I remember when computers were the new thing to have in your home. The crazy sound of that dial-up modem inviting you to this strange, new world is forever embedded in my memory. (As was hanging up that modem, and attempting to reconnect if your speed was slower than 28 kbts/sec.) It wasn't just that there was new information available at your fingertips, it was that the
whole world was at your fingertips. And that world was full of people.
Who would have thought that a little more than 30 years later, we would find ourselves (practically) slaves to our social media platforms? Even though I am an adult, I have had to set boundaries for myself with social media, both for time spent in the apps and for how I use the platforms. The video below discusses some of the ways that social media is changing who we are and how we think.
If I as an adult, can be drawn into an almost "autopilot" mode with social media, imagine what can happen to our students. Turner and Hicks (2017) addressed this briefly when they said, "To build students' mindfulness in social media spaces, we first need to help them see their participation in those networks as real reading and writing" (p. 113). While Turner and Hicks were speaking specifically to the actual act of writing, and each individual students' self-perception of this process, I inferred something deeper from the quote. I thought that they were speaking to the action and consequences of their reading and writing on social media. In short, if it is not real reading and writing, are there real consequences for my actions? Nipper (1989, as cited in Hutton and Robson, 2019) states, "Establishing 'presence' (the extent to which a person is perceived as being 'real' in the online environment) is crucial when building an online community" (1.2 Building a short-term online study community section, para. 3). If our students do not think that these interactions are real, how can they become conscientious digital citizens of the online community?
A crucial part of being good digital citizens, and realizing the reality and validity of their online arguments, is for our students to understand that they are not necessarily being given all of the information. Turner and Hicks (2017) discuss at length confirmation bias, and how, "People share within like-minded communities, creating 'echo-chambers' that feed [the] confirmation bias" (p. 105). They go on to discuss how we do not tend to challenge those that are in our circle, or those that think the way we do. Eli Pariser (as cited in Taylor and Hicks, 2017) calls these "Filter Bubbles" (p. 105). Pariser goes on to discuss how these arbitrary filters are actually limiting what kinds of information that we receive while we are online.
Ultimately, what we as teachers need to do is to help our students see "who they are" and "where they are" with respect to engaging in online, social media arguments. When giving students activities involving online arguments with social media, we need to ensure that our students are prioritizing the right things. According to Paloff and Pratt (2007, as cited in Turner and Robson, 2019) "The need for social connection is a goal that almost supersedes the content-oriented goals for the course" (1.2 Building a short-term online study community section, para. 3). If this is true, then according to Turner and Hicks (2017) students could get caught up in the social aspects of social media, and be led by emotion, instead of by intellect.
Turner and Hicks (2017) give an excellent tool to help people become MINDFUL readers and writers on social media. Mindful is an acronym to help students remember how to be critical thinkers online. The following infographic was created to show Turner and Hicks MINDFUL acronym, found on pages 109-110 of the text.
As an example, using the information in the above infographic and applying it to the following tweet, students could easily determine whether or not the claims made in this tweet are valid, if the claims are facts, opinions or both, and what kind of responses are expected and warranted in this scenario.
As previously mentioned, Turner and Hicks (2017) discussed in the text that students often do not consider their online reading and writing to be real. Perhaps this is the tool to change that perception!
Until next time,
Morgan
References:
BuzzFeedVideo. (2018, September 11). How Social Media Affects Your Brain [video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/rzUb_GeLDg8
Genta, M. [@MonicaGentaED]. (2020, November 15). This is the truth. #edchat #teachertwitter #pln #relationsships #sel #virtuallearning #covidteaching #amle20 #education #teacher [tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/MonicaGentaEd/status/1328007417213423618
Hutton, C., & Robson, J. (2019). Breaking barriers, building community: improving student engagement with preparation for studying online multidisciplinary science by distance learning - a case study. New Directions in the Teaching of Physical Sciences, 54(1), n.p. https://doi.org/10.29311/ndtps.v0i14.3217
Turner, K. H., & Hicks, T.
(2017). Argument in the real world: Teaching adolescents to read and write
digital texts. Heinemann.
Morgan,
ReplyDeleteWonderful post! It is so crazy to think back to the days of dial up and how so much has evolved since then? Sometimes, I do find myself feeling nostalgic about the days before “social media” because I too can easily be drawn into all the information. You make such a valid point about the feelings we feel as adults about social media, imagine how our students feel. Shin (2018) describes social media as a “critical part of communication in everyday…” (p.13). Educators have to be cognizant of the strategies in which they deliver instruction and assign tasks related to social media. According to Turner and Hicks (2017) “ in short, we know that social media-is by its very nature-a place where ideas and emotions are shared quickly, sometimes without much forethought, and certainly not in a vacuum” (p.112). It is important to teach our students how to function and have strong communication skills both on and off social media platforms.
References
Kristen Hawley Turner, & Hicks, T. (2017). Argument in the real world : teaching adolescents to read and write digital texts. Heinemann.
Shin, D. (2018). Social media & English learners’ academic literacy development. 21 Century Learning & Multicultural Education, v25(n2), 13–16.
Morgan,
ReplyDeleteI, too, remember the days of the dial-up internet on our computer growing up! Many of my memories using the computer with dial-up internet connection include AIM (AOL’s instant messaging system), which is much like texting today. It’s amazing to think about how much computers and social media have changed in the past 20 or so years. I found the video in your post SUPER interesting! I definitely think some people are driven by likes and comments on posts. Students in particular, have become consumed with social media and getting many likes and comments on their posts. As Turner and Hicks (2017) mention, “Social media...must be embraced as a form of reading and writing” (p. 120). Since it is such a huge part of their lives, this could be key to engagement in the classroom. One idea that is discussed in Chapter 6 of Argument in the Real World is that teachers can create a physical space on the wall for students to post “status updates” to share ideas or tell about books they have read and be able to respectfully respond to one another. This gives students “visible opportunities to reflect on their contributions” (Turner & Hicks, 2017, p. 121-122).
References
Turner, K. H., & Hicks, T. (2017). Argument in the real world: Teaching adolescents to read and write digital texts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.