Matt DeBellis, Ciara Flannery, Carolyn Smith, Maria Tapia

Edwin Vega
EDU 2370A
20 October 2016
Cutting Edge Technology Discussion Essay
The world in which we live in is changing rapidly with the introduction of new
technologies every few months. Our society is shifting to be more technology-based, including
the space in which we socialize and interact with others. It is not entirely true to say that we
have completely shifted from face-to-face interactions to digital ones, but becoming constant
multitaskers allows us to exist in and participate in both the online world and the real world at
the same time, thanks to social media. While we are out with friends, on a vacation, or even
picking up our morning coffee, we are sharing those moments online via platforms like
Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Chen and Bryer (2012) define social media as
technologies that facilitate social interaction, make possible collaboration, and enable
deliberation across stakeholders (p. 88). In addition to the platforms already listed, other forms
of social media include blogs, audio, video, text, sharing tools, and virtual worlds.

Teacher Pros of Social Media

Although they are mostly used for recreation, any of these social media platforms can be
transformed into educational tools that can--and should--be used within the classroom.
Education is a collaborative activity within the classroom, an aspect that should be spread into
the virtual world. The success of learning tasks such as discussions and group works prove that
learning is not an individual acquisition activity, but a social discourse (Chen and Bryer, 2012,
p. 88). Part of the definition of social media states that these technologies facilitate social
interaction (Chen and Bryer, 2012, p. 88) which is the virtual equivalent of in-class discussions
and group work. By using blogs and other platforms that encourage social interactions online,

students are taking the materials and knowledge learned in class into an environment they are
familiar with outside of the classroom.
Teachers should utilize social media interactions in their lesson plans because
collaborative learning has proven to be more effective than individualistic learning in
contributing to motivation, in raising achievement, and in producing positive social outcomes
(Chen and Bryer, 2012, p. 88). By working with other students in an online setting, they are
encouraged, or perhaps even required, to interact with their peers ideas. Motivation is
increased because their peers work is dependent on their work, and vice versa. Online
discussions may actually go beyond classroom discussions, because students are forced to
read and respond to what their peers have said online, and each comment is permanent and
can be reviewed and responded to at a later time. In an ideal online classroom, the students
should be thinking more deeply about their peers comments, because they have more time to
read and interpret what has been said. During in-class discussions, students have the tendency
to listen to respond, instead of listen to understand (unless specific teaching techniques are
employed). Online discussions make student understanding, or lack of understanding, more
apparent to the teacher and the students peers.
Social media, because most forms were created to connect people outside of
professional and educational settings, is an informal form of communication, and therefore an
informal educational style as well. Activities on social media are largely informal, open, and
self-related (Chen and Bryer, 2012, p. 95). However, this should not discourage teachers from
using social media in their lessons. A research team in 2007 found that learning in formal
environments only accounts for a small fraction of the lifelong experience of human learning:
19% of all learning from first through twelfth grades, and decreases significantly as students
progress to undergraduate and graduate levels of education (Chen and Bryer, 2012, p. 89).
Since students are learning the most from informal environments, teachers should strive to
integrate informal learning and formal learning together. As Chen and Bryer (2012) say, [u]ses

of social media as learning tools could possibly connect informal learning to the formal learning
environment. (Chen and Bryer, 2012, p. 89). There would not be as much of a separation
between the two environments: as it is now, school is all work and social media is all play. By
bringing education into social media sites, the lines are blurred and students are able to learn
educational material in an informal environment that they are familiar with.
Using social media as a teaching tool helps teachers extend their classrooms beyond
the physical room, which enriches the experience of learning. With the technology available
today, such as laptops, tablets, and especially smartphones, social media can be--and is
intended to be--taken everywhere. Students can bring their learning with them, not only outside
the classroom, but outside their homes as well. This applies not only to the material being
learned, but their peers in the class. Being connected on social media facilitate[s] a strong
sense of community [among students] and encourage[s] collective intelligence by creating social
networks around academic topics (Chen and Bryer, 2012, p. 94).
Social media also allows students to be more creative in the way that they learn the
material. Depending on which social media platforms are used and how much freedom the
teacher gives the students, they may be able to share their ideas not only through their own
writing, but also by pulling in other forms of media such as pictures, videos, GIFs, music, and
memes. Chen and Bryer (2012) agree that using multiple tools in an integrated fashion can
help students firm up their understanding (93). Each student learns in a different way, and
including social media platforms that encourage different media to be used to expand on and
understand a topic. If a student is more of an auditory or visual learner, they can personalize
their online learning experience to fit their preferred learning style.

