Volume XXXIII, No. 26 | November 4, 2011

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN: STUDENT ENGAGEMENT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA

So what is all this tweeting, Facebooking, and blogging about? It is about student engagement—active involvement during academic sessions. As faculty and administrators, we can agree that student learning is our goal, and we must do what it takes to engage students while they are members of our learning environments.

So how do we “catch,” or engage, the 21st century learner? Studies show that engaging the modern student includes transcending the boundaries of traditional pedagogy, where professors use only chalk and board. We need to meet students on their turf—not compromise academic rigor, but utilize the mediums in the students’ environments. Piloting a study at the college, we found that incorporating social media engages students, thus blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are stimulating social environments that work in the classroom.

Our faculty and administrators use social media as conduits for disseminating information regarding financial aid, registration, etc. However, we have discovered that such social media (Twitter, blogs, Facebook, and YouTube) can be effective across academic disciplines. For example, in selected Principles of Accounting courses, Twitter is proving to be an effective means of reminding students about upcoming assignments/tests. Using Twitter in the classroom, the instructor remains in constant communication—even outside of the physical college. And, blogs excite critical thinking and encourage sharing and developing new ideas. In an effort to expand discussion about accounting outside of the classroom, students were asked to respond to the question: “What are your opinions on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (of 2002) and its negative and positive effects on U.S. businesses?”—the Act passed by Congress requiring companies to clarify the accuracy of their financial information. Students were engaged during this activity with peer-to-peer and instructor-to-peer interaction.

Facebook engages and retains students. Statistical data reveal that 85% of college students have Facebook accounts, and 60% login daily. Although this social network is used primarily for connecting with friends and family, it also serves useful purposes in academic settings. Faculty utilize Facebook to post course announcements or assignments and initiate faculty-student dialogue. Many colleges have developed Facebook pages and use them to connect with students and post pertinent information.

In a recent presentation, college faculty employed this medium to demonstrate its usefulness. Through a page entitled, “Catch Me if You Can: Student Engagement via Social Media,” we were able to gather research data on student and faculty engagement. Students and faculty were asked to login and post threads focusing on social media and its effectiveness. Results revealed that students and faculty were engaged, and faculty thought the page was useful in teaching their courses; moreover, participants noted that implementing a Facebook page reinforced consistent effective communication, provided some excitement, and accommodated academic interests.

Faculty utilized YouTube to assign special end-of-the-semester projects. For example, a YouTube project prepared accounting students for public speaking in their respective work environments. Students were charged with developing 30- to 45-minute presentations on budgeting, and the presentations were posted on the college’s YouTube channel.

Not all social media will prove successful in all academic areas, but the media we have employed has been useful catalysts to conversation.

Larry D. Johnson, Division Chair, General Studies
Susan E. Wright, Instructor, Accounting

For further information, contact the authors at DeKalb Technical College, 495 North Indian Creek Drive, Clarkston, GA 30021. Emails: johnsola@dekalbtech.edu or wrights@dekalbtech.edu