Social Media & Education – Reasons to be Fearful by Neil Selwyn (CCK11 live chat)

Social media and technology in education is exciting to be passionate about, but we need to also be caution and critical of some of the elements that this can bring the the teaching world.

Paper by Neil
Neil’s publication page
4 areas to be concerned about (talking points that are being considered “out there”)

Jonas Backelin: Fearful vs. excited

1 – Acknowledging the ideological nature of social media and education

• nothing is cut and dry
• there are not just technical issues to consider
• there are ethical issues too
• Michael Apple – Whose interest do technology in education serve.  Whose agenda is met.
• Various agendas:
• technophiles, ‘
• counter-cultural communitarians (hippy new age – making the work a better place),
• social pedagogues (redefine what users/learners are doing) ,
• radical individualist (individual should pursue their own interests)
• anti-statists (removal of the state from education)
• free-marketeers (can lead to the enhanced efficiency of education)
• Landgon Winner (1997) – cyberlibertarianism – a collection of ideas that links ecstatic enthusiasm for electronically mediated forms of living with radical libertarian ideas about the proper definition of freedom, social life, economics, and politics in the years to come.
• Where are things not changing, what is not changing for the better, where are problems sticking, what are new problems, who wins or loses using these tools, who gains from the use of the tools

Moderator (Stephen Downes): I’m actually in favour of using technology for stealth socialism
dustproduction: Immersve virtual worlds are also social media, and students are spending the same time, 10,000 hours gaming. This equals the hours spent in school.

NinaF: Definitely see that education is becoming more commodified.
FrancesBell: Agree – use of social media is not neutral – particularly when Facebook treats members as product not customers
the digital conservatoire: I think nothing can ever be neutral – of course our views are skewed by whatever our ideological stance is. I just find that people have not quite got the hang of technology – in terms of how to exploit its potential
Jennie Scott-McKenzie (jennieteacher): I am equally committed to getting schools outside – physically and in the community as well as using social media to apply our humanity in those local/global actions. I don’t see it as all or nothing…
BrainySmurf: it seems that ‘control’ of education is more obviously in hands of users/learners in the past, which seems inevitable now that knowledge is easily accessible outside of classroom fredgarnett: Technology not neutral, but new media is adopted according to the degree that it patterns to conversation (Digital McLuhan)
 
2. The over-valorisation of the informal and the institutionalised

• the rush to reject the institution

Wanda Simpson: needs to be a blending of informal/institutional learning & technologies
dustproduction: so remove the technology and the social media is  still “emergent”

• Geeking out on social media tools,
• people who are good at learning find all sorts of ways to learn
• We under appreciate formal education (not popular to say, but it is true and we may miss out on true value)

Moderator (Stephen Downes): The best predictor of learning outcomes in general (and not just informal) is social-economic status
Moderator (George Siemens): interesting: formal learning as “equality of opportunity to access learning opportunity” johngriffin0928: I learn certainly things autonomously. I need help with other areas.
Jennie Scott-McKenzie (jennieteacher): the problem isn’t expertise – it’s the way it is delivered by the “classic learner” that has floated to the top of a “classic system” to teach in a “classic way”

• Remember we don’t know what we don’t know, and sometimes we need to be told what that is.

Stu Harris 1: balance is the key word
Moderator (Stephen Downes): the difference isn’t between ‘learn in a formal classroom’ and ‘learn by yourself / learn by discovery’

• People arguing to get rid of schools tend to be those that did well not in formal school

Cris2B: “end of school” is much like “end of newspapers” as Shirky argues we’re lamenting the institutions as we know them and not as they need to evolve
BrainySmurf: @George, yes online is presenting new roles for formal institutions if they choose to embrace it
Stu Harris 1: all learning institutions should be constantly working to improve the learning environment.
Jennifer Dalby: I think we’ve come to this position because we started with the agenda of achieving recognition for informal learning.
BrainySmurf: @George, yes online is presenting new roles for formal institutions if they choose to embrace it
Mike Johnson: many learning technologists are so immersed in technology they forget those who could care less about it – the Selwyn critique has massive resonance with me and my students
Simon Fowler: @neil, I totally agree … it does seem rooted in a post-modern suspicion of ‘authority’ and ‘power’ – as though we the free people don’t seek, exercise and need authority and power (i.e. we want ’empowerment’)

• should everyone know some sort of “programming”, some sort of technology as this is the way information does seem to be moving and transferring around?
• Critical literacy vs. technical literacy (formal seems to promote this more) – critical digital literacy (better)

Jennifer Dalby: If new people don’t learn programming, we’ll only have technologies designed to influence consumer behaviour
Moderator (Stephen Downes):Those keen on formal, you do not “hear” say that you can’t learn socially.  That you can only learn formally as well.
carol yeager: @Stephen … solo learning is possible but is it preferable? and to what extent can one learn as a solo silo?

Value of formal education, gives those that are migeralized that can’t access informal learning modes, gives more equality in education.

Moderator (Stephen Downes):It’s not just “individual vs collective” but rather “individual vs Collect model A” and “individual vs collective model B” etc

3. Social media are not necessarily fair media

• not everyone has access to the same tools let alone computers or technology
• difference even in the nature of the use of the media
• more are okay with just consuming, but not as many produce and this is the opposite to “the purpose” of social media (perhaps)

Jennifer Dalby: There’s a kind of digital charisma that comes into play, that is rarely acknowledged.
JGChesney: but the 1% who blog, 9% who comment and 90% who read are a far bit better than the passive culture taught by TV consumption by the previous generation
LeahGrrl: @Stu: Here, those percentages are reversed. Most kids don’t get through high school in urban Columbus, Ohio.

• You learn more from doing (ie adding to wikipedia you learn about wikipedia, than just reading)
• learning in groups is a fair way to learn (perhaps not a good way)

Moderator (Stephen Downes): I think eventually everyone will have their own server (much the way everyone has their own telephone)
Stu Harris 1: @jonas    I think technology should not be as defined in schools.  It should be available and used for the purpose that presents itself at the time and in the context
DUMACORNELLUCIANro @web20education: I think that web 2.0 and social media can bring a new dimension and redorm education worldwide http://www.scoop.it/t/web20andsocialmediaesafetyinxxicenturyeducation/

BrainySmurf: in social media circles it seems a bit easier to reject those with whom we don’t jive and find others with whom we do – seems a bit hard in person to do that
Abdullah: social media from my point of view provides more fairness for handicapped people who might find it difficult to “get out” to socialize. Of course there is this condition that they need to have internet connection.
fredgarnett: @Neil, when the LGC group developed the Open Context Model of Learning, based on what we learnt about learning from using new technology we deliberately left out any technology descriptors so people could think about learning; see http://www.slideshare.net/fredgarnett/the-craft-of-teaching-2011

4.  Social media and commodification of learning

• principles of social media are going main stream
• often about politics

Look to the recording of this talk.  My notes here are very minimal to what was discussed by the presenter and even less so of the classmates chat discussion. http://cck11.mooc.ca/recordings.htm