Skip to main content

Leading With Digital and Social Media Tools in the Classroom

 




Class is in session! I enjoyed week 7's tools and readings because I can see many of them in my work as an instructor for various undergraduate leadership courses. I explored Dr. Dennen's manuscript about Instructional Design and Development for Social Media Lessons. This was related to increasing my pedagogical knowledge and practices. This course has allowed me to re-imagine how I am creating a learning environment that includes technology-based tools that can reach the students I teach. Many of my students are part of a generation that relies heavily on digital and social media, so it is essential to incorporate aspects of technology into the classroom. I liked how Dr. Dennen defined instructors as designers, further confirming the concept of an instructional designer, which is pivotal in fostering a learning community best suited for the students in that environment. One class I teach that is an in-person course is Leadership and Change, and an aspect of the course that could be implemented/designed is social media as a way to understand leadership and change. The strategies outlined by Dennen center on incorporating a practical and value-based approach to using social media in lessons. It can be intimidating, but there are factors to consider, including the development process, content collections, target artifacts, use of an anchor platform, and limiting new tools but encouraging exploration. I will continue to reference this manuscript as I go into adding and/or adjusting aspects of my teaching to introduce new digital and social media tools to my students. There is a benefit to using social media as a means of learning. I find that evident in my experience through this course and how it has guided and shaped my thinking lens when critically critiquing other courses. Is it essential for instructors to reevaluate their pedagogical approaches to keep up with digital and social media/technology? 

Reference: 

Dennen, V. P. (manuscript in progress). Instructional design and development for social media lessons.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reflections on Slack

  I remember the first time I learned about Slack; it was my first year as a Graduate Supervisor in Residential Life at Indiana University. I worked alongside my direct supervisor in co-supervising an undergraduate staff of nine resident assistants (RA's). At the time of staff training, we decided on a platform that could serve as mass communication for the team. We agreed on Slack because there was the option to have multiple channels to engage in different topics. However, this felt far more complicated than a GroupMe chat. After a few failed attempts with Slack, we decided to move forward and not use it as our primary communication forum. I had mixed feelings about Slack. I did not understand any of the other features, so I did not feel I would return to using Slack. We were introduced to Slack in our week 9 module, and I considered giving Slack another try. I checked Slack's website to see if there were any changes, but I did not see any new features or changes. I chose to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

"New Look, Who Dis" Blog Makeover

What a perfect challenge to engage in! It is time for a CHANGE. Change is good. Change is scary. Change is important. I was curious to know how I wanted my blogger site to look when we were tasked with creating our blogger account. I went with something that felt "safe" or comfortable to my liking. I wanted to represent myself, given the headshot. I added something representing my fraternity, and then the overall color with the orange sunset vibe felt like something I would enjoy. I went with some standard or default choices regarding my fonts, backgrounds, and gadgets. The options were endless; I was correct! My blogger design worked for me, and I did not feel like it was something I would grow to hate or dislike. Due to the blog makeover challenge, I am open to embracing this new change! I changed parts of the layout; I chose a different color and switched some fonts to provide a more contemporary feel, look, and vibe. Any suggestions? Thoughts?   I am willing to continue t...
2 comments
Read more

Keeping up With Technology—Digital Natives vs. Digital Immigrants

       Before this week's readings, I only partially thought about generational differences when it comes to technology. Yes, I know there have been distinct differences between how I grew up as a child compared to my parents and now my nieces and nephew with using technology. I did not always have the latest technology growing up, but when I did, it felt like I "had" to have it to stay connected to what my peers were experiencing. My nieces and nephew are now growing up with all types of technology (tablets, school laptops, YouTube, TikTok, etc.) because it is so prevalent in their experiences and upbringing. While reflecting on the readings, the part that shocked me the most would have to be the terms digital natives and digital immigrants (Prensky, 2001). I knew that these specific "identities" regarding technology usage existed, but I did not know there was a term that classified it all together until the Prensky (2001) article. As described in the article, ...
Post a Comment
Read more