This document discusses using Facebook groups and other social media to teach large core science and statistics courses. It outlines how the instructor set up closed Facebook groups for each semester, posting tasks and having students submit work and get feedback. In the second semester, students could choose to work individually or in small groups on one of six creative projects, such as making video guides, collecting data through experiments or observations, or building machines. The goal was to make the typically "dry" subjects more engaging for students and cater to different learning styles through social media.

1. A fly on the Facebook Wall
teaching using social media

2. The challenge...
• Fundamentals of Science (Year long)
• Statistics (traditionally ‘dry’ subject)
• Core Module (350 students)
• 9 o’clock Monday morning
• Didn’t know each other
• Catering for different learning styles
• ANSWER: Facebook

3. How it worked – Part 1
• Avoiding the ‘Creepy Tree-house Effect’
• Closed Groups
• Semester 1 (ALL – alternate SM and
traditional)
• Set Tasks (TASKPRODS)
• Students posted work
• Feedback

4. Seven Collectives Pages...

5. TASKPRODS (problem solving)

6. Students post their up work...

7. TASKPRODS (data)

8. Students can post and upload work in
any way they like

9. And I mean ANY way they like...
I call this piece “Frequency Histogram with Guinea Pig”

10. Guess what we’re watching?

11. Video Posts

12. FEEDBACK

13. Roundup Videos...

14. How it worked – Part 2
• Semester 2 (optional – entirely on SM)
• Could work alone or in groups (2-5)
• Choose from 1 of 6 Creative Projects

15. Stats Guides: printed / interactive

16. Stats Guides: Video Guide

17. Data Collection: observational / data logging

18. Data Collection: DIY experiments
The output
Result

19. Data Collection: Ornithopters

20. Data Collection: Rube Goldberg Machines

21. A fly on the Facebook Wall
THANK YOU