When using real social network media for education in the K-5 environment, this is how real the learning can feel, if we understand how to communicate it’s impact effectively.
We’re just starting to understand.
A 2nd grade class starts a wiki on animals. They write, post pictures, insert videos. They go home and show their parents, online. They show their brother, their sister, their friends. They review every other wiki page done by every other student in the classroom. They come in the next day and say, “I’ve got some ideas on how I can make my lion page better, will we be working on the wiki today?” This is a true story. In fact on the first day of spring break, one second grader added a video to her wiki page.
Imagine this happening with math worksheets. A child takes home their math work sheet. They show it to their parents, their brother, their sister, their friends. They review every other student’s math worksheet in the class, and come in the next day asking …
I don’t think so.
BUILDING TEACHER KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL SETS:
We’ve been working in this environment for four years, earnestly. Our teaching staff has come a long way in understanding how the technologies work, how they can be employed safely in a K-5 environment and all the ancillary issues.
In broad strokes it goes like this:
First one needs a knowledge of media. Then one needs a knowledge of kids’ perception of the use of media.
In the lower grades some of the kids’ perception of the media comes from their teachers, some from the media itself, but most comes from their peers.
Only then can impactful learning projects using media be developed.
After a teacher gets that far (and most of our teachers have gotten this far or are using ideas created by teachers at this school who have gotten there), only then does one have the pieces needed to position the projects in the kids’ minds. This is the next step for us. Only then would a teacher have the knowledge to communicate the impact on reality outside their student’s online projects effectively. Only then would a teacher have the knowledge to manage the social memes (even if only at the classroom or grade-level) which might flow out of such work as a reference/touchstone/review of content.
And when a teacher can do all that, students work on their projects in a vested, emotional and earnest way. Every moment of creation (writing, recording, reflecting, collaboration) becomes a moment in history seen, over time, repeatedly, by anyone. Everything becomes real.
We’re just starting to scratch the surface of the motivating aspects of social media as a tool for learning.
Finding the key to this (using online social global media to make students feel like the world cup players in the video) is one important goal I’m currently exploring with the folks at my school.