The Use of Social Media in ELT

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA?

Social media comprehends a group of social networks and other web pages at internet, which teachers can use to teach.

Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as “a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content.

Forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for social networking and micro blogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos).

Characteristics of Social Media

·        Participation

·        Open

·        Conversation

·        Community

·        Connective

Types of Social Media

·        Social network : MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Line, Path, WeChat, and etc.

·        Blogs : blogger, wordpress, and etc.

·        Wikis : Wikipedia

·        PodCast : Appel iTunes

Various types of Social Media

ADVANTAGES OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA

·         Freedom of speech.

·         Share knowledge with other people.

·         Make friends online.

·         Can be used as a diary.

·         Can be used as a portfolio, adding new work per day or per week.

·         Independent of time or place.

·         It’s not necessary to be an expert on using computers, this is easy to use.

·         Students are able to develop communication skills within class using the computer.

·         It is a flexible tool which can be used for a wide variety of applications.

·         Free of time, place or distance. Possible to create a community of learners.

·         Anyone can edit and it is easy to use and follow. Students can be authors, not just researchers.

·         Technology works as motivator, students like internet.

Freedom of Speech in Social Media

Disadvantages of Using Social Media

·         Need to keep it constantly updated otherwise you lose potential readers.

·         Easy to start, hard to maintain.

·         All the classroom have to count with easy access to internet.

·         Difficult to implement in rural institutions.

·         Low level of confidentially.

·         Students become easily distracted and use the computers for other purposes.

·         Requires Internet connectivity to collaborate, but also the possibility to print.

·         The information can be modified in a bad way by any user.

Recent Research on How Best to Use Social Media for Language Learning

·        Engage students in the practice of English

Students who use social media in their courses increase their technology and communication skills, are more creative, and are more open to diverse ideas. hey can also master course content more efficiently.

·         Provide more authentic input

·         Build community

Students who use social media tend to support each other and even act as mentors.

·         Develop critical thinking skills

Online discussion forums can increase students’ critical thinking skills.

·        Personalize learnig

WebQuest

What is WebQuest?

WebQuest’ is the name given to an instructional model for Web-based learning projects that draw on information and communication resources on the Internet.

WebQuests are inquiry-oriented activities in which some or all of the information learners interact with comes from resources on the Internet (Dodge, 2000).

Yoder (1999) explained that in a typical WebQuest, “students were presented a scenario and a task, usually a problem to solve or a project to complete. The students were given Internet resources and asked to analyze and synthesize the information and come up with their own creative solutions” (p. 1).

Why use WebQuest?

 

Structure of a WebQuest

Introduction  :           Provides background information on the topic and sets the stage for the investigation or activity.

Task                 :           Includes an activity that is“doable” and is of interest to the students; often identifies roles for cooperative group members.

Resources       :           Provides links to high -quality Internet- based resources that students will use to complete the activity; links may be embedded in Process.

Process           :           Provides a step- by -step guide for completion of the activity; should provide a clear description of exactly what students should do to complete the task.

Evaluation      :           Should illustrate exactly what students should do to be successful; usually in the form of a rubric or checklist.

Conclusion      :           Brings closure to the activity and summarizes what you hope the students have learned as a result of completing the activity.

Types of WebQuests

·        Short Term WebQuests – The instructional goal of a short term WebQuest is knowledge acquisition and integration. At the end of a short term WebQuest, a learner will have grappled with a significant amount of new information and made sense of it.

·        Longer Term WebQuests – The instructional goal of a longer term WebQuest is extending and refining knowledge. After completing, a learner would have analyzed a body of knowledge deeply, transformed it in some way, and demonstrated it by creating something that others can respond to, on-line or off-.

Typology of WebQuests

Compilation tasks      :           students surf through different resources and select information in order to make a compilation (e.g. a cookbook, a collection of plants, etc.).

Judgement tasks        :           after gathering enough data about a special event or fact, students reach a decision and present it.

Retelling tasks            :           after a search, students reformulate what they have learnt.

Persuasion tasks        :           students are presented with a mock real situation and asked to use what they have learned so as to develop a convincing strategy to persuade their audience.

Mystery tasks             :           students are trapped in a problem or mystery story to be solved.

Creative tasks             :           the aim is to create a final product in a specific area and a specific format (e.g. a painting, a radio performance, etc.).

Journalistic tasks       :           students  gather information, organize  it  and report  it  according to the  journalistic  genre.

Design tasks               :           students are prompted to create a product that accomplishes some predefined goal.

Analytical tasks          :           students are asked to look closely at certain things (physical or abstract) and examine them carefully in order to establish different relationships (cause-effect, similarities-differences, etc.).

Self-knowledge tasks            :           this is the least common type of webquest since it attempts to develop oneself and articulate a personal insight through an exploration of the on-and-off line resources.

Consensus tasks         :           presenting differing points of view on the same topic, analyzing them in order to reach a conclusion.

Scientific tasks           :           includes skills such as making hypothesis, testing them and, at the end, contrasting the result with the initial prediction.

Suggestions for Implementing WebQuests

·        Choose your WebQuest wisely.

·        Gauge student technology proficiency.

·        Determine prior knowledge/content understanding.

·        Assess the availability of computers.

·        Have a backup plan.

·        Maximize class time on the computer.

·        Clarify student roles.

·        Continue working even after computer time is over.

·        Make assessment clear to students.

Be excited about the possibilities.