So many social media tools, so many possibilities . . .

When deciding whether to incorporate any social media tools into course instruction, there are many questions to ponder. The first one to consider involves student learning outcomes, i.e., what should students be able to do after completing the course? Also what are the common characteristics of students taking this course, e.g., are a majority social media savvy? How will you have students use a particular tool and for what purpose? What kinds of tools are available, free, and user-friendly? Which of these will work best for all of the above?

Thinking about these questions along with those that I raised in my last post, I find that I am open to incorporating some of the social media tools we have learned about in this class into a future online library research skills course. But I am also inclined to limit the number of these outside social media platforms for use in building an online student community. I just don’t want to overwhelm students by requiring them to learn too many new technologies, especially those students who already struggle with simply navigating through the course management system (in this case, Moodle).

I like the idea that Moodle offers a variety of its own social media type tools, including blogs and wikis, to help build community within one online space. But I also find in some instances that I actually prefer the interfaces of outside social media platforms and I think students may too. In the case of blogging for example, the options for designing a personalized blog using Blogger seem limitless compared to the features available using Moodle’s blogging software. 

One activity I might incorporate into a course involves students reflecting and blogging weekly about conducting academic research and using a variety of resources, e.g., the library catalog or library databases. While the goal of a blogging activity in this case may have little to do with the actual design of the blog, students might respond better to the idea of blogging in general. They might actually enjoy writing their entries more when they can also personalize their blogging space using a tool that offers many design options (this definitely works for me!).

Another activity that I might into a library research skills course involves asking students to share one or more websites that they have found helpful in the past or have even recently discovered. Students would share the URL link and a website evaluation in either a class wiki or shared document. For this activity I like the idea of using another social media tool outside of Moodle, such as Wikispaces or Google Drive, because either of these allows students to access the information long after the course is over.

I sometimes find the limitless possibilities for using social media tools in education a bit overwhelming. Therefore when considering a tool for future course instruction, I must remember to first ask and answer several important questions to make sure I will also be using this tool responsibly and in the best interest of my students.