Debunking

of Social Learning4 MYTHS

Debunking 4 Myths of Social Learning

2

Working together has been part of the educational process since ancient Greece, if not before. But in to-

day’s increasingly collaborative world, where answers to information are mere seconds away, this approach

is being reinvented by active learners, for active learners. Ongoing improvements in personal technology

means to teach and learn.

LET’S GO MYTH-BUSTING.

You’ve heard of “safety in numbers.” You may not have heard of “learning in numbers”…though you’ve probably already done it.

Debunking 4 Myths of Social Learning

3

We all want the next big thing. But the next big thing is not

always the next new thing.

well-known theory of modern social learning, which

proposes that people can learn in a social context.

outcomes

in behavior

(for both the observed party and the learner)

Social Learning Is NewMyth  1:

Debunking 4 Myths of Social Learning

4

reinforcement of knowledge that comes with the “human connection,” are as

valid today.

However, the advent of social networking technologies has helped create a

new breed of social learning. In today’s environment, instructors still act as

models, facilitators, mentors, and guides, but at the same time relinquish a

degree of their authority to the “learning community,” which includes stu-

dents in the classroom, remotely located students, and a huge variety of

resources that are as close as an Internet connection. In turn, each individual

in the network of learners actively shares both knowledge and challenges.

Debunking 4 Myths of Social Learning

5

Social media and social learning are as much the same as French fries and

French toast. In other words, they’re different (but both wonderful).

easy and motivate people to connect, share information, and develop relation-

ships. Yet they can also provide the means to wander aimlessly, discovering

people and information that may serve no value when it comes to learning.

guidelines on how to reach them (such as input from an instructor or lesson

plan) can be used to facilitate formal social learning. However, social learn-

-

ple, a group of students who get together to study for an upcoming test.

-

ing and social media exist separately, but social media can be used in sup-

port of social learning.

Social Media is the Same as Social Learning

Social Learning Is the Same as Social Media

Myth  2:

Debunking 4 Myths of Social Learning

6

-

-

less social learning opportunities.

Researchers Baiyun Chen and Thomas Bryer found that online social tools

provide learners with “connections across boundaries and over time” and fa-

cilitate informal discussion and collaboration (key elements of social learning).

Debunking 4 Myths of Social Learning

7

-

-

teractive nature of social learning exponentially

shared.

Both individuals and institutions reap real ben-

interactive nature of social learning exponential-

be shared and questions can be answered.

Collaborative Learning for the Digital Age in The

Chronicle of Higher Education, she describes a course she offers at Duke

on a suggested reading list that included specialized journals, popular maga-

zines, and websites, but was to be “peer-led, with student interest and re-

search driving the design.”

Social Learning Is Just for FunMyth  3:

Duke University

Debunking 4 Myths of Social Learning

8

Regular blog posts were also a requirement of the course, and much to her

surprise Davidson discovered “that the most elegant bloggers often turned

out to be the clunkiest and most pretentious of research-paper writers.”

Her experiences offers insight into how contemporary social learning frees

learners to better process content and better retain what they have learned.

When allowed to let go of the rules that accompany formal term papers, the

to interact with course content in ways that were more meaningful to them

than a traditional format “that invites, even requires, linguistic and syntactic

gobbledygook.”

Davidson, a professor of interdisciplinary studies at Duke University and one

to point out that social learning does far more than simply give license to

gossip with peers or surf online content. In fact, existing research indicates

when it will be evaluated by peers as well as teachers

less plagiarism, and generally better, more elegant and persuasive

prose than classroom assignments by the same writers

Debunking 4 Myths of Social Learning

9

social learning is here to stay.

Social learning may be hyped, but that does not mean it is a passing trend.

Modern day

SOCIAL TOOLS ARE MAKING THE WEB “OLD SCHOOL”

than 62% (from 1 out of 13 minutes to 1 out of 8) between 2011 and 2012.

hours during the same period.

He attributes this to the fact that “the connected social web is alive, moving,

as universal reference, but hardly a personal experience.”

Social Learning Doesn’t Have Broad Appeal

Myth  4:

Debunking 4 Myths of Social Learning

10

which stimulate learning.

TODAY’S ACTIVE LEARNERS ARE DEMANDING AND BENEFITING FROM SOCIAL LEARNING

Mashable Tech reported that after adopting a pilot social media learning

-

ments for no credit.

TWEETS IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE CLASSICS

must be in keeping with plot and character development.

greater insight into the material. Instructor Byron Grigsby, who is also the

school’s vice president of academic affairs, said, “(It’s) causing them to

think about the characters in different ways.”

A NEW BEDTIME ROUTINE

Fourth graders at an IDEAL-New Mexico

-

pated in for one hour, once a week at home. She found her students so ex-

cited to read with each other that after the hour long collaborative session

ended, they consistently asked the teacher for more group reading time.

The connected social web is alive, mov-

ing, proactive, and personal, while the

document web is just an artifact —

suited as universal reference, but

hardly a personal experience.

— BEN ELOWITZ Founder & CEO, Wetpaint

Debunking 4 Myths of Social Learning

11

Debunking

of Social LearningCON-­

Whether you’re just starting to explore methodologies or looking to enhance your current e!orts, we want to hear about your social learning experiences.