:Course1usedtheforumstobuildanswerstosampleexamquestionstogetherandtheTAsweighedinandgavefeedbackontheanswers.

Community-building -Personalitiesandpersonalinterestsbecameveryevidentthroughvariousentriesandcommentsin

theblog,wikiandforumsinseveralcourses.

Blog:Course1developedbanterandfollowingintheblogasevidencedbythecommentsandinteractions.Somestudentscommentedthattheystartedtolearnpersonalitiesthroughbloggingstyle,orthattheyeventually

knewtheiraudiencewhendecidingwhatorhowtopost.

Wiki:Thewikisupportedcollaborativeresourcebuildingandprojectcollaborationformanycourses,whichcanhelpstudentsgettoknowoneanotherandlearneachothersskillsandcapacities.

ResearchFindingresourcesoutsideofclassthatwererelevantorsupportedvariousconceptswasdemonstrated

throughtheblog,wikiandsocialbookmarkingincourses.

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Blog:Manyblogentrieswerefocusedaroundvariousconceptsinthenewsandstudentswereaskedtodosomelightresearchtofindrelevantmaterial,andthenpostthelinkandtheirowninsightsaboutthepiece.This

wasamainusagetypeinCourses1and3.

Wiki:Thewikiwasusedforprojectsinseveralcoursesandoftenincludedliteraturereviewsorreferencetrackingpages.

SocialBookmark:Studentsaddedresourcesthattheyfoundtoberelevanttoparticularissuesortopics.InCourse3,somestudentsaddedbookmarksrelevanttotheirownresearchpapertostoreresourcesand

demonstratetheiridea.

Organization/Categorization Weobservedorganizationandcategorizationskillsacrossallthetoolsexceptforchat

throughtags.Allofthecourseshadacontrolledvocabularyoflecturetags(L1,L2,etc.)inadditiontofree-formtags.

Studentsusedthelecturetagstoindicatethelecture/topicsthateachpost,replyorbookmarkwasrelevantto.Thenthey

couldgotoeachdedicatedlecture/topicpagetoviewalloftheinformationthatwasrelevant,includingnotonly

instructor-providedmaterial,butalsostudent-generatedsocialcontent.

Debate/Discussion Forumsaretypicallythego-totoolsfordebateanddiscussion.Weobservedforumsusedforthis

typeoflearningactivity,butalsosawsomeofitoccurringintheblogaswell.

Blog:InCourse1and3,thecommentswereusedtomoredeeplydiscussconceptsoropinionsfromposts. Forums:SomediscussionoccurredinCourse1,butitwaslimitedtoafewinitialpostsandonlyinvolvedafew

replies.InCourse4,therewasasignificantamountofdiscussionaroundthecoursereadings.

21stCenturySkillsBeyondjustlearninghowtousethetools,studentsexhibitedaccountabilityandinformationfiltering

acrossallthetools,exceptforchat.Severalstudentscommentedthatthiswastheirfirstexperiencewithanumberof

thesetools,andafewaskedTAstoreviewthefirstfewblogentriestosee"ifthisiswhatablogissupposedtobelike".

Likewise,selectingthenewsarticleorentrytopostrequiredthestudentstofilterincominginformation,selecttheyfelt

wasrelevant,expresshowitwasrelevantandpostitfortherestoftheclasstoconsume(ofteninlinewithinstructor-

addedmaterial),thustakingaccountabilityfortheappropriatenessandrelevancyoftheinformation.

INSTRUCTOR

CourseDesign(Assignments/Participation)

Whatassignmentsdidinstructorsgiveusingaparticulartool

Course Blog Wiki Forum SocialBookmarks Chat

1

Findnewsarticlerelevanttoone

ofthecourse

topics,postand

Postedsamplemidtermand

finalquestions

(non-graded)

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tagtoblog,along

withabrief

reviewofthe

resourceand

howitrelates

2

Incrementalproject

assignments

wereposted

throughthewiki.

3

SimilarnewsstoryassignmentasCourse1buttheywerenotrequiredtopostit,justencouragedtoshareitontheSMCinsomeway.Theycouldchooseanytool

todoso.

NATheChattool

wasdisabledfor

thiscourse.

