jc barone, phd communication & media arts western connecticut state university
TRANSCRIPT
“It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.”
-Albert Einstein
Using Smartphones & Social Media for Teaching
JC Barone, PhDCommunication & Media Arts
Western Connecticut State University
Is social media just a fad?
http://askaaronlee.com/is-social-media-a-fad/
How important have our “smart” devices become?
(how dependent are we?)
To test this,go without one for a day….
NewsWeather updatesGPS & mapsMillions of apps at my fingertipsConference- alarm for napsNAB app for latest convention updatesFoursquare-deals on restaurants, merchandise, receive rec’s from friendsPandora, Spotify – musicSirius
In a recent survey, 1 in 3 sports fans think the Internet is as important as…
And 3 of 4 people bring their smartphones to games…
Air, water, food, shelter
We are slowly being ushered into the Post PC era. It is all about Mobile and Tablets now.
PC’s gradually seem to be taking a step backwards as these devices are what we use more and more everyday to stay connected.
How Do People Really Use Their Phones? (An Infographic), by Arpit Verma; http://www.blogtechnika.com/how-do-people-really-use-their-phones-an-infographic
Pivot TV: New TV ParadigmTo watch what I want, where I want, when I want it. First a la-carte channel.Available through traditional pay-television bundling & broadband provider as a stand-alone service.
Interactive Pivot app on any device allows subscribers to take the Pivot channel, both live streaming and on-demand, everywhere.
Interact w/social media as you watch TV. ManyOnline features include a "Take Action" button to access information about social issues in each program, customized to the viewer's locale and interests.
http://pivot.tv
Interconnected world
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVNJfUOBzJE
“The Internet of Everything” Cisco
CCTVMobile devicesInternet
…exit privacy,
enter, the early stages of massive interconnectivity….
Your student’s world…
Cisco “Tomorrow starts Today” spot:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJSjbttGaVM
LearnDo
Share
Can smartphones be used smartly--for pedagogy?
Can social mediabe used smartly
for teaching & learning?
Case Study: COM 298 Live News Broadcasting & Politics
Didactic approach:Interdisciplinary Combine: Emerging digital technology, social media, and traditional media into an interactive learning environment To Produce and disseminate live, public, regional election coverage
Challenges…Limited resources
LOW budgetNo TV StudioNo B’cast TransmitterNo TV/Satellite TruckNo PBS affiliationStarted with no cable affiliation or existing transmission capabilities
Positive institutional supportDepartmentSchoolUniversitySystem
Questions (course goals):(1) Can a high quality, election news program be produced despite limited resources using smartphones, traditional media, and social media into a seamless production?
(2) Can the program be successfully delivered in real time to a diverse audience of university students, faculty, and the larger western CT region?
Questions (course goals):
(3) How well will students of various interdisciplinary majors work together under the stress of a high stakes project?
(4) How will course participants adapt to unforeseen events?
(5) Will student civic understanding and engagement be increased?
The Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism (2012)
“In 2011, the digital revolution entered a new era. The age of mobile, in which people are connected to the web wherever they are, arrived in earnest.”
Source: http://stateofthemedia.org
More than 4 in 10 American adults now own a smartphone.
1 in 5 owns a tablet.
New cars manufactured w/Internet built in.
With more mobility comes deeper immersion into social networking.
Revolution or Evolution?…No debate on changes in professional practice in four
areas: (a) production technologies(b) distribution technologies(c) economic restraints(d) changing audience tastes and expectations
(Pew, 2012; Mitchell & Rosenstiel, 2012; Atkinson, 2013).
News organizations around the world have witnessed shrinking budgets and fewer field offices (Barone & Swan, 2007).
Reporters have had to do more of the production work including shooting and editing, and more of their work is in a “live” environment (Alysen, 2009).
The public has become a player in agenda setting by focusing attention on issues and supplying news organizations with content through various means:
FacebookWebsitesText messagesBlogsRedditTwitterRSS feed (Twitter->Video switcher)EmailsSmartphone phone footage
My COM 298 classParticipants (n=32):
31 students & 1 Alumnus:23 males9 femalesFreshman: 1Soph: 7Jr:10Sr: 13
Majors:Media ProdPoli SciCOMEnglishProf. WrtExploratoryITTheater
Technology Cocktail
Smart PhonesTwitterFacebookSkypeInstagramRedditRSS feed3 video switchers
Web-based signalsVirtual Sets
Online File sharingText msg-ingLive land-line call inCable access studio
Distribution
Cable access TV: ~ 60-thousand TVHHs
Simulcast: WXCI-FM
Webstreamed over University homepage.
Watch Party
~250 students attended Live election show on large monitorFood!Raffle (gift cards + Kindle)Live reporters on site
"Election Connection" Nov. 6, 2012, 8:00-midnight
Channel 21, Charter CommunicationsNewtown, CT
video
“Technology has utterly changed the ways consumers get and use information, and it has completely disrupted how companies create, share and collect it…
-Jonathan Salem Baskin-CMO Strategy: Do Campaign Failures, High Profile Firings Signal the End of Social Media? http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/pepsi-burger-king-news-signal-end-social-media/149523/
People still need, and do, the things they always have done
We need to discover new ways to do the old things that still matter.
