WHY? Seems like a pretty simple question. I mean students ask it several times a day. They expect an answer to be given when they ask. So why is it so hard for teachers to ask and answer this simple question?
Ok, let’s reel it back in. I found myself going down a rabbit hole based on this tweet. I was asking myself and wondering, WHY. I began writing this blog about the actual tweet and then digging into research that supported it. That is the power of someone’s digital argument. I was invested and hooked. I was consumed with finding an answer to that question. Twitter, a social media platform that has taken the internet by storm among others, allows teachers to “potentially gain valuable insights, ideas, and encouragement before beginning their teaching careers” (Zimmerle, 2020). Platforms like Twitter can help teachers both veteran and novice acquire new strategies and they “may turn to social media as one way to support” each other and be supported in their teaching careers (Zimmerle, 2020).
In the prevalent world of technology and social media “if we fail to bring social media-and the ways in which it invites and allows for robust, intellectual arguments that move beyond petty chatter-into a conversation with our students, we are doing them a disservice” (Turner and Hicks, 2017, p. 112). Using social media allows people to connect with others, reach new audiences, and express themselves. It can also be used as a coping mechanism for some. Students use social media heavily as a way to stay connected however students are impressionable, have skewed judgement, and seek acceptance from other online users. We as teachers need to incorporate the use of social media but teach students how to be MINDFUL of what they are reading as well as writing. Turner and Hicks (2017) state, "reading and writing are never neutral activities, and we must encourage students to be mindful as they participate in social media” (p. 108). In table 6.1 Turner and Hicks (2017) created a set of standards for how to be mindful of social media arguments (p.109-110). These standards can help not only students but anyone refine their digital literacy skills as both readers and writers on a social media platform in order to produce effective arguments.
The tweet that Syrie posted had a huge impact on people. It ignited conversation and had people answering their own WHY. It received several likes, retweets, and comments. Using social media to post statements like Syrie’s can create conversation and cause reflection among educators which I feel was his main purpose of the tweet. I appreciate this post as it caused me to think about my own evaluation of data and teaching practices.
References
Giphy. Live Music Concert GIF By Live Nation.Syrie, M. [@MonteSyrie]. (2021, May 28). Seems, with data, we make a lot of decisions
without knowing the why of things."the scores are low."okay, but. Twitter.
https://twitter.com/MonteSyrie/status/1398366156692414469
Turner, K. & Hicks, T. (2016). [Online image]. How to be mindful readers and writers
of social media. Heinemann.https://medium.com/@heinemann/seriously-seriously-
fef109d46e30
Turner, K. H., & Hicks, T. (2017). Teaching adolescents to read and write digital
texts:Argument in the real world. Heinemann.
Zimmerle, J. (2020). Nice to tweet you: supporting rural preservice teachers through
twitter chats. SRATE Journal, 29(2).
This is all so true! Turner and Hicks (2017) say, "misinformation has become a problem as open access to internet allows users to share content that has not been vetted" (p. 105). It has become increasingly more important that we stress the importance of proper digital literacy skills, especially by using the MINDFUL approach so that our students can start to gain respect from a variety of different users, not just their peers!
ReplyDeleteTurner, K. H., & Hicks, T. (2017). Teaching adolescents to read and write digital texts: Argument in the real world. Heinemann.
As much as I love technology, I will admit I am very skeptical and very cautious about using social media in the classroom. This may be mostly because I've only ever taught lower elementary students, but I also think it's because it absolutely terrifies me! There is so much that can go wrong with using social media in the classroom, but it can also be a very useful tool. In fact, "social media and classroom curriculum can work in tandem as a tool to increase engagement and support social emotional wellbeing and academic success" (Soloman, 2021, p.1). In fact, her research even suggests that educators can even reach students on a deeper level and help them with social and emotional issues through the use of TikTok (Soloman, 2021). This really struck a cord with me because who knew students could feel a sense of belonging through something like TikTok?! I think having students, even the youngest students, watch TikTok videos and then discussing whether or not they were created using the MINDFUL approach (Turner & Hicks, 2017) would be a great introductory activity!
DeleteReferences
Solomon, S. (2021). Incorporating Social Media into the Classroom: A Case Study on How TikTok can be Immersed into Classroom Pedagogy. Dominican Scholar, 39. https://scholar.dominican.edu/education-masters-theses/39/
Turner, K. H., & Hicks, T. (2017). Teaching adolescents to read and write digital texts: Argument in the real world. Heinemann.