As professors dive deeper into this semester's curriculum, one trend is emerging in Ball State's classrooms: social media. Students are no longer sneaking to check their Twitter and Facebook accounts in class — they are being instructed to do so by their professors.
Unified media coordinator and instructor of journalism, Annie Hammock, said she strongly believes in changing with the times. In the past year, she has incorporated both Twitter and Facebook into her classes.
Through Twitter, Hammock's students shared links accompanied by a recognizable hash tag.
But, out of the two social networks used, Hammock enjoys Facebook the most. She said the site is much more conducive than the commonly used Blackboard discussion forums.
"Seeing the students' pictures helps tremendously in getting to know my students," Hammock said.
A study done by Babson Survey Research Group, an organization based at Babson College in Massachusetts, proves that Hammock is not alone when using social media in the classroom. The study found that over 90 percent of all faculty are using social media in courses they're teaching or for their professional careers outside the classroom. Two-thirds of faculty surveyed have used social media in their classroom and 30 percent have posted content for students to view and read outside of class.
On the other hand, chairman of the Department of Telecommunications Tim Pollard experimented with the use of blogs in his classes, but quickly eliminated them to create more in-person dialogue with his students. He saw that the popular blogging site hindered the students' connection.
"Tweeting or texting does not convey how a person feels via visual cues," Pollard said.
He and several other professors worry about the development of important verbal and interpersonal communication skills necessary in the business world and the effect social networks have on those skills, he said.
Finding a middle ground in this issue, Brian McNely, assistant professor of English, uses social media but does not make it a course requirement. Since 2007, McNely has used several social media sites including Tumblr, Twitter, Blogger and Google reader.
McNely commends social media. He said it is a nice way to provide glue to hold the community together.
His class of 18 students in English 431 last spring illustrates social media's impact. He instructed the students to use Twitter during class to share links and class material.
Since the class ended May 4, students have continued to share material with each other with the last tweet posted August 29. Of the 632 tweets using the course hashtag, 14 percent of them were generated after the course had ended. This is a strong indication of continuing intellectual engagement with the course subject matter, and Twitter seemed to foster this peer-to-peer engagement, McNely said.
He said social media is not the magic solution to teaching students, and he understands that not all students engage in these networks. What can be written on paper can also be written on the Internet, he said.
The English classes aren't the only ones using Twitter in the classroom. Libby Keef, elementary and special education major, said she enjoys the convenience of Twitter used in her speech class.
Twitter is used to accommodate the large class size which helps those who sit in the back and those timid students, she said. Twitter is used during class to share links, ask and answer questions and give important updates.
Not all students are in favor of this gradual shift to social media in academics. Brittney Palmer, senior pre-physicians assistant major, said she thinks social media makes the classroom too casual. Palmer enjoys Twitter in her free time and doesn't like mixing the leisure activities of her personal life with academics, she said.
Stressing the importance of professionalism in the classroom, Palmer said the use of social media brings students and professors to the same level.
"I didn't enroll in and pay for the course to be pals with my professor," Palmer said.
Although Hammock uses it in the classroom, she still constantly reminds students of discretion and the overlooked reality that what is posted on a social media site is available for everyone to see.
"If you would not paint it on the side of the Teacher's College, do not post it on Facebook," she said.
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