Offer instruction and services that learners truly need.
Social media = Connection.
How can you use technology & social media to advance course goals?
Can mobile be included in your teaching ?
Having a social media plan that has a clear vision
Education is the driver of our shared prosperity
Social media and mobile technologies are driving our culture
Smartphone today, smartwatch tomorrow
Reid, J. (2013) Smartphone today, smartwatch tomorrow. Western StarMarch 25, 2013. http://www.thewesternstar.com/Opinion/Columns/2013-03-26/article-3207462/Smartphone-today,-smartwatch-tomorrow/1
Image: Dick Tracy on the Moon; verminblogs.com
Education & technology are inexorably tied,
merged, interconnected
For example…
For Biology class…
Ann used her Smartphone to record data (images, text audio). Check out apps that allow for recording temperature, pH, heart rate, velocity, etc.Mobile version of Excel.
She uploads video to Skype to share w/ her lab partner, Mario.
Smartphone to graph (app for that)
For English class…
Brittany uses her Smartphone to look up information in from the library database on Romanticism, feminism, and revolutionary movements of the late 18th century.
She uses the mobile version of MS Word on her smartphone.
She invites peers via email and Facebook to share a group calendar, exchange files and multi-media content, organize tasks and chat.
For COM class…
Steve looks at various Tarantino clips on his smartphone, makes note of several databases by texting himself, and visits several websites for researching his paper on Formalism and Directing.
He also creates a Facebook’s Event Page for the English Society’s upcoming guest lecturer. She chooses all her relevant friends for the event. They in turn, will invite their friends.
He holds a preproduction meeting with team members using Cengage’s MindTap & Blackboard (or FB) to schedule shooting a scene.
For Music class…
Using his laptop, Seth uses Google Plus for rehearsing with his quartet because they couldn’t get to campus at the same time one evening, but but still need to practice.
He also sometimes uses a metronome app on his smartphone when practicing.
For Business class…
Tom uses Google Plus (live) for group study sessions and critiquing each other’s work.
He also uses the mobile version of MS Word, and voice-to-text apps for brainstorming.
For Writing class…
After reading his favorite Twitter feeds, and Reddit, Tyrone uses his Smartphone to Twitter thoughts about a news event.
He writes his daily blog reviewing regional music concerts and performances.
He conducts an interview using Skype.
For Math class…
Julie uses her laptop or Smartphone to get help with homework from www.math.com.
She uses its quadratic equation calculator because she left her physical calculator home.
She also uses G+ for study sessions and filesharing.
Electronic devices:Smartphones, mobile devices, pads
Free Web tools/sites:RSS feeds of various information (news, etc)SkypeFacebook CirclesGoogle PlusTwitterPinterestInstagramLinkedInYouTube, VimeoPodcasts
University tools:Blackboard; clickers
Corporate collaborative tools:Cengage Mind Tap
Websites:Reddit-user generated, crowdsourced news stories
There are TONS more, this is an incomplete list!!
“Our citizens are not being prepared to compete in today’s global, hyper-connected economy.”
“5 Disruptive Education Trends That Address American Inequality,” Ben Hecht
Five disruptive trends are breaking old educational habits and making way for a system that will better prepare our young people for the future, while leveling the socioeconomic playing field.
Hecht, B. (2013). 5 disruptive education trends that address American inequality. http://www.fastcoexist.com/1681576/5-disruptive-education-trends-that-address-american-inequality?goback=.gde_71923_member_229326497
1. Create adaptive learning environments
Hecht, B. (2013). 5 disruptive education trends that address American inequality. http://www.fastcoexist.com/1681576/5-disruptive-education-trends-that-address-american-inequality?goback=.gde_71923_member_229326497
2. Bring education everywhere.
(Hecht mentions distance learning and massive open online courses, MOOCs)
3. Flip the classroom to better utilize resources
"Flipped classrooms" rethink traditional models of classwork and homework.
Passive activities (lectures) are reserved for homework
In-class : Collaborative & personal interactions
4. Using interactive content and gaming to engage students
5. Connect with tutors and sharing skills online
Rise of peer-to-peer learning ( ---> millions of YouTube videos)
Companies such as Skillshare and EduFire are popping up to formalize this peer-to-peer learning; also established publishing companies (Cengage): -chat -flash cards -textbooks w/ highlighting & annotation -forums -self-testing -tutors
"Education is really aimed at helping students get to the point where they can learn on their own. . . “
-Noam Chomsky; Learning without frontiers.
How do you integrate emerging technology into teaching?
Reprise
Instead of forcing our youth to take virtually all of the same classes and standardized tests, we should instead shift our focus on developing our youth, so they can find their passions and life skills and go out to become the next leaders and innovators of our world. -Blogger, Graham Mumm
- Do you agree? - Are their problems with such an approach?
Reclamation of education and learning is going on. LARGER QUESTIONS:
Instruction provided by whom? Assessed how?
Who are the future stakeholders?
Who stands to profit and how?
What influence will ideology, politics, and religion play?
What roles will corporations and government play?
email: [email protected]@baronemedia.com
845-430-6504Twitter: @jcbaroneFacebookLinkedIn
JC Barone, PhD; Dept of Com & Media; HA-209