4

Findnewsarticlerelevanttoone

ofthecourse

topics,postand

tagtoblog,along

withabrief

reviewofthe

resourceand

howitrelates

Wikipediaarticle,signupfora

topicandpost

drafts

Posttwoquestionsbased

onreadingsto

forumtopicfor

eachsession

NATheChattool

wasdisabledfor

thiscourse.

Descriptionofassignments

Blog

Findareasonablyrecent"IntheNews"story(publishedsince1January2008).Thendeterminewhichlecturetopicsyourstorybestfitsunder.PosttheURLtotheBlog/SocialBookmarkssectionofthesitewiththe

appropriatelecturetag(s),suchas"L1","L2",etc.Alsoothertagstocategorizeyourpost.Writeabriefblog

entryaboutyourstory,summarizingitandhighlightingitsrelevancetothecourse.

Wiki

CollaboratewithyourteamonfinalprojectusingtheWiki.First,writeadescriptionofyourproject,theproblemspace,thedomain,andconcept.Posttheprojectconceptonyourgroupsprojectpageonthewiki.Later,post

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otherstagesofyourprojects(ethnography,requirementsandusecases,blueprints,prototyping,final

presentationandreport).

StudentswillprepareanupdatedentryforaWikipediatopic.CollaboratewithateamtowriteaWikipediaarticle.First,signupforatopicandpostdraftstothecoursewiki.EachgroupwillreviewaWikipedia(orother

appropriatewebsite)articleandidentifyupto10topicsrelevanttoourcourse,whichwouldbenefitfrom

expansion.Eachofthesegroupsisresponsibleforpreparinganentry,submittingadraftforreview,andafter

incorporationofthosecommentssubmittingthefinalentrytothewebsite.

Forum

Studentswillrespondtosamplemidtermandfinalexamquestionsontheforum[notgraded]. Studentspostresponsestoforumtopicsbasedonweeklyreading.Posttwoquestionsaboutthereadingsinthe

appropriateForumtopicbymidnightthedaybeforeclass.Thisallowsthepresenterstoreviewthequestionsand

tailorthediscussiontomeettheneedsoftheclass.Bringahardcopyoftwoquestionstoclass.

SocialBookmark Verysimilartoblogassignmentabove.However,studentswerenotaskedtowriteabriefentrysummarizingthe

resourceandhighlightingitsrelevancetothecourse.

Grading/Expectations

Howdidinstructorsfactorparticipation/useofthesetoolsintograding?Whatweretheirexpectationsforuse?


Assignment:Inthenews,1of

8assignments

worthatotalof

35%ofgrade

(4.4%)

1

ParticipationinClassandOnline15%

TeamProject60%2

ParticipationinClassandOnline

15%

3

Participationwas10%oftheclass,butSMCusagewasnotrequiredforthis,

simplyencouragedasonewaytoparticipate.

NAChatwas

disabledforthis

course

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Blogassignment10%

WikipediaEntry10%4

Classparticipation25% NAChatwasdisabledforthis

course

IndividualContribution/Usage

Howdidinstructorscontribute/usethefollowingtools


1

Mentioninclassduring

instruction,as

further

illustrationor

example

Commentwitharesponse

Contributewithownpost

Contributewithownpost

2 Contributewithownpost

3


instruction,as

further

illustrationor

example



instruction,as

further

illustrationor

example

4


instruction,as

further

illustrationor

example



instruction,as

further

illustrationor

example


instruction,as

further

illustrationor

example

DescriptionofInstructorContributionandUsage

Mentioninclassduringinstruction,asfurtherillustrationorexample: Aninstructorreferstoapostorcontentfrom

studentsduringclasstimeinordertodemonstrateaconcept.Theinstructormaysay,StudentAwroteareallygoodblog

postaboutthistheotherday,orStudentBsharedagreatarticleaboutthisintheNewYorkTimes.Sometimesthisled

tothestudentsharingabouttheirpost,orasmalldiscussionaboutthecontribution.Thiswasthemostcommonway

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instructorsusedthesystem.WhileCourse1and2weretaughtbythesameinstructor,Course1sawagreatdealmoreof

thiskindofcontribution,whileinCourse2,therewaslittlementionofstudentcontributionsinrelationtocontent.In

Course3,theinstructorcontributedthemostinthisway.ThiskindofusagevariedinCourse4amongthefourinstructors

andwasperhapsthelowestofthefourcourses.

