EDLT516, Social Media for Blended and Online
Learning, went so fast. When I reflect back to the beginning of the course, I
find that I really learned many new concepts, skills and experiences.
This
course exposed me to different social media tools that I did not use before. In
this course, I used Facebook as a learning tool for my first time. I frequently
use Facebook to communicate with my family and friends in Egypt, but I never
thought before that I would use it in learning. Practice using Facebook in this
course makes me recognize the collaborative aspect of it. For example, rather
than spending many hours searching for resources about social media, I used the
resources that other students in the course collected. I also benefit from
their insights/thoughts about the resource.
Through
discussion with my classmates about social media and its affordances I realized
the importance of using social media in education. We educators should be aware
of the importance of social media for students’ engagement and motivation to
learn. Students use social media in their daily life; it is an essential part
of their life. Therefore we educators need to know how to use these digital
tools to encourage higher order thinking and creativity. I also realized the
risks of students using social media and the importance of teaching students
about these risks in order to keep them safe online.
Learning community in this course played a great role in enhancing my learning. Collaborating with others provided me with other perspectives besides my own. Collaboration and communication with students from different backgrounds exposed me to different perspectives and ideas about social media and its use in education. From my own experience with the collaborative group, I realized the importance of group work in online course. Working in groups allowed me to learn from other students who have different experiences than me. Teamwork provided the social presence I needed to be successful. Group work reduced my feeling of isolation that I usually suffer from in online classes.
Learning community in this course played a great role in enhancing my learning. Collaborating with others provided me with other perspectives besides my own. Collaboration and communication with students from different backgrounds exposed me to different perspectives and ideas about social media and its use in education. From my own experience with the collaborative group, I realized the importance of group work in online course. Working in groups allowed me to learn from other students who have different experiences than me. Teamwork provided the social presence I needed to be successful. Group work reduced my feeling of isolation that I usually suffer from in online classes.
What I see myself doing with the knowledge I gained from this course? Well, for sure, I will use social media for my professional development. I believe that tools like Twitter and learnist can be valuable tools for professional development. However, I am not sure if I will use social media tools like Facebook in the courses I teach, especial with my undergraduate students in Egypt. The cultural differences between Egypt and US makes me carefully think about using a social media site like Facebook.