Teacher Cons of Social Media

With students posting pictures, creating content, and sharing personal profiles,
the growth of social media is unprecedented and has become almost fully integrated into

personal life (Lenhart et al. 2010). Like a flood overpassing a barrier, it inevitably has been
making its way more and more present in the classroom, regardless of if the teacher
encouraged it or not. But teachers should be aware of this immense social movement, and
consider the consequences before they so willingly hop on the trend train and open their
classroom doors to it.
A 2012 study by Sadaf, Newby and Ertmer investigated eagerness to implement
social media in their future classrooms of first year students in a midwestern undergraduate
education program. 51% said they were committed to the idea of using social media as an
instructional tool but they stated they would need guidance of how to do it. Another study in
2010 found that although the majority of 70% of students had social media accounts, they
avoided using it for educational purposes because they tended to keep their social life
(pleasurable) divided from their learning (painful) (Jones et al 2010). This divide should always
be kept not only to separate work and independent play, but because this divide is the line of
professionalism. While students and teacher may be able to interact on the web about
education, social media sites such as Facebook, twitter and Instagram make it easier for privacy
to be breached. Mike moran in 2011, stated that This risk depends on what the educator
chooses to disclose about themselves on their Facebook, which may either positively or
negatively alter students perceptions of them. While it is unreasonable to expect educators to
increase their level of self-disclosure through social media such as Facebook.
It is also shown that students are actually hesitant to engage in the opportunity to mix
social media and the classroom. In a 2009 study of a Iowa State inorganic chemistry lab, only
41% of students out of 128 registered for the class Facebook group as an alternative to a
learning management system (Schroeder and Greenbowe, 2009). This indicates that the
majority in that case in particular preferred to keep their online lives separate.
Paul, Baker and Cochran found in 2012 and Kirschner and Karpinski in 2010
reported that a small but significant negative relationship correlated with time spent on social

media and the students course grade and cumulative GPA. The student produced qualitative
data from those studies indicate that negative correlation aligned with distraction leading to poor
time management skills. Even when students do engage, the posts mirror the type of language
discourse that they normally associate with the social media site. Rambe (2012) discovered that
facebook posts within a course at a South African university exhibited superficial engagement
regarding theory and exposed unsophisticated study skills. Madge et al. in 2009 warned the
same thing that over-privileging the site when it comes to pedagogical purposes could be
harmful to learning. But the trend of submitting poorly constructed work is evident online. Deed
and Edwards (2011) examined 400 students at a Liverpool University of a blog based
interaction. The unrestricted blogging was efficient but not vigorous. more posts tended to be
perfunctory or personal opinion and lacked critical construction of knowledge.
Technology certainly has an important role in the 21st century classroom.
Learning internet skills and program skills are essential to the future of innovation and societal
growth, playing a larger role in our global economy. But using social networks to instruct these
skills is a set back. Social media websites and platforms are what they sound like, social.
There is a division of work and play in the research because as humans it is what we innately
do. We like to have separate areas for work, and separate areas for being social where work
doesnt play a role. Teachers should be aware that using social networking as a form of
communication in their class may seem like the trendy and new way to communicate, but it
stirs that divide mentioned above. As a result, work is not as constructive and deep. Language
use emanates from common association with the platform, and it is easy to coast by and write
blogs or facebook posts or tweets without actually contributing anything at all academic.

Student Pros of Social Media

Teachers should implement social media into their lesson plans because students will
recognize the format and be engaged; social media gets their attention. Teachers have an

obligation to stay current and up-to-date on whats happening in the field of education,
especially with technology. Social media isnt going away, so teachers need to realize the
benefits social media can have when safely incorporated into the classroom.
Some students may not have access to technology at home, but that can be changed in
the classroom. Using social media in the classroom gives all students access to technology,
despite what their home situations and socioeconomic status might be. A student may not have
a computer, smartphone, or TV at home to help them experience the modern world or complete
assignments in the same way as their peers might. This can create a divide in the classroom. A
post on Edudemic wants to know, why should [these students] be left behind as technology
continues to march forward? (2015). As long as the activities requiring technology happen only
in the classroom, technology can actually bridge the gap in a class. Schools need to prepare
students to function in the world. By giving them access to current technology platforms in the
classroom, schools will achieve this.
The benefit of incorporating social media into the classroom is that this is something that
students are already doing, just usually in the wrong way. Students who do have access to
technology tend to check their phones during class. This often frustrates teachers, but instead of
trying to stop the behavior, they should try to replace the behavior. When students are checking
their phones during class, they are checking social media. That means that teachers need to get
their lessons on social media, a platform where students are already interested.
Incorporating social media into lessons provides a safe space for students to be online.
Many teachers worry about the anonymous nature of the internet, but they can control that. If
students are distracted in class because they are checking Facebook on their phones, start a
class Facebook group! On the class Facebook group, the teacher can post the assignments,
remind students about upcoming deadlines, and gives students a safe space to comment and
post. A class Facebook page run by the teacher can model proper online and social media
behavior for students. Creating a class Facebook group also benefits students because it

