Social Media as a Pedagogical Tool

Presented by Stacy Neier and Linda Tuncay Zayer • August 16, 2012

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO

Social Media?

• What is social media?– “a variety of new sources of online information that

are created, circulated, and used by consumers intent on educating each other about products, brands, services, personalities, and issues.” (Mangold and Faulds 2009)

– “a group of Internet based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0 and that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated Content.” (Kaplan and Haenlein 2010)

Social Media in Education?

• Students are “digital natives” (Tapscott 2009)• Past scholars have advocated the use of social

software in education (Trinder et al. 2008; Leslie and Landon 2007) or defined best practices (Dunlap and Lowenthal 20090

• Other researchers have warned of risks (Franklin and van Harmelen (2007) such as privacy, copyright, data ownership, literacy

Research Question

• What are students’ experiences with the use of social media? – (Are they really digital natives in all aspects? See

the work of Eszter Hargittai)

• What are their perceptions on the use of social media to enhance their education?

Literature: Experience with Social Software

Males and younger students in a distance learning course had more positive attitudes

towards technology and greater experience with social software

Source: Poelhuber and Anderson (2011), “Distance Students’ Readiness for Social Media and Collaboration,” International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 12 (6), 102-125.

Literature: Career Exploration & Social Networking

Younger students (18-20 yrs) spent less time on career exploration/research than older students

(21-24 yrs) in a business school.

Source: Zula, Yarrish, and Pawelzik (2011), “An Analysis of the Differences Between Students Age and Social Networking Utilization Within a Business School,” American Journal of Business Education, 4 (9), 37-42.

Literature: YouTube Experiential Learning Project

Inclusion of YouTube project was associated with student motivation, engagement, team

management, and communication skills, as well knowledge of viral marketing

Source: Payne, Campbell, Bal and Piercy (2011), “Placing a hand in the Fire: Assessing the Impact of a YouTube Experiential Learning Project on Viral Marketing Knowledge,” Journal of Marketing Education, 33 (2), 204.

Literature: Use of Twitter

Students engaged in Twitter use with the professor, they felt better prepared for future

careers and that it facilitated achieving educational goals.

Source: Rinaldo, Tapp and Laverie (2011), Learning by Tweeting: Using Twitter as a Pedagogical Tool, Journal of Marketing Education, 33 (2),193-203.

Literature: Using Twitter

Students had a significantly greater increase in engagement AND higher semester grade

point averages.

Source: Junco, Heiberger and Loken (2011), The effect of Twitter on college student engagement and grades, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 27 (2), 119-132.

Literature: Use of Clickers

Positive student attitudes and learning experiences related with the use of personal

response clickers in marketing courses

Source: Sprague and Dahl (2010), “Learning to Click: An Evaluation of the Personal Response System Clicker Technology in Introductory Marketing Courses,” Journal of Marketing Education, 32 (1), 93.

Using iPads

• Students using iPads in the Chronicle of Higher Education (1/10/12)– Traditional streak– Smartphone still easier– Give-back factor– Excelled in reading and viewing

Source: http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/what-ive-learned-from-teaching-with-ipads/37877

Our journey

• Faculty Innovators Pilot Program: Use of iPad Whiteboards

• Phase I: Exploration (Spring 2011-Fall 2011)– Utilized Social Media & Technology in Class

• Linda: igNation videos and Twitter (and others)• Stacy: in-class engagement during presentations,

MARK311 Qualtrics survey projects

• Phase II: Survey of Student Perceptions– Intro to Marketing Students (N=138)

SPRING 2011 MARK 201Do you have a Twitter (www.twitter.com) account?

# Answer Response %

1 Yes 24 39%

2 No 38 61%

Total 62 100%

Statistic Value

Min Value 1

Max Value 2

Mean 1.61

Variance 0.24

Standard Deviation 0.49

Total Responses 62

SPRING 2011 MARK 201 Do you consider your Twitter usage as...

# Answer Response %

1 professional 1 4%

2 recreational 14 58%

3 both professional and recreational

9 38%

Total 24 100%

Statistic Value

Min Value 1

Max Value 3

Mean 2.33

Variance 0.32

Standard Deviation 0.56

Total Responses 24

SPRING 2011 MARK 201 Would you consider signing up for a Twitter account?

# Answer Response %

1 Yes 46 74%

2 No 16 26%

Total 62 100%

Statistic Value

Min Value 1

Max Value 2

Mean 1.26

Variance 0.19

Standard Deviation 0.44

Total Responses 62

SPRING 2011 MARK 201 Do you use a social bookmarking site like http://www.delicious.com/ ?

# Answer Response %

1 Yes 3 5%

2 No 59 95%

Total 62 100%

Statistic Value

Min Value 1

Max Value 2

Mean 1.95

Variance 0.05

Standard Deviation 0.22

Total Responses 62

SPRING 2011 MARK 201 Would you consider using a social bookmarking site?

# Answer Response %

1 Yes 11 18%

2 Maybe, if given the appropriate information to decide.

44 71%

3 No 7 11%

Total 62 100%

Statistic Value

Min Value 1

Max Value 3

Mean 1.94

Variance 0.29

Standard Deviation 0.54

Total Responses 62

SPRING 2011 MARK 201 Twitter added value to the original Microtrends objectives.

# Answer Response %

1 True 14 93%

2 False 1 7%

Total 15 100%

Statistic Value

Min Value 1

Max Value 2

Mean 1.07

Variance 0.07

Standard Deviation 0.26

Total Responses 15

SPRING 2011 MARK 311Do you consider your Twitter usage as...

