1. U SING S OCIAL M EDIA IN H IGHER L EARNING Steve Hynds Saint Louis University July 17, 2010

2. O UTLINE Contact Time as a Measure of Academic Quality Contact Time Outside the Classroom and Online Learning Systems Effectiveness of Social Learning Student Engagement Moving to 3DVI Immersion Death of Distance

3. C URRENT I SSUES What is a credit hour? Carnegie Unit 1-2 hours of home work for each hour of seat time. 15 weeks course = 30-45 hours of contact time. How has the popularity of online delivery and social media changed this archetype? How does online learning compare to face to face learning? How effective is social learning?

4. C REDIT H OUR AS A M EASURE OF Q UALITY For-profits under regulatory scrutiny for meeting contact hours. Perceive value – Did you receive 3 hours worth of instruction (education) for the 3 hours of college credit your paid for? How do you measure contact time in an online learning (asynchronous) environment?

5. I MPACT OF S OCIAL M EDIA Social Media allow for connection outside of the formal classroom setting. Social Media facilitate collaboration Social Media create situational interest “The more a student is meaningfully engaged in an academic task, the more he or she will learn.” (Latucca & Start)

6. J OHN D EWEY (1916) E DUCATIONAL P HILOSOPHER As a matter fact every individual has grown up, and always must grow up, in a social medium…” …Through social intercourse, through sharing in the activities embodying beliefs, he gradually acquires a mind of his own. The conception of mind as a purely isolated possession of the self is at the very antipodes of the truth. The self is not a separate mind building up knowledge anew on its own account. (Latucca & Stark)

7. Online Learners (compared to face-to-face learners) (National Survey of Student Engagement, 2008) Online learners are more likely to: Participate in activities which stimulate them intellectually Participate in discussions that enhance their understanding of different cultures Online learners are as likely to: Very often participate in discussions that enhance their understanding of social responsibility Showed deeper levels of learning Relate strongly to active and collaborative learning Online course seem to simulate more intellectual challenge and educational gains

8. S TUDENT E NGAGEMENT Learning 2.0 Wiki’s, Blogs, IM, Facebook, Text, Discussion Boards Journals, Virtual Worlds, YouTube, Twitter Lecture tools – Laptops using interactive classroom software for discussions and PPT

9. V IRTUAL W ORLDS M OVING FROM ENGAGEMENT TO I MMERSION Two types of Virtual Worlds Game Centric Social Centric Support interaction and innovation “We Reject the somewhat Calvinistic notion that serious and virtuous activities cannot be fun.” Simulations are so engaging that governments worry about VW addiction (Bloomfield, 2009) Real life teaching in virtual worlds have appeal because they give the student a better feel for the instructor

10. 3DVI Simulations – Virtual Apprentice No predetermined outcomes – students participate in the learning Continuous Learning – lives on Collaboration

11. Q UESTIONS “If I can see farther, it is because I am standing on the shoulders of giants.” Isaac Newton, 1642-1727