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Social Networking: Learning Theory in Action
Networking
The skill of networking should also be valued in learning and is the essence of Internet-based social networking environments. That is, when students realize the value in connecting with others in the learning process, the better their learning will be. Networking with experts, with peers, with additional sources of information, and so on makes the learning more interesting and also more legitimate. In traditional higher education, this level of comparison and positioning is not required until graduate-level work. Only at the graduate level do we require learners to position their work within the larger community of experts in their field. Why is this not a skill that is developed and valued long before graduate studies? Students understanding how their work compares to their peers, how their work contributes to their field, and why their work is significant beyond the immediate expectations of a course and their teacher can only enlarge the outcomes for the learner. The reality of Internet-based social networking tools that is often lost in the discussion is the "production" or "publishing" aspect of the environment. Again, this encourages learners to see themselves within a larger community and realize the impact of their contribution.
Challenge to Instructional Design
As with all digital environments, to integrate these spaces into a legitimate and beneficial learning environment requires innovation on the part of the instructor. Therefore, instructors are challenged to model the same skills they are looking for in their students. While maintaining a conventional flow in the learning process of passive reception, pre-determined levels of interaction, regulated outcomes of information exchange and production, new knowledge will never be achieved. If, however, instructors realize the dynamic potential of digital networking environments to engage students at a higher level of collaboration and creativity and those skills are also valued in terms of grades, then the current tools can be integrated successfully in context of learning.
An appropriate response, then, to social networking tools is not, in my opinion, to reject them as irrelevant to learning but to realize that current students are likely to be already familiar with the passive uses of social networking and need to be challenged toward innovation. I would argue we are already challenged in that regard with all learners: engaging students at a higher level to develop active learning skills and facilitate full engagement in the learning process. If we are already challenged in this aspect, why would we involve ourselves in the use of social networking tools that only intensify the challenge? My suggestion is that we should do it because these are environments that are already familiar to many students, and, while their main uses may be passive, they are participating or would like to participate. That, it seems to me, helps instructors at the basic level of students participation, as, often in traditional classroom or lecture halls, students are disengaged with the content from the outset. The issue then is to build on what is already being done and accepted by students as a familiar activity to develop more innovative uses of the same activity and encourage students to become engaged participants in their online connections.
References DeRossi (2007) (Ed.) Online Social Networking And Education: Study Reports On New Generations Social And Creative Interconnected Lifestyles. Nov. 9, 2007. http://www.masternewmedia.org/ Grunwald, P. (2007). Kids' Social Networking Study. Grunwald Associates, 2007. http://www.grunwald.com/ Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (1996). Computer support for knowledge-building communities. In T. Koschmann (Ed.), CSCL: Theory and practice of an emerging paradigm. Mahwah, NJ:Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Scardamelia, M. (2002). Collective cognitive responsibility for the advancement of knowledge. In B. Smith (Ed.) Liberal Education in a Knowledge Society (pp.67-98). Chicago, Open Court. |
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About the author: Ruth Reynard is the director of faculty for Career Education Corp. She can be reached at rreynard@careered.com.
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