These are the platforms on which students are reading and writing everyday anyway, and it is likely their most public form of writing. It’s our responsibility as English language educators to ensure that they are presenting themselves effectively and positively.
In the article discussed previously, Vie found that many of the networks we use are already being used at the post-secondary level. 80.8% of her respondents using social media in the classroom used YouTube, 65.9% of them used Facebook, and about 60% of them used Twitter.
The New York Times Room for Debate, Pew Research, ProPublica, Document Cloud, The Center for Public Integrity
To factcheck information, consider introducing them to Snopes.com, Politifact.com, Factcheck.org, sourcewatch.org, opensecrets.org, and to introduce them to the contexts of various arguments, try Procon.org,
Hicks and Turner use the acronym MINDFUL. This means they need to “monitor their reading and writing”, “identify the claim”, “note the evidence”, “determine the framework and the mindset”, note the “facts”, “understand the counter-argument”, and “leverage their response”.
Once students have been made aware of confirmation bias, they are ready to engage with the arguments being made, meaning they’ll have to learn to sift through misinformation.
A 2011 TED talk revealed the stark differences in simple searches based on a person’s bubble. Eli Pariser asked two friends to Google the word Egypt during the uprisings in 2011. One friend was presented with this very important news, another was presented with tourism options.
First, students need to be convinced that social media writing counts. Once students learn to see the arguments that are being made on social networks, they are ready to become critical of them.
Benefits of social media in English classrooms: "Relevance/familiarity, Access/connectivity, Rhetorical awareness, and Composing opportunities"
I looked at a journal article in which a researcher surveyed a national sample of post-secondary writing, composition, and rhetoric educators. The survey found that 90% of these educators were already using social media in the classroom in one way or another.
By preparing students to become smarter readers and writers on their social media accounts, we better prepare them for their post-secondary education, careers, personal lives, and citizenship.
The majority of students read and write short-form, social media-based texts daily, according to a study by Turner and Hicks in 2015, but they do not believe that this reading and writing counts.
Write your own Tweet arguing for or against the use of social media to teach writing. Catchy hashtags are encouraged.
What have you been writing lately? (Outside of your coursework?)
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