Computer Use 774
Bloggers C: Blog Post - 22 February 2017
As we move into a more information-technological (IT) world; the youth education platform is reshaping. More and more educators are starting to use social media platforms in order to interact with and educate their learners. As this IT revolution starts to take over the teaching world, the question still remains: is there a place for social media and technologies in the classroom?
Bloggers C: Blog Post - 22 February 2017
As we move into a more information-technological (IT) world; the youth education platform is reshaping. More and more educators are starting to use social media platforms in order to interact with and educate their learners. As this IT revolution starts to take over the teaching world, the question still remains: is there a place for social media and technologies in the classroom?
"The challenge is to transcend the mere exchange of information and to transform e-Education into a range of learning activities that meet educational objectives." (DoE, 2004).
One challenge between the developed and developing countries is the increasing inequalities between the rich and poor, both among and within nation. Only 6.4% of South Africans have access to these technology platforms (DoE, 2004). According to the White Paper on e-Education, ICT as a revolution has had an impact on curriculum development and delivery, but also continues to present new challenges for both education and training systems all around the world (DoE, 2004).
Challenges are in three areas, “participation in the information society; impact of ICTs on access, cost effectiveness and quality of education; and integration of ICTs into the learning and teaching process” (DoE, 2004: 8).
In the context of South Africa inequalities affect the integration of ICT’s into education (DoE, 2004). There are still over 19 000 schools that do not have access. There is also a visible gap in the ability teachers to effectively use these technologies (DoE, 2004).
Social media should be considered a valuable learning resource. It can be used to make one's classroom more engaging, relevant and culturally diverse (Davis, 2014). Social media can also encourage learning outside of the classroom (Provenzano, 2015). This tool can lead students to interesting articles, discussions or videos that relate to the work done in the classroom.
This is not only seen in schools but also in our own experiences in university. Students learn through researching and communicating via social media. As demonstrated in our current module, the use of social media has provided us with many alternative ways of communicating. Groups need not take extra time to travel, group work is completed online. Exposure to technologies such as interactive whiteboards, will advance us as future teachers. If we are placed in a school where these technologies are used, we will be fully equipped to operate these systems.
Although the implementation of technology may be difficult in certain areas, but once integrated it can be a helpful tool. Children can explore a whole new world of possibilities through digital data. Davis (2004) and Provenzano (2015) demonstrates that it can be a very useful tool if used in the correct way. It creates creative learning opportunities and provides multiple platforms where teachers can communicate with their learners. Social media is not going anywhere, so we may just as well use it to our advantages.
What needs to be taken into account is the implication that social media may have on the learner, not only academically but also emotionally. There is a direct link between the amount of time spent on social media and depression (Forbes, 2016) so should we encourage learners to use social media as a platform for learning? And what about cyberbulling and cyberstalking/impersonations which are a few of the cons of using social media as a platform for learning since you may be fully/ partially identified on social media by anyone who have a slight idea of who you might be and infringe on your fundamental right of privacy (Section 14d of the constitution) . So I think social media can be used to enhance teaching and learning but should never supersede traditional teaching methods since the reliance and convenience that technology provides us with is creating lazy thinkers e.g.using a calculator to calulate 35 + 9 and create even more segregation in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteAssessment: Ideas and Content = 4, Writing Quality = 3, Community and Collaboration = 3, Total = 10.
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