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Thao Pham

Facebook or what saved me from MS Teams fatigues

I wouldn't say I like online teaching. Like many others, I love to have genuine interactions with my students. Online instructions bring me out of my comfort zone. I can't see my student's faces to know whether they understand. I can't hear their laugh to tell whether my jokes work. The last part of my semester can be described in one word: dull. To save me from MS Teams fatigues, I revisited my past experience and decided to incorporate Facebook in my lectures.


The use of social media in education is not novel. When I worked as a teaching assistant at Indiana University, I was asked to create a Twitter account for a class. The initial goal is to introduce students to news from pharmaceutical industry. The idea flopped. It was refreshing but did not work. No reply, not retweet, no nothing.



I revisited the idea of using social media while attending PEN last year. Ian Kalman, a Fulbright University professor, introduced the use of social media in the workshop. Ian uses social media as a platform to interact with students. In his arguments, our medium shapes our behavior. The same person will behave differently on various platforms. One can be shy offline but "talkative" online.

"Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media by which men communicate than by the content of the communication." -Marshall McLuhan

As Facebook becomes a learning platform, it encourages shy students to voice up. Another benefit is class content shall be archived and revisited later. He allowed us to experiment in PEN and I could not wait to try in my class.


And then I did. Once. I did not like how the class turned out. Students have to switch from blackboard and phone. The method distracted them from the "now" moment. I can't feel their presence in class. Fast forward to 2021, the delta wave forces me to be back with MS Teams. This time social media becomes my savior. After the dull first online session, instead of asking questions and waiting for answers out of desperation, I posted my question on Facebook. This time it works wonders! Given students are already in the online platform, they remained at their digital presence. Facebook is a more social and more relaxing medium to connect. My students become more engaged. Some started to raising voices in lectures as they get to use to raising opinions. I'm saved. Thank you, Mark Zuckerberg.


P.S: Coldplay just released new single. Why don't you give it a try?


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4 comentários


K60 Trịnh Hương Lan
K60 Trịnh Hương Lan
11 de set. de 2021

So the idea of making us raise our opinions on Facebook has just appeared recently xD

Curtir

Minh Thắng Bùi
Minh Thắng Bùi
18 de ago. de 2021

Em nhớ là vào kỳ 2 năm ngoái, những buổi đầu học vi mô là học qua MS Teams là em học với cô. Đợt đó em còn nhớ cô còn mở video tiếng Nga cho chúng em xem nữa 😂 Dù chỉ học với cô vài buổi đầu thôi nhưng thực sự thì em rất thích các bài giảng của cô vì cô có rất nhiều ví dụ thực tế rất là dễ hiểu. Em rất thích cách học như vậy!

Curtir
Minh Thắng Bùi
Minh Thắng Bùi
19 de ago. de 2021
Respondendo a

Em vẫn thỉnh thoảng quay lại đọc đều đều đây ạ hihi. Mỗi lần đọc biết thêm nhiều thứ lắm ạ!

Curtir
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