Escaping the inactive classroom: Escape Rooms for teaching technology

Free Ed was a one-hour fun and interactive hands on Bring Your Own Device workshop which explored the functions necessary to build collaborative classrooms using Microsoft Teams.  This paper is intended to give you an insight into the pedagogy and technology used in creating the Free Ed workshop delivered at Social Media in HE (SocMedHE) conference, which utilised an Escape Room to deliver Microsoft Teams teaching. This paper aims to give you an insight into the workshop itself, what participants thought, reflections on delivering the session and finally, some key points for you to take forward if you would like to try this yourself.   &nbsp

Editorial: Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Journal of Social Media for Learning

Welcome to our inaugural edition of The Journal of Social Media for Learning.   A new journal where our ethos is centred around the creation of a supportive space where all colleagues, but particularly those new to publishing, can contribute to the scholarly discourse about their academic practice, and if they so wish secure opportunities to gain experience of peer-review and journal editing.   To view the complete journal please follow this link

Flipped classroom and case studies facilitated using social media to enhance learning in Higher Education.

The trouble with teaching sciences is that it could lead to an inactive and boring learning process (Kankofer, 2014). To avoid this, many have incorporated active learning approaches such as the inclusion of case studies which also provides a link between knowledge and application. However, this still could lead to low student engagement as they do not feel like they have any ownership over their learning. The discussed teaching innovation includes the adoption of a combined flipped classroom in which students use social media to identify news stories as case studies that discuss real-time real-world applications of the theory learned. This approach may not be feasible for all sciences or all other subjects, but this study reveals that it has had great impact on the teaching of an Agricultural Economics and Business module

Co-creating learning experiences with students as partners

The focus of this paper is a reflection on the co-created learning experience that led to three students leading a workshop at SocMedHE19. This students as partners initiative has developed over the course of four years, each set of students building on the work of the group from the previous year. Consideration is given to the outcomes of the continued learning experience, the development of a virtual community of practice and potential future steps to continue this work

Curation, Connections and Creativity: Reflections on using Twitter to teach digital activism

Twitter’s integration into Higher Education learning environments has created both challenges and opportunities for teachers. The microblogging site can facilitate backchannels enhancing the active learning of students and enabling them to ask their lecturers and peers questions. Yet, there remain concerns about context collapse, the perceived negative impact on classroom engagement, and the limitations of trying to convey complex ideas using 280 characters. There has also been relatively little empirical evidence about the impact of Twitter use on student learning outcomes, especially within Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences. In this paper, I will add to this literature by exploring the three ‘C’s of using Twitter, curation, connectivity and creativity, with reference to my own experience of teaching digital activism over the past decade. First, the microblogging site provides unprecedented opportunities for teachers to curate resources throughout the module, ranging from peer-reviewed journal articles to blogs and videos. Second, new horizontal and vertical connections can be made within the class, as students follow not only each other but also scholars in fields such as digital activism. Third, Twitter helps promote and highlight the creativity of students during in-class exercises such as subvertisements created to critique consumer brands. Finally, I reflect on the challenges of measuring the effectiveness of using  Twitter as a ‘backchannel’ for Higher Education teaching. I argue that ‘watching’ may be an underappreciated response to the use of a class hashtag in light of the privacy concerns raised by the use of corporate social media as learning environments

Social Media for Learning: Advancing Theoretical Frameworks to Understand Complex Learning Environments

Students in higher education are driving the informal use of social media to support their cognitive and socio-emotional learning experiences during their undergraduate studies, with a growing literature base supporting the use of such technologies.  This paper highlights a need to take a longitudinal approach to explore how students’ use of social media tools may change over time and promotes the use of social learning theories as a useful lens through which to explain this complex and situated learning of a given community of practice. It argues that to enhance social media pedagogies the research community needs to explore more explicitly ways that innovative pedagogy can inform theory development within the field, and equally how a greater maturity in understanding those theories can enhance our pedagogical practices.  The potential for cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) as a framework for researching the multi-dimensional, or dialectical, interactions that may occur in the social media space is examined.  CHAT is promoted as a useful theory for introducing a greater focus on the role of the social media tool itself in mediating learning.  The paper concludes by proposing that that whilst existing social learning theories provide useful starting points for making sense of how social media can support learning, there may also be a need for the advancement of such theoretical frameworks to ensure that we develop theory capable of exploring the complexity of learning that could take place in social media spaces

A Student approach to using Educational Memes as an outlet to enhance learning.

Memes are visual images, or video clips, often humorous in nature that can be easily (and rapidly) shared via social media. Having defined memes and their potential within the context of learning environments, this submission is developed from a ‘snap shot’ presentation at the Social Media for learning in Higher education Conference (2019) at Edge Hill University. The work presents a reflective account of the lived experiences of an ex-sixth form (now a first year undergraduate) student on the educational use of ‘memes’ to engage learners and enhance learning. &nbsp

Can Social Media Use Predict Intercultural Knowledge, Attitude, and Skills Among Generation Z? A snapshot from a pre-COVID19 era

This study was mainly concerned with the intercultural competence of young Emiratis. In particular, it aimed to investigate the possible correlation between social media use and the development of intercultural knowledge, attitude and skills. Conducted towards the end of 2017 and beginning of 2018, 187 female college students revealed their social media use and intercultural competence by responding to an online questionnaire. Preliminary results show some aspects of social media use could possibly be predictive of intercultural competence. Further research is needed to validate the results; however, some teaching and e-learning implications were discussed based on the findings of this study

Online Legal Resources and Their Potential for Visual Learning Inclusivity

oai:openjournals.ljmu.ac.uk:article/353Abstract  The motivation behind this piece is to discuss the factors which relate to forms of legal education. In particular, this poster will examine the concept of the online legal resource. For the purposes of this discussion, the legal research tool under consideration is JustisOne.   The argument of this poster is that legal research tools which are available online mark an important milestone in the advancement of legal education. This benefit emanates from the benefits the online resource format imparts on students, and how it affects issues of diversity, inclusivity and equality.   By diversity, inclusivity and equality, this poster argues that online resources, and their ability to implement and prioritise visual learning elements. This visual learning approach supplants the traditional, and limited, approach to the teaching of law which many universities follow. Studies have highlighted the importance of visual learning in inclusive education, noting that the use of visuals can help to improve learning opportunities in those suffering from conditions such as Dyslexia. Given the international nature of many courses, and the attempts by many colleges to include non-native English speaking students, a visual depiction of information can also help to combat issues surrounding language proficiency

Problematising the use of Snapchat in Higher Education Teaching and Learning

There has been relatively little research exploring how Snapchat can be used within Higher Education teaching to date. In this viewpoint, we draw on extant empirical data to explore the strengths and weaknesses of using the Instant Messaging (IM) app to support student learning and teaching within universities. We conclude by considering whether it is appropriate to fully integrate apps like Snapchat into Higher Education in light of the revelations of data misuse by these platforms. The growth of ‘surveillance realism’, whereby citizens feel increasingly powerless at their personal data being repurposed by these companies for financial gain, arguably supersedes any supposed pedagogical benefits for student learners