Commentwitharesponse.InstructorsusedthecommentoftheSMCtorespondtostudentcontributions.Instructors

contributedwithcommentslike,Greatpoint.ThanksforbringingthisuporYoumaywanttocheckoutthisresource

andlinktoarelevantsource.Instructorsalsopointedoutaconnectiontocoursematerialthestudentmayhavemissed,

orpraisethestudentformakinganon-obviousconnection.Instructorsalsoansweredstudentquestionsorchallenge

studentstogodeeperinaparticularlineofthinking.TheinstructorforCourse1alsocontributedinthisway.Studentsin

Course2receivedprojectfeedbackviaemailfromtheinstructorandTAs.Theotherinstructorsalsoaddedafew

commentsoverthecourseofthesemester.

Contributewithownpost.SomeinstructorsusedtheSMCtoposttheirowncontributions.Someoftheircontributions

wereawaytomodeltheirexpectationsofuse.Also,instructorspostedmaterialthatcameupinclassbutwasnot

includedintheirlectureortheirslides.Forexample,creatingasocialbookmarkHeresthatjournalarticleImentionedin

class.ThemostusedtoolsforthiskindofcontributionwereBlogsandSocialBookmarksTheinstructorforcourse1and

2wastheonlyinstructortousetheSMCinthisway.InstructorsdidnotusetheForumsoftheWikitoposttheirown

contributions.

REFERENCES

Mason,R.&Rennie,F.(2008).E-learningandsocialnetworkinghandbook.Routledge.

Rheingold,R.WhytheClassroom?SocialMediaClassroomWebSite.http://socialmediaclassroom.com/index.php/why-the-classroom

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Findings:Perceptions,Motivationsand

Expectations

ABSTRACT

Areviewofinstructorandstudentfeedbackaboutthetoolsandusage.

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Findings:Perceptions,ExpectationsandMotivations

GENERAL

Asdetailedinthelastsection,earlyadoptionoftheSocialMediaClassroomatUCBerkeleyandStanfordUniversitygave

usauniqueopportunitytoobservetheusageofparticipatorymediatoolsacrossdifferentclasses,instructorsand

students.Ourobservationsandinterviewsgaveustwotypesofdatawhatpeopledidonthesiteandhowpeoplefelt

aboutorinterpretedwhatthey(orothers)did.Thissectiondiscussesthelatter,howpeopleperceivedtheusageofthe

site.Becausethestudentandinstructorinsightsandopinionsweresuchanimportantpartofthisstudy,wefeltit

valuabletoincludemanyofthequotesinthissectionaswell.

STUDENT

Familiarity

Wesurveyedstudentsfromthreeofthecourses,Course1,2and4ontheirfamiliaritywiththesocialmediatoolsbefore

theexperiencewithitintheclassroom.Wedidnotdoapre-semestersurveystudentsinCourse3sincetheyalready

experiencedtheSMCinCourse1.

Familiaritywasmeasuredonascalefrom1-5with1beingNotFamiliarAtAlland5beingVeryFamiliar.

Course1and2wereadministeredthesamesurveyatthebeginningofthesemester,andbecausethesamestudentwere

alsoinCourse3,thoseresultscoverthestudentsfromCourse1,2and3.Ingeneral,studentsweveryfamiliarwiththe

tools(fallingbetweenSomewhatFamiliar)and(VeryFamiliar),withtheonlyexpectationbeingsocialbookmarkingin

Course4,whichfellbetweenNotVeryFamiliarandNeutral.

Familiarity Course1,2and3 Course4

Blog 4.9111 4.562

Wiki 4.8 4

Forum 4.778 4.344

Chat 5 4.875

SocialBookmarking 3.956 2.5

Wealsoaskedstudentstoratehowoftentheyusedeachtoolintheirownlivestogetanunderstandingbeyondsimply

knowingoftool,andhowmoreintothepersonaluse.Scoreswereagainfairlyhigh,withCourse4trendingloweracross

theboard,exceptforchat,whichwassimilartotheCourse1score.

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Findings:Perceptions,ExpectationsandMotivations

PersonalUse Course1,2and3 Course4

Blog 3.867 2.906

Wiki 4.222 3.438

Forum 4.156 3.313

Chat 4.733 4.562

SocialBookmarking 3.956 3.045

Thus,moststudentswerehighlyfamiliarwiththetoolsbeforetheuseoftheSMC.Infact,manyintheinterviews

commentedthatsocialmedi

Documents

Participatory Media Education Final Report