# Answer Response %

1 professional 1 3%

2 recreational 11 37%

3 both professional and recreational

18 60%

Total 30 100%

Statistic Value

Min Value 1

Max Value 3

Mean 2.57

Variance 0.32

Standard Deviation 0.57

Total Responses 30

SPRING 2011 MARK 311 Would you consider signing up for a Twitter account?

# Answer Response %

1 Yes 33 55%

2 Maybe, if provided with the right information about its use.

13 22%

3 No 14 23%

Total 60 100%

Statistic Value

Min Value 1

Max Value 3

Mean 1.68

Variance 0.69

Standard Deviation 0.83

Total Responses 60

SPRING 2011 MARK 311 Do you use a social bookmarking site such as

http://www.delicious.com/ ?# Answer Response %

1 Yes 2 3%

2 No 58 97%

Total 60 100%

Statistic Value

Min Value 1

Max Value 2

Mean 1.97

Variance 0.03

Standard Deviation 0.18

Total Responses 60

SPRING 2011 MARK 311 Would you consider using a social bookmarking site?

# Answer Response %

1 Yes 8 13%

2 Maybe, if provided with the right information about its use.

42 70%

3 No 10 17%

Total 60 100%

Statistic Value

Min Value 1

Max Value 3

Mean 2.03

Variance 0.30

Standard Deviation 0.55

Total Responses 60

SPRING 2011 MARK 311 Do you have a Twitter (www.twitter.com) account?

# Answer Response %

1 Yes 30 50%

2 No 30 50%

Total 60 100%

Statistic Value

Min Value 1

Max Value 2

Mean 1.50

Variance 0.25

Standard Deviation 0.50

Total Responses 60

Student comments: Two Mark 310 sections, Fall 2011 (Linda’s courses)

• End of the term feedback form, approx. 80 students

Technology in general

• “We used technology in every class, which was helpful because it keeps us in the loop with technology, trend and society today.”

• “It was very helpful in understanding the material especially the Youtube videos.”

• “I enjoyed every use of technology as it made the class more relevant to this digital age. Everything tied in perfectly and really added to the class experience.”

• “Using those technologies were very helpful and interesting. It made learning more fun and added an element of professionalism. “

Ipad Whiteboard App

• “Whiteboard though was a cool interactive tool!”

• “The iPad was a fun way to involve the class in discussion.”

• “I thought the iPad stuff was cool, but don’t see it as necessary (could have used white board)…”

• “Whiteboard was forgettable.”

igNation

• Group projects on a topic related to consumer ethics– Written paper– Presentation– Video

igNation

• “Videos- loved that! Got to be creative ourselves. “

• “…the videos on ignation were a good addition to the project.”

• “I think it should be an option to either do a video or longer presentation. Both are a lot of work but equally effective.”

• “The videos were fun to watch, but not fun to make.”

Twitter in and out of the classroom• Students asked questions

real time during final project presentations

• Students formed small 5 person groups, had 30 minutes to capture examples of sensory marketing on Michigan Avenue– Photos and twitter– Groups make informal

presentations

Technology & Twitter in MARK311 Consumer Survey

Twitter: Pervasive but with limits

18%Penetration rate among 18-24 year olds in the U.S. who are Internet users

19%Penetration rate among 25-34 year olds in the U.S. who are Internet users

14%Penetration rate among 35-44 year olds in the U.S. who are Internet users

9%Penetration rate among 45-54 year olds in the U.S. who are Internet users

Source: comScore and Pew, May 2011

200 million Active registered users

90% Percentage of tweets driven by power users

Twitter • “I thought it was great! More professors should implement

the initiative in their classrooms. It engages students on a more social level and helps the material be more relatable.”

• “Twitter was a unique way to interact with the class and fellow classmates presenting.”

• “I enjoyed using twitter during class, thought it was a great way to differentiate between people who had intelligent thoughts versus people who just wanted participation.”

• “Twitter was a great way to earn participation of a shy student.”

• I enjoyed using Twitter for the Microtrends project. Made it very up-to-date and realistic in this tech age we are in. {SN}

Twitter • “I don’t think twitter was any easier than actually raising our hands

normally, but it wasn’t a bad idea. It was nice to be able to follow @dr_tea to get a little more insight into your own work/interests.”

• “Using twitter to ask questions wasn’t very ideal-if you don’t bring your computer or have internet on your phone there wasn’t a way for you to ask questions via twitter.”

• I hate Twitter. I understand why you made us get one, but I just needed to say that I hate Twitter.

• I found myself keeping up with the tweets instead of paying attention to the guest speakers or the groups that were presenting. Although it looks as though a lot of people were enjoying the tweets, it’s just a lot of questions that are posted that go unanswered for the most part. I think students feel pressured to tweet and lose track of what is being said during the presentations.

10 Lessons Learned1. Provide short Twitter briefing2. Use app to sort tweets3. Tweet 3-5 times per week to stimulate interest4. Use hash tag rather than follow5. Reinforce tweets in class6. Tweets should stimulate thought and generate awareness

of issues7. Use URL shorteners to track clicks8. Tweets should follow week by week class content9. Rationale for using it needs to be clearly communicated10. Make tweets voluntary

Source: Lowe and Laffey (2011), “Is Twitter for the Birds? Using Twitter to Enhance Student Learning in a Marketing Course,” Journal of Marketing Education, 33 (2), 183-192