#WRIT22: Social Media in the Classroom

Emily MacIsaac  //  November 30, 2012

As some of you may know (especially if you read my, ahem, November note from the editor), MSVU celebrated Writing Week November 12-16th. As part of this initiative David Wilson, professor of WRIT 2220: Writing to Influence, opened his class on November 14^th.

Opened how? Well, @DavidRWilson1 has been using Twitter to connect with his students, from class updates to open micro-discussions. As part of Writing Week initiative “WRITE now. Right Now” David invited WRIT 2220 students and anyone else interested in tweeting about visual argumentation into his classroom.

David shared a number of controversial photos in his class and on Twitter in an effort to generate discussion which included other MSVU faculty and students.

Students and faculty were quick to chat about this startling picture:

Saying things like:

Participants also engaged in discussions about other images that dealt with body image including images of Heather Morris from a “Bruised-up Barbie shoot.”

#WRIT22 generated more than 150 tweets and left students with a whole new experience of social media in the classroom. Last week I was able to chat with David Wilson and here is what he had to say about the project:

1. Why did you decide to incorporate Twitter in your writing class? What role do you think social media can play in the classroom?

I have been using Twitter in my class for over a year. Students have the option of following me and learning extra things–literary trivia, quotes, interesting new books, strange words, etc. Last year for Celebrating Writing Week I had a Twitter Treasure Hunt for the Mount community–I asked a series of questions, and the top 3 right answers won prizes (books). It was fun.

This time I wanted to both expand and concentrate the idea. I chose to have an open class on Twitter in which we discussed an idea–visual argumentation–that anyone following us online could see unfolding in real time and even participate in by asking a question (which someone from outside the class did). We used a hashtag so that people could see what we were saying.

2. What do you hope students gain from using social media in the classroom?

I hope students enjoyed the experience, and learned that social media can be used to inform, educate, interact with, and even persuade, an audience. Using Twitter can certainly change how students interact with course material. The student feedback on the event was quite positive. They all got in to it, tweeting, re-tweeting, replying, uploading images and links.

3. How did you get involved with MSVU’s Creative Writing Week?

I participated in the 1st CWW by having my Literature class conduct a public reading of the Sherlock Holmes story “The Hound of the Baskervilles.” We also made it a Feed NS event where people could drop off food donations. It took about 4 hours to read aloud. Many stuck around to find out how it ends–did a demon dog really do it? I won’t ruin the ending for you.

4. Were you happy with the results of the live presentation and did it fall in line with your expectations?

I was pleased with the high level of participation from the class. It was a bit chaotic at times, and then got really quiet as they all watched and responded to what was happening on Twitter. The next time, I may try to focus on fewer images, and perhaps one main theme–war, beauty, and race.

5. Would you participate next year and if so, what do you hope to accomplish?

Sure, I’d participate next year, and maybe try Twitter again. Teaching is about experimenting.

6. Any comments, quotes, tips, etc. you would like to share?

Student input is important to help ensure a successful event during CWW. My advice would be to include students in the process, get them engaged early. I had the Lit class design posters for the public reading and the Writing class was surveyed about possible topics for the Twitter event and voted on the best one.

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Emily MacIsaac is an editor for Symmetry. Currently she is exploring both the scenic parks of Ottawa and the job market. With a love of running and traveling who knows where she’ll end up be next! (But she’ll have to wait until May 2013).