Sunday, June 8, 2014

Social Media Enhanced Learning Platforms



I came across an article recently that talked about various alternatives to blogging in the classroom. Of course that piqued my curiosity as my 9-year-old son blogs as part of his school work. Some of the tools mentioned in the article were new to me so I explored further, and thought I’ll share my views here as other parents might find it useful too.
The first one I checked out was Storify. I had not heard of it before, but here is what I found out:
 
Storify - Create stories using social media

Storify is a social media tool that lets users create stories from a variety of sources. So, one can use information from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Instagram, and other web sources to pull together a story.

In a school setting, teachers can ask students to write a story or a report on a given topic. Students can search for information on a number of social networks and add their own comments, thoughts, and views. The tool provides students an opportunity to make sense of what they have pulled together and put it in a coherent form. After project completion, students can share the link with others for comments or further class discussion. They can even share it on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

So how is it different from any other blogging service or is it any better? I believe when you have a project or presentation that would benefit from incorporating information from a variety of online media, Storify seems like a good choice for creating that piece of work. It’s very easy to use and makes learning fun.  

Storybird - Artful storytelling

The next one I checked out was Storybird. Storybird lets users create visual stories. In schools, teachers can ask students to create their own individual stories, or work together in small groups, or even as a class to create a story by writing their own text and inserting pictures. Stories can be embedded onto blogs, emailed to parents, downloaded or printed. Students have the opportunity to read their peers' stories or other people’s stories on Storybird. Assignments can be set on a theme, artist or a particular topic. The main purpose of this tool is to inspire students to write.

Glogster EDU - 21st century multimedia tool for educators, teachers and students

The last one I checked out was Glogster EDU. Glogster allows users to create interactive posters, or glogs as they are referred to. Glog is an acronym for graphical blog. I guess after visiting Glogster I not only learned about this tool, but also added a new word to my vocabulary. Glogs!
Anyways, students can use Glogster to create interactive posters by including text, videos, hyperlinks, music and images. When students are done, the teacher has to approve whether or not to make the Glog private to their classmates or public on the internet. Students can embed their Glog into their Myspace, Twitter or Facebook pages. The teacher can also post a Glog to Edmodo. I’d say it’s a modern day alternative to offline boards and posters.

I believe all these tools provide an outlet for immense creative expression online, and encourage a peer-learning and peer-support environment. They help in improving students’ writing skills with ample opportunity for critical thinking, creativity and an understanding of social media. The goal is to make student learning more fun and engaging.


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