Social Media and Web 2.0 Applications
in the diverse classroomLeah Perdue
What is Social Media?
• In Web 2.0 terms, Social Media is a website that doesn't just give you information, but interacts with you while giving you that information.
• It can be as simple as allowing users to comment on an article or as complicated as using your browser history to recommend sites or services you might enjoy.
• Regular media is a one-way street, where the consumer is given the information, but Social Media is a two-way street where information flows in both directions.
*From: Mashable.com
Still don’t get it?
More people than ever are using social media.
Use among middle and high school student is as high as 78%!
*Statistics from Mashable
Social Media Inundation in America
Percentage of Americans
Percentage of Teens
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Using Social Media
57% of teens who use the Internet could be considered media creators
Teens are living in the most participatory culture ever.
*Statistic from Mashable
Social Media Literacy in teens
76 % of American K-12 teachers use digital media.
However, only 14% of that group uses social media or participatory (wiki-based) sites.
* Statistics from PBS.org
Social Digital0
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The “Digital Divide”
In the classroom...
* From DMS Research
Diversity in Social Media• Social Media is rife with diversity, especially racial
diversity.
• In areas of the country where schools are racially homogenous, social media can be used to increase racial diversity learning.
Seven in ten African-Americans and English-speaking Latinos use social networking sites—significantly higher than the six in ten whites who do so.
Compared with white cell phone owners, African-Americans and Latinos are significantly more likely to use their mobile devices to: use social networking sites, use the internet, and post multimedia content online.
* Statistics from Pew Research Center
Racial Minorities in Social Media
Language Diversity in Social Media
• Facebook is available in more than 37 languages.
• Efforts are being made to include more language learners in social media to improve language skills.
• Communities of language learners exist throughout the social media landscape, utilizing the communication to find immersion in the language and study the culture even more than traditional classes.
*From: Diversity Dimensions
• 12% of Internet users are disabled.
• People with disabilities use social media in the same and for the same reasons as users without disabilities: to connect with friends, share their views and converse with other users.
• People with disabilities may expand the usage of social media and Web 2.0 to look for those who are similarly disabled or for support networks and educational resources.
• Many people whose disabilities impair mobility say that they receive most of their interaction and informal education utilizing social media or Web 2.0 tech like YouTube
Source: Disaboom
Users with disabilities in Social Media
SOCIAL MEDIA
ALLOWSALL
STUDENTS TO
EXPAND THEIR
WORLDS
Twitter4Teachers – a listing of educators using Twitter for their classes
Social Media Primer – a brief video used to develop social media awareness
Edublogs – a blogging service developed for educators and their students
TeacherTube – videos, pictures, audio and docs, all centered around reaching children through Web 2.0
Case for Social Media in Schools – a Mashable article that details why schools should embrcae rather than fear social media.
External Links