" Do visual art students benefit from incorporating social media in education?"
(My question can apply to all students, but I will answer this question with specific answers relating to the visual arts.)
The Power of Social Media
Pros and Cons of Social Media in Education
With the growth and power of social media in mind, we must begin to consider the pros and cons of social media in education, and how it can be used to its' full potential.
Pros and Cons of Social Media
Other cons found in the Teens and Social Networks video were the idea of cyberbullying and students becoming depressed from social media. I believe that if we monitor social media and teach awareness about it, these issues will decrease.
Other pros on the subject come from Edutopia articles on social media in education. "Using Social Media to Teach Visual Literacy in the 21st Century Classroom", stresses the importance of visual literacy. Visual Literacy is how we process and make meaning of information given in an image, how we communicate ideas through the principles of design, and how we create messages that capture how we think visually in order to solve problems. Because social media is all about being visual, implementing this into the classroom will allow students to build skills in visual literacy. Some specific ways to do this is through Instagram, Emoji, ideograms and Memes.
Another article, "SocialEdCon: What the Heck Do We Do with Social Media", asks us to see social media through the bigger lens: we can use it to communicate globally. Social media can help students see the impact their discussion has on other people that they do not even know. When taught and modeled correctly, social media can build school pride, promote events, share highlights in a classroom, create school trivia contests, and post assignments to students online.
Applications to Visual Art
Arts Education Social Media Resources gives the idea of using Twitter for art educators to communicate with other art educators. Teachers can use social media to reach other art teachers- tweet live using hashtags to communicate with art teachers around the world. Receiving information this way is necessary because many art teachers do not have coworkers in the same field as them at their school. A lot of times there is one art teacher and collaboration and discussion is just not possible all the time. Twitter makes it possible. This benefits students because they could participate in Tweeting and teachers could give students hashtags to look up and gain information from.
While using technology is something that can be implemented in many ways (virtual museums, Youtube videos, iPad apps, drawing software, Photoshop, etc) social media is in a category of its own and should be addressed in many different ways. I could see myself using social media in art education as a way to engage my students through online discussion within our class and with people around the world (blogs, wikis, webinars), creating online student portfolios (Dropbox), marketing for our classroom art works and art shows, Twitter discussions, and building their 21st century learning skills. I could also use a blog or wiki page to post assignments for students and any worksheets or homework for absent students.
"social Media Is Not A Fad"
I do believe that social media is the future of education. We live in a different world today than what was ten years ago, and our education system must reflect those changes. The production line education system must end now. As educators, we must develop and create a learning environment where students can prosper and prepare for the futures. Social media is the future. Ignoring social media when it comes to education will only hold students back.
Students do benefit from social media incorporation into their education. Educating students on social media is necessary, and it is time to reshape our education system to meet this need.
Resources
Castro, Juan. “Learning and Teaching Art Through Social Media.” National Art Education Association. 2012. Web. 7 May 2014.
Conrath, K. Zeccola, J. “Does social networking hurt student grades?” American Teacher; Oct/Nov 2009; 94, 2; SIRS.pg. 3. Accessed from http://www.misshicks.com/Pro%20Con.pdf .
My Secure Cyber Space. "Think Time: Teens and Social Networks." YouTube. YouTube, 12 June 2012. Web. 7 May 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TWHsiMYSxw>.
RSA. "RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms." YouTube. YouTube, 14 Oct. 2010. Web. 7 May 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U>.
Sims, James. "Arts Education Social Media Resources." James Sims. N.p., 14 Jan. 2013. Web. 7 May 2014. <http://simsscoop.com/blog/culture/arts-education-social-media-resources/>.
"SocialEdCon: What the Heck Do We Do with Social Media". Edutopia. 24 June 2012. Web. May 7, 2014.
"Using Social Media to Teach Visual LIteracy in the 21st Century". Edutopia. 3 March, 2014. Web. May 7, 2014.