Running head: SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE CLASSROOM

Social Media in the Classroom: The Case of Twitter

Shannon Maion
University of British Columbia
ETEC 511 Sept. 2014

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The affordability of mobile devices has increased access to social networking sites.
Many mobile phones come with limits on the amount of talk time but provide unlimited or large
amounts data for access to the internet and text messaging (Acosta, 2014). Using social media in
the classroom offers the teachers a way to connect into the students digital lives and provide
learning opportunities that extend outside the classroom walls. The use of social media in the
classroom has to be an informed and deliberate approach by the educator as social media
applications that are dependent on personal devices can reinforce a digital divide across
socioeconomic levels. Some educators are wary to use social media applications because it may
provide more distractions while others are excited for the increased affordances for learning. In
this essay, I explore the political and social aspects of integrating social media in the classroom
by examining the use of the social networking application, Twitter.
Background
Technology has created new learning opportunities for students in todays classrooms.
Students are no longer limited to the information from their teacher or textbooks. Learning is no
longer restricted to the four walls of the classroom or pen and paper. Technology has become
part of the lives of our students and an integral part of our society. The boundaries of formal
student-teacher classroom models are being expanded as students engage in a wide variety of
media and electronic communication (Vickery, 2014). Blazer and Miami-Dade County Public
Schools (2012) notes that the adoption of social networking for education purposes has lagged
behind the publics general usage (p.2). The British Columbia Education Plan (2011)
recognizes this lag and is striving to update classroom education by emphasizing the integration
of technology into the classroom. The vision of the BC Education Plan (2011) is that learning

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empowered by technology can create a personalized learning environment through enhanced

flexibility and choice for every British Columbian student.
Todays students are digital natives and were born with a chip (Berk, 2009, p.3). The
millennial students are technology savvy, rely on search engines to find information, are
interested in multimedia, have a short attention span, and multitask on everything (Abe &
Jordan, 2013, p.17). When such a high number of students are spending time using technology,
especially social networking sites, educators can enhance student engagement if they meet the
students in their own territory of technology and integrate social media into their curriculum
(Abe & Jordan, 2013). In 2012, Facebook, the most popular social networking site, had 750
million visitors each month with Twitter following closely behind (Blazer , 2012). Teachers are
educating students who live in a globally connected society where the use of social media is the
norm (Casey, 2013). Educators should prepare their students with skills they will need for the
real world and should model and incorporate digital resources, including social media.

What is social media and the application Twitter

Social media is a foundation of Web 2.0 technologies. In social media applications,
people can create, share and exchange ideas through a variety of modalities such as text, pictures
and videos. Communities and networks are created that depend on mobile and web based
technologies to through which individuals interact and share content (Social media, 2014).
Blazer and Miami-Dade County Public Schools found in their 2012 review that Facebook is the
most popular social networking site with Twitter coming in as a close second.
Twitter is a social media application made up of micro-blogs of 140 characters or less
called tweets. The ability send and receive tweets connects the users of Twitter to a community

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of their choice with members who can reside around the world. Twitter was launched in 2006
and is a more accessible and quicker version of preceding social media platforms such as
Facebook and MySpace (Acosta, 2014). It is estimated that by the year 2015 there will be 5.6
million Canadian Twitter users (Statista, 2014).

The Case of Twitter in Education

The high school student population today is made up of digital natives. These students
have never known life without technology. The ability to use social media has become a key
literacy (Parry, 2011, p.14). Many schools have been slow to incorporate social media in to
their curriculum because they are worried what parents will say (Kist, 2013) and some teachers,
as digital immigrants, are not as comfortable with technology as the students are. However, the
attitude towards incorporating social media in to the classrooms are slowing changing as teachers
are learning to embrace technology (Kist, 2013) and government curriculum is shifting to include
technology in the attainment of learning outcomes (BC Education Plan, 2011).
Twitter can be used as a source of information and social network. Microblogging or
tweeting is a way for students to build connections and conversations. Building connections and
helping students focus on sharing and linking ideas with others is an effective way to help
students learn (Acosta, 2014). Caseys (2013) study shows that using social media in education
has many affordances which often lead to the engagement, collaboration and, at times, a
focused distraction for students in the face-to-face classroom (p.22). These distractions can
include smartphones, laptops and other personal computing devices (Abe & Jordan, 2013).
Using Twitter can turn these distracting devices into increased participation (Abe & Jordan,
2013) and effective learning devices which can increase student motivation (Morgan, 2014).

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Engaging in conversations through Twitter provides opportunities outside the classroom for
students to discuss and reflect on course content. Parry (2011) states the future of this student
population is one that will be mediated and stitched together by the mobile web, and I think that
ethically, we are called on as teachers to teach them how to use these technologies effectively, to
ensure that they end up on the right side of the digital divide: the side that knows how to use
social media (p.15).

