Best Practices: Social Presence and Digital Wisdom

So now that I’ve provided some ideas for implementing more technology in the classroom, it’s time to talk about how to make sure that technology is effective.  Anyone can search for videos on YouTube and throw them up on a website for students to view, but it’s important to remember that we still need to teach at the same time.

One of the best ways to ensure meaningful communication and learning between teachers and students online is establishing social presence.  This can be done in a variety of ways including video introductions, profile pictures, group projects, meaningful discussion responses, etc. (Bentley).  The point of social presence is that the students feel as if they are interacting with “real” people, not just names on a screen.  Sometimes, online learning can come off cold and impersonal, but by establishing a good social presence among all involved, students can feel the same sense of community that they get in the traditional classroom.

Another idea to keep in mind when implementing technology into the classroom is that most if not all students have some experience with technology.  Sometimes, the students may even have more experience than the teacher.  Marc Prensky calls these students “digital natives,” a term used to describe students that have grown up with technology and are quite capable of operating successfully in the technology filled future.  However, the teachers that instruct these students can sometimes be “digital immigrants” or individuals that did not grow up with technology and may have a harder time navigating the digital world.  Whether your students or you as the teacher, are a Native or an Immigrant, any technology that we implement into the classroom must enhance the students' digital wisdom.  Prensky advises teachers to listen to their students and for administrators and other education figures to inspire teachers to want to change their classrooms, to want to include technology that speaks to their digital native students. (Prensky, 2011).  These ideas and more will be discussed in the next few blog posts to ensure our teachers not only include technology, but use it to its fullest potential and to the greatest benefit of our students.

Check out Marc Prensky talking about how students today understand the world through technology:

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Resources:

Prensky, M. (2012). Introduction. From digital natives to digital wisdom: hopeful essays for 21st century learning (pp. 1-9). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin.

Bentley, K. (n.d.). The Centrality of Social Presence in Online Teaching and Learning. Understanding Change: Making the Transition to Online Teaching. Retrieved October 5, 2014, from https://blackboard.cmich.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_3050175_1&course_id=_86186_1