These can be great sites for future professionals to embrace. Social networks allow students to share in the student experience by buliding relationships, and following the trials and triumphs of fellow students.
Tim,
yes, & many organizations are using these sites for searching for candidates.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I am an instructor for a technical class program. I have set up a FB account for my class only and it is private. Only my students can post and talk together, no one else can see it. It is a great communication method. When the students have questions they can ask each other from home or I can see it and answer the question.
Social media is a vibrant tool for learning and not to embrace it would be a mistake for all generations. Yes, this maybe a bold statement but I am reminded of the statement “that the dinosaurs perished because they could not adapt.â€
We have gone through various generations of e-mail, texting, Chat Rooms on any number of topics, Myspace, Facebook, Linkedin, YouTube, and perhaps an often over looked arena is the world of gaming for an individual and or with others from around the world. Games are available for almost any topic and can enhance vocabulary, critical thinking, problem solving or memory as well of a litany of other skill sets.
We went to see the Hunger Games Catching Fire at the big theater this week. Today perhaps many Gen Yers would wait for this to be available on the handheld devise or laptop but a thirst for being current and contemporary brought them out in droves to make this the sixth highest opening weekend movie in history.
Now this brings in a final method of social media probably not thought of when the topic is mentioned. That is the movies. There is no other form of investment that reaches more people and makes more money in all its manifestations than those associated with the movie business. It is global and it is not just the movie, for it morphs into the DVRs, the off- shoot of games and products that consumers purchase. It can be used as a learning modality whether we accept it as academic or not.
Al
Alan,
you have some great ideas & I think you are on to something regarding the importance of movies & the role they play in our society today.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Great tool for special and emergency alerts.
Students often checks their "status' and facebook also have an future that will immediately text once someone post in your wall.
Alex
Gen Y utilizes these and as such they are an important part of their lives. They need to be connected.
As an instructor I need to connect to Gen Y. I use whatever tools are available to connect to all cohorts
They may seek input from friends about the school itself, the career fields that they have choosen, and evaluation of particular instructors or courses. Just like any support group, social networks can have a psychological inpact on students as well offering them encouragement and solutions to problems. Also, they are a good way of discussing homework assignments with a vast group.
Michael,
and social networks are a great recruiting tool for our institutions as well.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I completely agree. Professional boundaries need to always be in place.I keep my students engaged without social media. Question and answer sessions popcorn reading things like that. I find that Facebook is more of a destraction then anything else
linkedin is very useful to unify the simular type o professional with the sameintrests and aspirations. it is a powerfl wa to advance your career.
ALYSON,
again, I would argue this is a personal choice (that may be driven by corporate policies). Some instructors find a great deal of value in the social media & have effective practices in that arena.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Agreed. Social networks should be approached with extreme caution both by teachers and students. In lawsuits, social networks are used to gather information on a person's character and juries make broad assumptions based on what they can view on a person's social network accounts. More often, employers are beginning to ask for access to social networks and a recent study revealed 70% will refuse to hire anyone with alcohol in a photograph. The privacy aspect is more of an illusion than people realize.
Gen Y students spend a great deal of time on social networking sites putting a large part of their lives on them for everyone to see. While other generations may see this as giving away too much private information the Gen Y students see this as natural. As their instructor you need to find a way to utilize sites like Facebook to cement the ideas you present to your Gen Y students. For instance, talk about a topic in class and then have your students discuss this topic on their own social networking with their friends.
Social networks form peer based connections and influence gen y learner expectations in terms of both instant feedback and level of participatory activities.
Social Networks can help Gen Y students become connected to individuals in the field of their profession. Gen Y students always like to be connected, so teaching them some restraint in the social media world be good–people who hire for jobs often look through an applicants Facebook page.
Barbara,
yes, the connections & sense of community are important to the Gen Y student & we can use that to help them network in the field.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I think that the use of social networks have influenced the learning of Gen Y students in a way that they always have to be connected, even during class. I feel that students' thoughts are so preoccupied during class about what is happening outside of class that they cannot focus or pay attention for very long. A positive influence would be that students who have never been in my class can ask other students what it was like to be in my class, rather than trying to find individuals and asking them in person.
Gen Y students feel dependent upon them in order to keep up on the latest news among their friends and family members.
nancy,
this is true & so the question for educators is how can we leverage them to help with education.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