Digital divide and social media

The digital divide often describes concerns about unequal access and participation in new
technologies and factors such as gender, race or socioeconomic status are often studied (Ahn,
2011). The access gap among Americans is not as great as it was a decade ago as research shows
that most Americans have access to computers and the internet (Vickery, 2014). The digital
divide is no longer a case of the have and have not students as mobile devices are less expensive
than home computers. Access to internet is no longer a major contributor to the digital divide as
mobile devices often come with options for affordable data plans and the ability to access free
Wi-Fi in public places such as schools.
Just because the majority of students have access to technology does not mean that they
are all participating with technology in a meaningful way. How technology is being used is the
new major contributor to the digital divide. Mobile devices do not afford the types of creative
productions as computers with stable internet access. Meaningful use of technology also
requires skills and digital literacy. Ahns (2011) research concludes that the overall proficiency
of a teenagers digital literacy skills is a major predictor of social media membership. Vickery
(2014) asserts that schools can play and important role in closing the participation gaps by

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providing students with opportunities to more fully engage, explore, contribute and create
media (p.79).
Using Twitter in the classroom is one of the ways that schools can close the participation
gap in technology use. Twitter is one of the most accessible applications of social media
currently available as its mobile access and diverse demographics make it the ideal opportunity
for students to explore technology in the classroom as well as away from the classroom walls
(Acosta, 2014). Acosta (2014) finds that Twitter allows users to connect to anyone or anything
regardless of location, socioeconomic status, or other barriers (p.11). Using Twitter in a formal
education setting is a way for schools to help students develop social and network literacies
(Vickery, 2014, p.92). These skills can enhance opportunities for acquisition of social capital as
well as a capacity for social and political participation (Vickery, 2014, p.81) and provide a new
vehicle for our students to connect, network, and become life-learning global citizens (Acosta,
2014, p.12). These newly acquired technical literacy skills (Ahn, 2011, p. 159) can also help
students develop and take part in other forms of educational media.

Social implications
As more students own and have access to technology educators must consider all factors
that will contribute to the way the technology will be utilized by its audience (Ahn, 2011).
Social media applications such as Twitter afford new social skills and greater engagement in a
topic that can lead to peer teaching. Student that would otherwise not feel comfortable speaking
or sharing ideas in the face-to-face classroom may feel more comfortable contributing to an
online class discussion (Abe & Jordan, 2013). With increasing participation in social media
comes a larger social network which can lead to misuse of online social relationships.

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Many schools are fearful that students using social media will be exposed to
inappropriate online content and thus have limited the in-school use of social media technology
(Blazer & Miami-Dade County Public Schools, 2012). School principals are seeking legal
advice on how and when they can discipline students for online acts such as cyberbullying and
sexting (Armistead & Education Partnerships, 2010). Teachers are also worried about the
perceptions of social media possibly blurring the lines between the personal and profession
roles of the [teacher] and students (Abe & Jordan, 2013, p.19). There is also a general concern
among educators that social media may cause students to miss out on the nonverbal aspects of
communication that are lacking in text such as facial expressions, tone of voice and body
language (Abe & Jordan, 2013). These are all valid concerns and can be address using thoughtful
strategies around designing classroom instruction for the implementation of social media.

Strategies for classroom implementation

Cell phones and other digital devices will continue to be part of students lives in and out
of the classroom. Schools need to educate students and families on acceptable use and safety of
these applications when using social media (Armistead & Education Partnerships, 2010).
Creating an acceptable use policy at the school and school district level is an important step in
ensuring the safety of students while using online technologies (Armistead & Education
Partnerships, 2010). Technology training for teachers, students and parents that teacher how to
understand the privacy settings of the applications being used is another tool towards creating
safe and effective social media use (Acosta, 2014).
Successful integration of social media in education is dependent on professional
development training for teaches. Teachers must understand the most effective ways of using

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social media in an educational context (Armistead & Education Partnerships, 2010). Schools
need to support their teachers in their implementation of technology by ensuring dependable
infrastructure (i.e. bandwidth) and access to current technology (Armistead & Education
Partnerships, 2010). Providing teachers with time to learn and access the technology will create
a smoother integration as teachers will be able to provide effective scaffolding for their students.
Integrating social media into the curriculum must also include teaching students how to
the social media application in an educational context (Abe & Jordan, 2013). It is also important
to make sure that there is communication with parents about social media projects and the safety
procedures that have been put into place (Kist, 2013). Often, it is assumed that students who
know how to use social media know how to use it effectively (Acosta, 2014). Teachers must
take the time to show students how social media is best applied to their learning outcomes
(Acosta, 2014). Modeling the use of social media is one of the simplest and best ways a teacher
can educate students on the most effective ways of using the application in education (Abe &
Jordan, 2013).

Conclusion
Including social media in the classroom provides many affordances for learning.
Students are able to extend their learning outside the walls of the classroom and engage in
collaboration with their peers, teachers and experts from around the world. All these benefits do
not come without the potential to create a digital divide amongst students. The divide is most
prominent in terms of access to internet being consistent or inconsistent with limited
opportunities for creative participation if technology usage is mainly with mobile devices. Ahns

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(2011) research has shown that regardless of parental education level, socioeconomic status, race
and gender, youth will find a way to participate in online social network communities.
Twitter does a sufficient job of closing the digital divide that many other types of
technology may leave open. The mobility of Twitter makes it the most accessible social
networking application (Acosta, 2014). Mobile devices are affordable and come with the ability
to access paid Wi-Fi or free public Wi-Fi. Students using Twitter have the same affordances for
learning no matter what type of device or platform is being used to access it.
In todays workforce, many employers value digital literacy and skills in using social
media (Morgan, 2014). Using Twitter helps students to develop digital literacy by creating
opportunities for collaboration and improved reading and writing skills (Morgan, 2014). When
used guidelines for appropriate use and behavior, social media, specifically Twitter, can serve as
a cost-efficient and equitable tool for educators to use to incorporate technology into the
classroom (Abe & Jordan, 2013). The combination of face-to-face classroom instruction and
social media interactions enable multiple ways for students to create and share knowledge
(Casey, 2013). Most human endeavors will be shaped by technology (Kist, 2013) and Morgan
(2014) contends it is the job of educators to prepare students for circumstances they will
encounter in the real world, school leaders would be irresponsible if they fail to model the
appropriate use of digital resources, including social media (p. 76).

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10
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