This is an excellent course for online instructors and highlights teaching strategies utilizing Social Media. The course covers Social Networking and the proper use, especially as it applies to instructors and students. Some of the highlights are transparency and the importance of thinking 'twice' before postings; striving for accuracy, being respectful and knowing your audience. Moreover, there are three 'best practices' instructors must consider when incorporating Social Networking into their courses. They are as follows:
- Considering the Use of Social Media - Simply put you must focus on the desired learning and teaching outcomes of each unit and entire course. You must certainly consider the type of strategies you will employ so students can reach the outcomes along with the appropriate tools and learning platforms.
- Utilizing Social Media – Please be mindful, you must also monitor social sites that you suggest for use in the classroom; model appropriate behavior, have an active presence and set clear expectations. I believe all of these elements are fundamental for effective student performance.
- Sustaining and Managing Social Networks – Instructors have to be clear about updating and maintaining material on a regular basis (Effective use of social media in online courses)
http://www.cec-cee.org/EL110.php
Other topics covered in this course were Media Hosting and Sharing via educational sites such as TeacherTube, SchoolTube, iTunesU, and YouTube Edu. It is important to remember when utilizing these sites you must abide by their policies and procedures. However, instructors can create their own content as well, but just ensure you are aligning them with the course objectives. Finally, other topics examined were Blogging and Micro-Blogging, such as Twitter which is one of the most popular ‘real-time’ methods. Remember, the same rules or policies apply such as being respectful, knowing your audience and above all ‘think twice before you post’! This was a very informative course and I recommend instructors take it as a refresher when integrating Social Media into the classroom. Enjoy!
Happy Holidays….
Dr. Naomi Sealey