increases the access they have to their teacher. A student can message a teacher a question
they may not feel comfortable asking in class. Facebook pages give notifications, so students
will have double the reminders for upcoming assignments.
Using social media applications in the classroom also increases students access to
other knowledgeable resources. Students can create a class Twitter account or individual Twitter
accounts underneath the class or teachers academic account. If this was implemented in an
English classroom, students could follow their favorite authors, musicians, government officials,
and community members. Students may not be interested in writing for the school newspaper,
but what if the newspaper was done on Twitter?
Students will easily transition from using social media outside the classroom to using it
inside the classroom because its a format they are already familiar with. Students may even
take on leadership roles by demonstrating how the social media applications work to the teacher
or fellow classmate who is unfamiliar with it. Using social media in the classroom engages
students and only increases the variety of activities that can be done in the classroom.

Student Cons of Social Media

Students can use social media in order to bridge the gap between the classroom and the
home. However, there negative effects of social media on students need to be evaluated. Social
media consists of websites or apps that allow people to communicate or share information. The
advantages of social media are plentiful but so are the negatives, especially for teenagers.
Adolescents feel the need to belong to a group of people or attempt to form an identity for
themselves. Social media offers a platform for them to share their opinion and experiences
however, the interactions and information that they can receive does not always benefit them.
Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and other social media bring groups of people together
and adolescents may not always chose the correct people to access their profiles.

While users can limit who can and cannot access their profile or speak with them
another problem emerges. Students block any information or opinion that they do not agree:
Social media (more specifically, chatting on a cell phone via text or Twitter) is preventing our
students from being socially aware of anything beyond themselves or their immediate social
circle. A bored teenager no longer has to listen to adult conversation in the car, at the dinner
table or on the living room TV, and so they pick up on absolutely nothing thats not already
familiar and of interest to them (Should Teachers be Using Social Media in the Classroom?,
2014). They do not have to listen to opinions that they do agree with. This limits their reasoning
and ability to communicate effectively. Communication and problem solving come from listening
and understanding different points of views. Social media allows students to reject the point of
views they disagree with and prevents them from creating a dialogue with individuals who
oppose their way of thinking. This type of dialogue is essential in a student's development they
learn to defend their ideas or learn to reconstruct their way of thinking and expand their
understanding of a topic.
Students posses the ability to avoid all opposing views of their ideas and opinions and
while social media can limit their perspectives students may not even want to introduce this
venue into the classroom. Social media creates an online forum for teenagers to share their
lives with their friends and acquaintances. They express themselves on Facebook and other
sites like it, their social media is an extension of their person. The creators of different social
medias made it for the purpose of socialization and communication. Just like a students would
not want a teacher to show up to a gathering for students they do not want their teacher
entering their social network. They prioritized using social media and technology devices for
socializing with peers and for entertainment...In addition, they appeared wary about letting
technology-based educational interventions invade their personal social networking space
(Teen Culture, Technology and Literacy Instruction: Urban Adolescent Students' Perspectives,
2015). Students use social media as a way to communicate and share interest and pictures with

their friends. Instead of going to the mall a student will post a picture that they took or share a
video they found online. It is an alternative to meeting up with friends and going to see a movie
and just like students would not appreciate their teacher popping to give them a lesson or post a
discussion questions students do not want teacher appearing on their Facebook or Twitter page.
True social media does not seem to have a space in the classroom for students. Sites like
Edmodo take social media and convert it into a platform that is school appropriate. Students are
reluctant to use social media in the classroom, it is the same as having a teacher join on an
outing with friends they do not want their private life mixing with their school work.
While students do not want their teachers to have access to their social network this
creates another problem for students, supervision. What goes on online cannot be possibly
monitored. Parents and instructors can try to monitor their students behavior on social media
but they cannot possible monitor the millions of people that could stumble upon the student's
account or who the student can stumble upon. Adolescents on social media react differently to
content they see on their profiles, When teenagers looked at risky photos compared with
neutral photos, they had less activation in areas associated with cognitive control and
response inhibition,...Seeing photos that depict risky behavior seems to decrease activity in the
regions that put the brakes on, perhaps weakening teens be careful filters (The Teenage Brain
on Social Media, 2016). The risky photos refer to alcohol and smoking, if they see people liking
the photo the teen will be inclined to also like the photo. The same is true for cyber bullying. If a
single student becomes the target of abuse on a social media forum the other teens watching
the interaction condone the behavior and might even be inclined to participate in the
harassment. While parental supervision is being advocated and encouraged its unrealistic for
any person to watch over the social network of a teenager. A parent or instructor cant possibly
know what profile their student clicks on or who that profile has access to. Controlling social
media is impossible to do and teenagers are susceptible to following the common interest on
social media. Even if the norm is detrimental to themselves or someone else.

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