◼Anatoliy Gruzd ◼Caroline Haythornthwaite◼Marc Esteve Del Valle ◼Drew Paulin ◼Sarah Gilbert

project on Learning Analytics in the Social Media Age

#pLASMAFunded by:

A project of:

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Primary purpose: o To develop and evaluate

automated measures that can help educators manage their use of social media for teaching and learning

Project on Learning Analytics in the Social Media Age (#pLASMA)

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#pLASMA Phase 1: Survey

Question 1: To what extent are social media being adopted by Canadian (and international) instructors in Higher Education?

Question 2: What specific social media are being used for teaching, and for what intended learning outcomes?

Question 3: What are the common assessment strategies of social media use for teaching and learning used by instructors?

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#pLASMA Phase 1: Survey Collection Time Period: March 2014 – February 2015Recruitment via:

◦ Direct emails (known or recommended contacts)◦ Mailing lists (e.g., ASIS&T, CITASA, etc.)◦ Distribution at conferences, in presentations or using

survey information cards (e.g., LAK14)◦ Twitter (posted using relevant conference hashtags,

etc.)

Survey Structure:◦ 27 questions and two sections ◦ Expected completion time: 35 minutes

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#pLASMA Survey: Demographics

Respondents

Median= 43.98

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Denmark Ireland

Israel Netherlands

New Zealand Romania

Spain Sweden Turkey

Switzerland Brazil

Germany Australia

United KingdomCanada

United States

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

Respondents from countries

#pLASMA Survey: Demographics

Sociology

Computer sciences

Education

Information science

Journalism, media studies and communication

Top 5 Disciplines

Outline1. What Social Media Platforms are Used for

Teaching 2. How Social Media Platforms are Used for Teaching

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Social Media Use for Teaching

What is the most useful social media tool that you have used in class?

Blog

Twitter

YouTube

Face

book

Google docs/

Shari

ng/ Docu

ment shari

ng

Discussi

on/Forum

Wiki LMS

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

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Use of Social Media Inside & Outside Learning Management Systems

Blogs-studentsBlog-course

Microblogging - e.g. TwitterWikis - e.g. Wikipedia, Wikibooks

Social networking - e.g. Facebook, LinkedInAcademic social networking - e.g. ResearchGate.net

Document sharing - e.g. Google Docs/DriveMultimedia repositories - e.g. Youtube, Flickr

Presentation sharing - e.g. SlideShare.netSocial bookmarking - e.g. Delicious.com,

Academic bookmarking - e.g. ZoteroSynchronous discussion - e.g. Skype,

Virtual worlds - e.g. Second LifeAsynchronous discussion boards or forums

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200

Outside the LMS Inside the LMS

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Barriers to Use Social Media in Teaching

Ability

Time

Ethics

Support

Tool

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

“It is designed for selling entertainment content”

“IT bureaucracy”

“Too many requirements on students”

“Adds to an already heavy workload for me”

“Different levels in students' technology skills”

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How do you stay informed about effective teaching and learning strategies for the use of social media in education?

Online forums, journals conferences and workshops

Twitter, Facebook

By talking to and sharing experiences with my colleagues and the students

Stay Informed about Social Media

Seminar

Friends

Impersonal media

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Outline1. What Social Media Platforms are Used for Teaching 2. How Social Media Platforms are Used for

Teaching

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How Social Media are Used in a Class?

Manual Coding

Discovery by instructorFostering community

Organizing by studentsDiscovery by students

Learning through practiceReaching outside the class

Supporting collaborationPeer interaction

Reflective learningOrganizing by instructor

Sharing by instructorDiscussing

Sharing among students

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Broad Categories

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Please give a brief explanation of how you use the above tool in your course

3 Human Coders

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How Social Media are Used in a Class? Codes

Code Explanation

How the “most useful social

media tool” was used in their courses(s).*

How social media was used in one specific recently

taught class* 

S2 Sharing among students 59 41DC Discussing 50 42S1 Sharing by instructor 46 41O1 Organizing for instructor 41 29RL Reflective learning 36 21PI Peer interaction 23 11SC Supporting collaboration 18 8RO Reaching outside the class 16 3LP Learning through practice 15 16D2 Discovery by students 14 7O2 Organizing for students 12 5FC Fostering community 9 9D1 Discovery by instructor 3 1

* 4 and 27 comments could not be interpreted for coding

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Discovery by instructor

Organizing by students

Learning through practice

Supporting collaboration

Reflective learning

Sharing by instructor

Sharing among students

0 10203040506070

Broad Cat-egories

Factor

Name Items loading on the factor

Percent of

variance explaine

d1 Facilitating

EngagementOrganizing by students; Peer interaction; Sharing by students; Reflective learning

12.63

2 Organization for Teaching

Organizing by/for instructor; Sharing by instructor; Discussion

10.89

3 Reaching Outside Reaching outsidelearning by practice

10.10

4 Enhancing Student Learning

Supporting collaboration among students; Reflective learning

8.97

5 Building a Community of Practice

Fostering communities

8.48

6 Discovery Discovery by instructors; Discovery by students

8.48

How Social Media are Used in a Class?

Factor Analysis

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Conclusions

WHAT: Most Used Social Media: Blogs, Twitter and Youtube

HOW: 1) Facilitating engagement, 2) Organizing for teaching, 3) Reaching outside the class (Factor Analysis)

◼Anatoliy Gruzd ◼Caroline Haythornthwaite◼Drew Paulin ◼Sarah Gilbert◼Marc Esteve Del Valle

◼ E-mail: mesteved@ryerson.ca◼ Twiter: @NetMev

project on Learning Analytics in the Social Media Age

#pLASMAFunded by:

A project of: