Can a tweet, blog, or Skype change a life? Can #classconnections between students in various schools redirect and change the path a student chooses to take? Do teachers have the potential to guide understanding and respect among learners and break down stereotypes by simply connecting voices, ideas, and questions? I believe so.

During my 15 years as an educator, I have witnessed an amazing revolution in education. It is a revolution that is becoming more and more defined, and it gives me hope. It is a revolution in which educators begin to recognize the value in connecting their learners to other learners and experts around the globe. These connections frequently occur through digital means and many times fall within the realm of “social media.”

What is “social media,” and what place does it have in a student’s classroom learning? What does it look like to use social media to connect learners?

Social media defined…

Merriam-Webster defines social media as “forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos).”

Wikipedia defines it as “the means of interactions among people in which they create, share, and exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks.”

Facebook is most often listed as a key example of social media, and rightfully so. But there are even more ways people are using technology to connect. Magazines, internet forums, social blogs, wikis, podcasting, videos, and more can fall into the social media category. Where does an educator start? And, why start? Do you need to use social media in the classroom to teach students? Or, does it fall under the want category?

My earliest trials with social media began ten years ago with ePals, an electronic pen pal community that is now recognized as one of the world’s largest K-12 social learning networks.  EPals gave me the opportunity to connect my sixth grade social studies students to the people and places we were studying. With each email from Germany, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, Mexico, Canada, and more, my students and I found surprising similarities in our experiences. The languages, currency, and governments may have been different. Our economies were vastly different in some cases. However, the commonality in the human experience– in our hopes, dreams, and fears– helped foster an understanding that made all the difference in our learning.

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Today, in my fifth grade science classroom, we use a combination of social media tools to foster a rich learning community where learners connect and share with each other on a regular basis. The following is my blend of #classconnection tools. Bear in mind that each classroom model will be different as each teacher, community, and student population is unique.

1. Connecting through Skype and Google Hangouts

By utilizing Skype and Google Hangouts, I form partnerships with other classrooms to share our science learning. Each #classconnection starts with a “mystery Skype” where our classrooms work to “find” each other and introduce ourselves.

Skype Beginnings

Then, throughout the year, we will periodically have share sessions where we teach each other information. For example, my students shared our Lego Mindstorm projects and programming with one of our partner classes in Georgia, who then shared their electrical circuit projects with us. We followed up on their instruction by creating our own circuit projects to share with them. These students were teaching each other about programming and electrical wiring via Skype calls. This student-led learning process is powerful! The engagement level is high, and students feel like experts and leaders.

I also use Skype for connecting my class to scientists around the country, including Dr. Neil de Grasse Tyson, Dr. Phil Plait, Dr. Sami Asmar, and Dr. Sherry Ritter.  Astrophysics, space engineering, biomimicry…these are all science fields in which I am NOT an expert. But through social media, these specialists can answer my students’ questions, comment on their ideas, and bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world applications.

2. Twitter

To connect students to other learners on a more regular basis, we have a class Twitter account, @lacrossescience, which we mainly use for documenting and sharing our learning. We follow a small number of classes and professionals and tweet out messages about the content and learning that is occurring in our room. I scaffold the use of this account by starting the year as the only tweeter with students viewing my tweets on the board. During the second and third quarters I turn it over to students to try, while my role shifts to monitoring each tweet. By the fourth quarter of the year, students are sending out the tweets during our science labs, Skypes, and regular classroom instruction.

3. Edmodo

To connect my students to one another during the day and outside of school, we utilize Edmodo , a Facebook-like site that provides a safe, controlled environment for online networking. Each of my science classes uses Edmodo to share videos, web-links, and articles relevant to our science learning. The site also gives us a place to debate, back-channel, and complete assignments.

About Edmodo

Edmodo at a Glance 

Edmodo gives a voice to even the most reluctant or introverted learners in the room. Students use it to share the digital products they have created as well as video and web links as they relate to learning concepts. The site allows me to reward students with virtual badges to recognize the variety of accomplishments they make that may not require a traditional grade. With Edmodo, the learning continues after the bell rings and the buses pull away.

4. Blogging

My next goal is to integrate student blogging into my classroom.  Recognizing the powerful nature of self-reflection, I believe blogging will provide an effective platform for students to share reflections on their work. This endeavor will require research into the various sites that offer blogging, such as kidblog and blogger.  It will also require evaluating the best methods for scaffolding the process into our classes. I am confident that the engagement that will come from peer feedback through blogging will be powerful and motivating. I can imagine that the connections that will grow from this partnership will be reminiscent of my ePal days.

Back to the questions…

Can a tweet, blog, or Skype change a life? Can #classconnections between students in various schools redirect and change the path a student chooses to take? Do teachers have the potential to guide understanding and respect among learners and break down stereotypes by simply connecting voices, ideas, and questions?

I have found this to be true. Though getting started can be intimidating, and unpredictable, the payoff is invaluable. By introducing social media into your classroom:

• You model what a responsible, respectful digital citizen looks like.
• You show value in learning from others.
• You break down stereotypes by exposing your students to learners around the country and world.
• You give students an opportunity to connect and become the expert, or connect and learn from the expert.
• You give purpose to the learning.
• You engage.
• You inspire.

Social media tools give students a voice and forum for sharing ideas and cooperating with each other– skills that will be critical in their adult lives. Educators can make this type of responsible and purposeful interaction the norm by finding the perfect blend of tools to use with their students. When you examine the potential in utilizing social media tools, the classroom becomes exciting. It becomes diverse. It becomes real.

Written by Leah Lacrosse

See my blend of social media tools in action:

 #classconnections

Tags: Resources, social media