Featured In New Media Age this week (NMA)

Andrew Davis

on 15 Jul 2009

Underneath is what I mentioned above. Big thanks to Nic Howell and NMA for the support.

When I first started working for MySpace in 2006, I could understand why people were saying that social media was a fad and had no intellectual merit as there were only a couple of major players in the game. Three short years later we have some of the biggest websites in the world in the social media camp and there’s now talk of social media being introduced into the classroom. Unfortunately not all of the feedback has been positive – which leaves me puzzled.

Starting this September I’ve created a social media course that will educate pupils as well as teachers and parents in regards to the fundamental areas. It will include: Social networks, social bookmarking, blogging, micro-blogging, Wiki’s and content communities. Using both practical and theoretical methods it will offer a great insight into the growing industry, arming students with the tools to carve out a potential career within the social media realm. Luckily the school I am piloting the course with has a young and fresh approach towards the subject and has included it within their GCSE English coursework, which hopefully will set a trend.

The general consensus from articles that I have read is that people think Twitter will replace English in school, which it will not and I do not think it should. What I do think is that social media can add value to core subjects and give teachers more options in regards to their lesson plans. For example persuasive writing in English Language is a key element when it comes to online editorial and content producing. These two discourses were vital in MySpace/ Lily Allen success story.

Young people are on these social networking sites – that’s a fact. They enjoy these sites and feel comfortable on these sites. Giving them a better understanding of these sites will not only give them another option for an alternative career path but could also potentially help them with a better understanding of their core subjects. I don’t think social media is ready for a curriculum subject this year, but will be very soon. I think we have proved over the last few years that it is not a fad and is here to stay. So if any teachers, parents or local authorities are reading this, please help us engage pupils with Social Media in schools and let us educate everyone involved to change this negative perception. Let’s not follow the music industry vs illegal downloading case study where they were forever fighting a losing battle because they joined the race too late.

Have a look at the article here.

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2 Comments »

Saturday, July 18, 2009 at 12:11 am: Incisive said:

Big look man…

I agree – social media does neccesarily need to replace anything…

Just as the internet does not replace a classroom or library

They more compliment them – the internet compliments the classroom through enhancing our reach and accessibility to information

Social media compliments our LIVES through enhancing our social reach, and through amplifiying an individuals voice/opinion that would have previously been heard only in the room it was uttered – locally through “chinese whispers”at best and transforming it into a booming broadcast, available worldwide to whoever chooses to click and “tune in”

…thats off the top so quote me on that….lol

For real man…keep it up…nice work!!