Social Software in Education

Social Software in Education
Meredith Farkas
Norwich University

Our students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach . -Mark Prensky, “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants.”

At the same time… The Web has also changed

Web 1.0 Democratized Access to Information

Web 2.0: Democratized Participation

Social Software
To be defined as social software, a tool must meet at least two of the following conditions:
it allows people to communicate, collaborate and build community online.
it can be syndicated, shared, reused or remixed, or it facilitates syndication.
it allows people to easily learn from and capitalize on the behavior or knowledge of others.

Characteristics of Social Software

Easy content creation and sharing

Online Collaboration

Conversations

Capitalizing on the wisdom of crowds

Transparency

Personalization

Portability

Social Software Applications in Education

Blogs
How do you define a medium used by teenagers, Nobel Prize-winners, car companies, rock bands and educators?

Blogs
Frequently updated website where postings are displayed in reverse chronological order.
Uses
Course management system
Faculty communication with students/parents
Reflective learning
Discussion
Language or writing practice
Share ideas/get feedback

Course Management System

Faculty Communication with Students/Parents

Reflective Learning

Discussion

Language or Writing Practice

Share Ideas/Get Feedback

Wikis
Allow a group of people to develop a website without any web design skills
Uses:
Courseware
Group Projects
Collaboratively-developed resource guides

Courseware

Group Projects

Collaborative Resource Guides

Social Networking Software
Online community with the goal of building identity and publicly articulating one’s social network.
Uses:
Courseware
Feedback mechanism
Portal to library/school content

Courseware

Feedback Mechanism

Portal to Library/School Content

Podcast
Audio broadcast in MP3 format syndicated through RSS.
Uses:
Lectures and guest speakers
Student projects
News and marketing
Language classes

Lectures and Guest Speakers

Student Projects

News and Marketing

Language Classes

Screencasting
Movie taken of one’s desktop.
Uses:
Recording lectures
Commenting on student papers
Tutorials

Recording Lectures

Comments on Student Papers

Tutorials

Things to Consider

Avoid technolust

Don’t assume all of your students are tech-savvy

Play with technology! Kick the tires!

Don’t be afraid to try things out with your students

Don’t be afraid to let your students “drive”

Consider the maintenance burden and sustainability of any technology

These are just tools!

Thanks!

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Social Software in Education

by Meredith Farkas on Jun 25, 2008

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