Session Type

Workshop

Start Date

6-7-2011 10:15 AM

Keywords

social media, physics education, complexity thinking

Primary Threads

Education Technologies and Innovative Resources

Abstract

Recent calls for reform in education have focused on 21st century teaching and learning to respond to perceived shifts in the way knowledge is created, stored and shared. Social media tools such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have quickly become ubiquitous methods of meeting, collaborating and communicating online. A recent report of two and four year colleges in the United States found that 80% of faculty use social media, and 52% use them as teaching tools but are just beginning to realize the interactive and collaborative possibilities (Bart, 2010).

In this workshop, participants will be introduced to and learn to use the newest social media tools and mobile technology applications that are currently being employed by students for learning physics and by instructors for teaching physics. Participants will have the opportunity to try out applications for student collaboration, instructor-student feedback and assessment for learning on their own technologies (smartphone/iPod touch/iPad/Android) or on those provided for use during the session.

Results from a preliminary study of secondary and post secondary students and instructors on how they use social media to learn and teach physics will also be presented. As a powerful new theoretical perspective in education, complexity thinking (Davis & Sumara, 2006) uses characteristics of complex systems (i.e. crowds, ant colonies) and conditions of emergence to both understand and prompt learning. In the preliminary study, complexity thinking was used to interpret focus group data and to explore questions such as: How are social media embodied into students’ everyday experiences and into their science learning experiences? How can social media facilitate the emergence of ideas from collectives of students and how can teachers promote the kinds of experiences that enable the emergence?

Bart, M. (2010). Social media usage among college faculty. Faculty Focus. Retrieved from http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/trends-in-higher-education/social-media-usage-among-college-faculty/

Davis, B., & Sumara, D. (2006). Complexity and education: Inquiries into learning, teaching and research. Mahweh, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

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Jul 6th, 10:15 AM

Exploring the use of Social Media to support Teaching and Learning Physics

Recent calls for reform in education have focused on 21st century teaching and learning to respond to perceived shifts in the way knowledge is created, stored and shared. Social media tools such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have quickly become ubiquitous methods of meeting, collaborating and communicating online. A recent report of two and four year colleges in the United States found that 80% of faculty use social media, and 52% use them as teaching tools but are just beginning to realize the interactive and collaborative possibilities (Bart, 2010).

In this workshop, participants will be introduced to and learn to use the newest social media tools and mobile technology applications that are currently being employed by students for learning physics and by instructors for teaching physics. Participants will have the opportunity to try out applications for student collaboration, instructor-student feedback and assessment for learning on their own technologies (smartphone/iPod touch/iPad/Android) or on those provided for use during the session.

Results from a preliminary study of secondary and post secondary students and instructors on how they use social media to learn and teach physics will also be presented. As a powerful new theoretical perspective in education, complexity thinking (Davis & Sumara, 2006) uses characteristics of complex systems (i.e. crowds, ant colonies) and conditions of emergence to both understand and prompt learning. In the preliminary study, complexity thinking was used to interpret focus group data and to explore questions such as: How are social media embodied into students’ everyday experiences and into their science learning experiences? How can social media facilitate the emergence of ideas from collectives of students and how can teachers promote the kinds of experiences that enable the emergence?

Bart, M. (2010). Social media usage among college faculty. Faculty Focus. Retrieved from http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/trends-in-higher-education/social-media-usage-among-college-faculty/

Davis, B., & Sumara, D. (2006). Complexity and education: Inquiries into learning, teaching and research. Mahweh, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.