Tom Davidson – @tomdavison
Thomas Rowledge – @tdrowledge
Lisa Harris – @lisaharris
University of Southampton
This paper, written and presented by students, reports on the results of a project entitled “Students As Creators and Change Agents” at the University of Southampton Business School. [4] This project has a number of different strands, broadly re-designing a suite of first year core undergraduate modules. It aims to ease the transition from school/college to University and to establish an enthusiastic learning environment both in and out of traditional content delivery. As part of this curriculum co-design project, social media and blogging have been embraced to engage students in new and innovative ways, building on previous reports of the effectiveness of this. [2] These tools were recognised from the beginning as being core components in the redesign of the modules, and the combination of this early recognition and having students in the role of creators has made for deep and relevant integration of social media into the module content.
Specifically, social media have been used in the design of modules to disseminate information more effectively than traditional methods. Facebook and Twitter have been rarely used for course content previously [1], however we have seen that involving students in the process increases its potential. Effectiveness is determined in this case by student engagement, which has seen positive change as a result of the student-led digital platforms. Evidence of this will be provided through both quantitative and more individual, anecdotal feedback. Social Media have also been utilised to create a positive and innovative environment to allow the wider student body to engage with their learning, and this is where we see the true potential in combining co-created learning and social media. Using social channels established, publicised and managed by students allows for increased relevance of material and ultimately more success in engagement not just in modules and set curricula, but, in this case, the wider business world.
Using traditional pedagogical terminology, we are developing what could be described as a “social media facilitated Personal Learning Environment”. [3] A blog is in place to share updates from the project, book reviews, student opinion pieces and more, and this is rapidly becoming a hub for students’ online interaction with the school. An active twitter account sharing interesting and most importantly content that is determined relevant by students allows for members of the Business School to learn about and engage in the wider business world. Live-tweeting of conference attendance and relevant events has also been met with a positive reception. We explore this as a means for dissemination of information, but also as one that has the potential to allow students to form their own mini-academic communities (through Google Hangouts, hashtags and other methods) to truly allow them to take control of their own learning direction. [3] The project also included delivery of an Introduction to Digital Literacy session, delivered and written by students, to explore the potential of utilising social media and other digital resources from a student point of view.
This is now being developed into an online course, again by students. We have found thus far that combining co-creation and social media can very powerful in reaching out to students, and is beneficial for both those involved in the creation and those not. Student engagement and digital literacy has increased, and we have seen those creating the content learn a lot. Evidence-wise, we examine the analytical statistics from the various social channels, and also examine student opinion. The student opinion can be gained through formal questionnaires, and through informal anecdotal evidence. The project is still ongoing, and more recent developments will also be reported on at the conference.
Bibliography
[1] M. Moran, J. Seaman, and H. Tinti-Kane, “Teaching, learning, and sharing: How today’s higher education faculty use social media,” Babson College, 2011. [Online]. Available: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED535130.pdf. Accessed: Jun. 30, 2016.
[2] J. Gikas and M. M. Grant, “Mobile computing devices in higher education: Student perspectives on learning with cellphones, smartphones & social media,” The Internet and Higher Education, vol. 19, pp. 18–26, Oct. 2013. [Online]. Available: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1096751613000262. Accessed: Jun. 30, 2016.
[3] N. Dabbagh and A. Kitsantas, “Personal learning environments, social media, and self-regulated learning: A natural formula for connecting formal and informal learning,” The Internet and Higher Education, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 3–8, Jan. 2012. [Online]. Available: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1096751611000467; Accessed: Jun. 30, 2016.
[4] T. Davidson, T. Rowledge, N. Fair, L. Harris, and M. Gatenby, “Creating and Sharing Content Through Open Virtual Platforms: the Student Perspective,” EduLearn 16 Proceedings, Jul. 2016.