Project+3+Podcasts+as+Elevator+Speeches

Introduction
====Few teachers that I have been associated with are willing to integrate social media in their everyday lesson plans. Most of my teaching associates are too scared to even talk about using social media. They seem to be scared because of a few bad situations that are covered in the media involving student-teacher relationship boundaries that were crossed. Some teachers are reluctant to using social media, for fear that only after a few months students will be bored with it and desire to use some other new, latest and greatest technology to make learning exciting. I believe that social media has its place in today’s classroom and I strive to show the teachers I collaborate with how social media can be used effectively and appropriately. My first podcast discusses the role social media can play in enhancing teaching and learning. It describes the millennial student and how social media can build a connection to their everyday world (Berk, 2009). My second podcast illustrates some best practices that teachers need to know before integrating social media in their classroom. ====

What is Social Media and its Role in Enhancing Teaching and Learning?
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Best Practices of Using Social Media to Support Student Learning
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Lessons Learned
====From the research that I conducted to create my first podcast on the role social media play in enhancing teaching and learning, I learned that using social media can provide comfort in communication for those students who otherwise uncomfortable participating in a face-to-face environment (Abe & Jordan, 2013). I also learned that social media is the tool that can continue the informal learning process that makes up over 80% of the learned knowledge that humans gain. Informal learning is gain through students’ social interaction and many face-to-face classrooms do not allow many social interactions with peers. Social media can be the vehicle that bridges the gap between informal and formal learning (Chen & Bryer, 2012). ====

The second podcast topic concerning best practices for social media helped me learn more about the flipped model classroom. The flipped model is basically opposite of the classroom model that most teachers use, hence the name. The flipped model has students watch videos, listen to podcasts, and read on their own and then come back to school the next day and complete activities with the support of the teacher (Redman, Trapani, & AARE, 2012).

Challenges
====My biggest challenge was processing the information I found, deciding what information that was pertinent and organizing the information in a way that supported each podcast topic. The annotated bibliography that I completed in project 1 was a great resource that helped to begin the organization process. The annotated bibliography helped to cull the resources down to the ones that aligned with each podcast topic. After I completed each script I proofread each one to correct any grammatical errors. I also read each script to decide if the words flowed and the sentence structure did not seem too complex. I read each script again while using the stopwatch function on my iPhone to make sure each podcast was between two to five minutes. Audacity is very simple to use and I really did not have much difficulty in the recording process. Although, I did spend a little more time than I had intended finding background music for each podcast. ====

Conclusion
====Project 3 has helped me formulate my own opinion of whether social media should be used in the classroom. I personally want to research the flipped classroom model a little more because it seems like the best strategy for using social media in the classroom. I would like to utilize more of the informal learning in my lessons, where students learn from each other outside the classroom walls. An important lesson learned from this assignment is for when teachers decide to integrate social media in their classroom, it is best to a have a well thought out plan. Teachers should never just begin a integrating any new technologies without researching to find the current issues and challenges that they are certain to face. ====

Abe, P., & Jordan, N. A. (2013). Integrating social media into the classroom curriculum. About Campus, 18(1), 16-20.

Berk, R. (2009). Teaching strategies for the net generation. Transformative Dialogues: Teaching & Learning Journal, 3(2). Retrieved from http://www.ronberk.com/articles/2009 _strategies.pdf

Chen, B., & Bryer, T. (2012). Investigating instructional strategies for using social media in formal and informal learning. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 13(1), 87-104.

Redman, C., Trapani, F., & Australian Association for Research in Education. (2012). Experiencing new technology: Exploring pre-service teachers' perceptions and reflections upon the affordances of social media. Australian Association for Research in Education.

Winn, M. R. (2012). Promote digital citizenship through school-based social networking. Learning & Leading with Technology, 39(4), 10-13.

About the Author

 * [[image:jameytrask7465/jamey head crop.jpg]] || =====James Trask or "Jamey" is a special education teacher at Fayette County High School, in Fayetteville, GA. He has been teaching and coaching varsity football there for the past 9 years. This year he also accepted a part-time position as a teacher for the Georgia Virtual School. Jamey is currently teaching one engineering course through the GA Virtual School. Teaching online has been a great challenge for Jamey and he is glad to have been given this opportunity to be on the front-end of a movement toward online education. Jamey received his undergraduate degree from Georgia Southern University in graphic design. He completed his masters degree in Instructional Technology from the University of West Georgia in the spring of 2012. Jamey spends most of his professional time co-teaching math, but he also co-teaches a British Literature course. Jamey always looks for opportunities to use and share the knowledge he has in graphic design and technology with others that will listen. ===== ||