Why use social software?
Managing a social software teaching/learning environment
It depends what you want to do.
Social software is useful to enable students to:
- work on shared documents no matter where they are, who they are and what time it is
- build a site that establishes their identity (as a group or individually), displays their work and invites comments and ratings
- discuss work with users who are external to the Deakin network as well as with their own classmates
- form supportive networks as they collaborate on shared creative tasks, provide feedback and contribute links to further online resources.
Pedagogical advantages in using social software include that the various applications can support:
- active learning by having students create something (Papert 1980)
- collaborative activities that encourage students to articulate ideas and negotiate meanings (Vygotsky 1978)
- authentic learning environments that mimic real-world situations, activities and roles, and hence support situated learning (Herrington & Herrington 2006)
- the development of graduate attributes including communication, information technology, leadership and teamwork skills (Hager, Holland & Beckett 2002)
- the development of network literacy: 'writing in a distributed, collaborative environment' (Walker 2003)
- communities of practice - these can include students, teachers and professionals external to Deakin, and provide ongoing support and contacts (Wenger 1998).
However, these advantages may only arise if you research and plan your approach carefully. Even though many students use social software to communicate with their friends and keep up with interest groups, its use in education is fairly new and students will not automatically be able to use it effectively as a learning environment.
Key considerations include the type of learning design you wish to use and whether social software is the best tool for it. Also consider assessment, suggestions on setting up a social software site and management tips.
For further information on pedagogical advantages of using social software, see McLoughlin & Lee (2008).
Why not use social software?
It depends what you want to do - there are simpler alternatives.
Every Deakin unit already has a DSO site, which enables students to:
- communicate online using discussions
- share drafts of documents, either by attaching them to discussion postings or uploading draft submissions to the online Dropbox tool
- upload images or URLs to the unit site using discussions.
eLive enables students to communicate using real audio, in real time, while sharing documents or viewing websites on the virtual whiteboard.
References
Hager, P, Holland, S & Beckett, D 2002, Enhancing the learning and employability of graduates: the role of generic skills (B-HERT position paper), Business/Higher Education Round Table, Melbourne.
Herrington, A & Herrington, J 2006, Authentic learning environments in higher education, Information Science Publishing, Hershey, PA.
McLoughlin, C & Lee, M 2008, 'Future learning landscapes: transforming pedagogy through social software', Innovate, Vol. 4, No. 5.<http://innovateonline.info/pdf/vol4_issue5/Future_Learning_Landscapes-__Transforming_Pedagogy_through_Social_Software.pdf>(accessed 15 January 2010)
Papert, S 1980, Mindstorms: children, computers, and powerful ideas, Basic Books, New York.
Vygotsky, LS 1978, Mind and society: the development of higher mental processes , Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Walker, J 2003, 'Talk at Brown', jill/txt, December 5 (quoted in Lamb, B 2004, 'Wide open spaces: wikis ready or not', Educause Review, September/October, pp. 36-48 <http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERM0452.pdf > accessed 10 January 2008).
Wenger, E 1998, Communities of practice: learning, meaning, and identity, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK.
