SOCIAL MEDIA
IN EDUCATION
Podcamp Boston 4
Kabren Levinson
www.kabren.com

how can social technologies be used in the classroom?

what can social media do for education?

me
•i podcast (4 years)
•i blog (3 years)
•i go to bard college in upstate ny
•i created an academic technology program in high school
•i have spoken at pcb2 and 3, and sxswi 2009

i am a product of progressive education:
• fewer standards
• smaller classes
• more collaboration
• stronger student/teacher relationships

i care about how we use technology,
particularly in education

using technology in education isn’t easy...

two different worlds coming together

education is slow
while technology is fast

i have a dilemma. i am influenced by technology
but am also a classical thinker.

i believe in traditional education and admire socratic method

i enjoy small discussion based classes

my own philosophy

when you try to just “use” technology in a classroom,
it doesn’t work.

for example

#1
if you don’t think about how technology can be used,
it will not be taken advantage of and can be dangerous.

lots of schools are trying to use technology
more inside of the classroom

for example

#2
the best uses of technology inside the classroom
are outside the classroom

schools assume IT and EduTech are the same
they are not.

for example

#3
using technology in the classroom is more about
education and less about technology

social media has great potential outside of the classroom

transparency among students and teachers builds trust

classroom culture doesn’t exist in large classes, but social
media can help close the gap between students and teachers

social media can also be used in the classroom

wiki’s and google docs encourage collaboration and discussion

blogging offers important skills - if students are writing
outside of class on a blog, their writing will improve

publishing online and living in public:
- teaches how to take risks
- teaches students how to receive
feedback from both peers and
teachers

social media creates new venues for critique and
conversation

new media and technology also teach the idea of UNDO

finally

technology can only be used if it is thought out pedagogically.

again - progressive education:
- fewer standards
- smaller classes
- more collaboration
- stronger student/teacher relationships

trying to use technology to fill the gap is good...

...but education will only be great when the education is
reinvented and reconstructed

the schools that really use technology well
have thought first about the education.

the values taught by social media need
to first be taught to education. and
only then can social technologies be
used in class.

in order for technology in
education to work, students and
teachers must learn and know
how to trust and take risks.

• small classes: is tech necessary?
• technology is an obstruction between people
• off hours tech. builds stronger relationships
• comments create discussions
• transparency

Kabren f Levinson
k@kabrenlevinson.com