ERIK NICOLAI JOHNSON

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

Teaching ESL/EFL Writing to the Facebook Generation

What I teach

First Year Composition Hybrid Writing skills for success in college

Persuasion Research Analysis Documentation Audience

Writing skills for success beyond college Formal letters Digital correspondence Social Media Presentation skills

Where and Who I Teach

Arizona State University Largest U.S. public university campus (55, 552—2009-

2010) Research I university

International Students Lines blurred between EFL/ESL students Very diverse (15-20 different countries) Engineering, Business 18-20 years

The Facebook Generation

Have grown up with MySpace/Facebook

Seem like social media experts

Often unaware of how they present themselves in social media

Often unaware of the permanent nature of social media

Why use digital tools?

Class sizes

Time constraints

Financial constraints

Physical constraints

Why social networks?

Studies show that students that connect with other students are more likely to do better in their coursework

(Heiberger and Harper, 2008)

Teachers can leverage the digital generation’s favorite social media to enhance that sense of connection

Facebook Facts

More than 400 million active users

50% log on to Facebook every day

More than 5 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each week

Average user has 130 friends on the site (sends 8 requests per month)

Average user spends more than 55 minutes per day on Facebook Average user writes 25 comments on Facebook content each

month Average user is a member of 13 groups

International Growth

More than 70 translations available on the site

About 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States

BBC recently spent tens of thousand of dollars to train its employees to use Facebook (Revoir, 2010)

Significance?

The digital generation spends a great deal of the day on Facebook.

By connecting students to their courses, they may spend more time connecting to the course, content and ideas.

Readily available peer support

The technology is relevant

Everyone is on Facebook

Possible Downsides

The informal nature of Facebook may cause some disconnect from scholarship when posting ideas and questions on the Facebook course wall

(“Yo dude, ’sup with the low grade?”).

A subcurrent of conversation will arise around a course, often with faculty uninvolved and unaware of the activity.

Creates yet another electronic site for instructors to learn, check, incorporate into pedagogy and support.

Important Reasons for Teaching Facebook

Workplace

Activism

Workplace

Social Media and the workplace are becoming integrated.

Many employers expect young college graduates to be experts in social media.

Students must learn the difference in writing a news release, a blog post, a Twitter update, or generating content for a Facebook fan page.

Businesses are filling social media knowledge gaps by hiring students with these skills

(Young, 2009)

Print Activism

Digital Activism

Get on board!

References

Course App: http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=2791815712

EDUCAUSE (2008). 7 things you should know about...Facebook. Retrieved May 22, 2008 from: http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7017.pdf

Heiberger, Greg and Harper, Ruth (2008). Have you Facebooked Astin lately? In Reynol Junco and Dianne M. Timm (Eds). Using Emerging Technologies to Enhance Student Engagement. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Meta-Activism (2010). http://meta-activism.org/ Revoir, Paul (2010). BBC lavishes thousands of pounds to teach

employees to use Facebook. Daily Mail.com. Retrieved March 10, 2010 from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1257487/BBC-lavishes-thousands-pounds-teaching-staff-use-Facebook

Young, Elaine (2009). Teaching the Facebook Generation. Businessweek. http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/nov2009/bs2009115_016982.htm