5 Pedagogical Needs That Can Be Improved Through Use of Social Media: Gamification

Through several readings including the book assigned for my Digital and Social Media course titled, Social Media for Educators: Strategies and Best Practices, I have come to the conclusion that social media does have the capability to change the traditional classroom in many ways. The book references five pedagogical needs that we need to examine when considering incorporating social media into our classrooms. This list can be found in chapter 2, p. 30 of Joosten's book:

1. Increasing communication and contact
2. Engaging students through rich, current media
3. Gathering and providing feedback
4. Creating cooperative and collaborative learning opportunities
5. Providing experiential learning opportunities

I would like to explore the idea of experiential learning opportunities, the fifth of Joosten's pedagogical list. Through other readings, I found that some teachers are using what they dub "gamification" techniques in the classroom. "The theory is that by changing at least some of the curriculum to adopt familiar social media activities like checking in or collecting incremental rewards for completing various tasks, that the education system will become more relevant to students more comfortable with the “gamification” culture." (Power) This idea really peaked my interest, because I use to be a "gamer" when I was in high school, and even through college. I built rapport with many students by discussing the latest gaming technologies that were coming out, or the best strategies during game play. It is becoming harder and harder to motivate students to participate in class, but if we could find a way to create a gaming sequence out of a class, it could really make breakthroughs with these students and help them to achieve a higher academic standing and remain more engaged in the classroom. I even found an article that suggested doing a "twitter treasure hunt", which seemed like a great idea to me as I just created a twitter and am already swimming in new information and resources. Teaching students to use social media as more than just a communication tool with friends, showing them that it can also be a great way to find new information about their interests. Even something as simple as having students comment on blogs, or youtube videos as an assignment. Leaving comments has become second nature, as Facebook has radically changed the way we communicate, and to create assignments that utilize this nature will keep students more engaged. 

 Power, D. (2012, January 10). How Social Media Is Changing Education | Sprout Social. Retrieved September 28, 2015. 

Joosten, T. (2012). Social Media for Educators: Strategies and Best Practices. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Here are some links that further explore Social Media in Education and the bold idea of "gamificiation":

• 4 Ways To Bring Gamification of Education to Your Classroom
• Gamification: The Right or Wrong Way to Motivate Students
• Social Media and Gamification Take Center Stage in Learning
• Use of Student Data: Social Media and Gamification in Education
• Epic Fail or Win?