Session Title: The Potential of Social Software as Instructional Technology
Time & Date: 11:50 A.M. – 12:35 P.M., Thursday, June 18, 2009
Location: Rm. 185, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre (IKBLC)
Session Description: Large introductory classes, lectures and exams are currently the defining characteristics of a University educational experience. With increasing enrollment in post-secondary institutions, students are getting lost in the crowd and knowledge is now being delivered and received in a passive manner with little room for hands on experience or classroom interaction. What suffers the most is the nurturing of critical-thinking abilities which are not fostered through sitting idly in class nor examined through the ever-prevalent multiple-choice exam. Critical-thinking abilities are attained much more readily in an active-learning environment, which is difficult to create in large classroom settings. However, with the advent of social networking technology, active-learning environments may be introduced despite high enrollment. The power of such social software comes from its inherent ability to facilitate group interaction, making it ideal for hosting discussion groups to further engage students. Hosting these discussion groups on popular social networking sites, such as Facebook, would allow students access to a more interactive learning experience while visiting a site they would be visiting any way. A possible reason for the lack of interest in the discussion boards already implemented in current Learning Management Systems (LMS) such as WebCT could be that students don’t regularly visit those sites. Hosting on a social networking site would increase the accessibility and visibility of the message boards. This project is aimed at bringing these technologies into the classroom in an attempt to promote critical-thinking abilities through the introduction of active-learning environments with an emphasis on discussion groups.
Conference Stream: Open, Connected, & Social
Session Format: Collaboratory
Presenter: Alvin Yapp
Presenter Bio: Alvin is a 4th year psychology student with the University of Alberta with a unique perspective on education through working with an educational evaluation unit.
