Originally written March 25, 2012
“In
higher education, social networks are possible game changers using all tools.”
Kevin Kvalvik, CEO, Shadowbox Design (Rivero, 2011).
Women’s Shelter of South Texas (WSSTx) is a battered
women’s sheltered based in Corpus Christi, Texas. Its mission is to prevent and
ultimately end domestic and sexual violence in South Texas, and the agency
serves a 12-county area with over 550,000 residents. One of the challenges that
the WSSTx has is how can its 4-person team of professional educators reach out
to a community of this size and conduct effective education to enough community
members to foster conceptual changes that end the social norms that support
violence, especially violence against women. It is believed that social media
such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google+ can provide a comprehensive
platform to facilitate higher level discussions that expose these negative
social norms and usher an era of cognitive and conceptual change that builds
communities with low tolerances for such violence and high expectations for
healthy relationships. This paper will explore the prevalence of social media,
how social media can be used as a “mindtool” as defined by David Jonassen,
discussion topics that can be facilitated by social media to address social
norms change, and provide some examples that support the notion that social media
can be used in such a fashion.
The most notorious of all social media platforms
today is undoubtedly Facebook with 845 million monthly users as of December
2011 and 483 million daily users. It is estimated that over 425 million users
access Facebook through a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet computer
such as iPad or Samsung Galaxy (Facebook Newsroom, 2012.) YouTube follows with
490 million unique monthly users logging in and 92 billion monthly page views
(Bullas, 2011.) The Huffington Post reported in 2011 that the microblog service
known as Twitter has over 100 million active users sending 283 million Tweets
monthly. A lot of this activity on Twitter is meant to drive traffic to
existing blogs or Facebook pages for a deeper discussion. Google unleashed
“Google+” in hopes of giving Facebook a run for its money. Google+ currently
only has 25 million users compared to Facebook’s 845 million, however it has
been dubbed as the fastest growing social media platform in 2011 (Bullas,
2011.) For all intents and purposes of this discussion, I will consider Google+
to be a Facebook-like platform, so references to Facebook can also include
Google+.
The primary purpose for all of these platforms is to
share information and have discussions. Unlike online chatrooms of the 1990s,
discussions on current social media can be synchronous as well as asynchronous
making it very convenient to use. Its accessibility on smartphone and tablet
technology makes it even more accessible where time is not spent logging into
computers and software since most mobile applications keep users logged in at
all times, or automatically log in for the user upon opening of the
application. Just as fisherman say that to catch fish one needs to go where the
fish are biting, similarly if we wish to reach a larger audience in a medium
and timeframe that works best for our audience, we need to go where they are.
A “mindtool” is any technology that is used to
facilitate higher level thinking, cognitive development, or concept change (Jonassen,
2006.) One such mindtool that can be provided by social media is structured
computer conferences. Structured computer conferences can be conducted
asynchronously as a discussion board or Facebook discussion post. They can also
be conducted synchronously such as The Nines Leadership Network conference
where various Christian pastors and leaders from around the United States
recorded and posted 9-minute videos and viewers participated in live
Twitter-based discussions facilitated by active moderators to help viewers
address problems and create solutions for their own churches and ministries.
Structured computer conferences work best when they serve a specific purpose to
solve or address a specific problem (Jonassen.)
Role plays and simulations can be conducted on
Facebook where discussions can be conducted publicly or in private pages.
YouTube videos and even podcasts can provide a modern visual dynamic where
participants can post video responses to discussion threads, especially for
those who do not feel comfortable in writing and are able to make their points
verbally or visually. Video can provide other communication elements we are
used to utilizing in face-to-face communication such as body language and tone
of voice. Modeling through hypermedia is also facilitated easily as Facebook
posts and Twitter “Tweets” can include hyperlinks to various information
sources online such as YouTube videos, blog posts, primary sources of
information such as Centers for Disease Control or Texas Association Against
Sexual Assault. Effective and impactful computer conferences require moderators
and facilitators that can keep a discussion on track and guide it in a way that
fosters conceptual change for its participants.
Mindtools such as social media discussions, video
discussion threads, and structured computer conferences can address the
underlying social norms that support a culture of violence against women such
as the objectification of women in advertising and music, the violent nature of
video games, and even catch-phrases like “You throw like a girl!” to express
how weak a boy throws a baseball equating weakness with being a female. This
kind of education is referred to as primary prevention education in the
movement to end violence against women. The idea is to promote healthy
relationships and point out unhealthy elements of our society that lead to
violence so that violence can be prevented before it ever becomes an option to
individuals. Recognizing and changing these mindsets requires a deeper level discussion
that cannot be reached through public service announcements, brochures, or
school assemblies that allow school administrators to check a box of
compliance.
Social media can also be used to create “communities
of practice” that draw together like-minded people to discuss and explore an
area of interest (Hsiu-Ting, 2010.) Many instructors and educators are using
social media as a supplemental tool to face-to-face instruction such as an
advertising course from Kennesaw State University where Web 2.0 tools and
social media must be used to create an advertising campaign. The extremely low
cost and accessibility of social media platforms was just too good to pass up
(Lester, 2011.) Students also discovered through their project that there
exists a digital generation where social media can be used as a forum for
self-expression, communication, collaboration, and connection (Lester.)
Sometimes, before we can have deep online sessions
that foster conceptual change, many doses of lower level awareness information
needs to be disseminated and understood first. Maximized exposure is definitely
key in this regard, and social media can play an important role in reaching the
masses. Mass media is beginning to look to social media for many of its leads
and to share information. In fact, a recent national survey of reporters and
editors showed that 89 percent used blogs for story research, 65 percent used
social media sites like Facebook, and slightly over half used Twitter. Media
outlets also used social media to share their news stories. The Association for
Career and Technical Education conducted a successful campaign in 2011 where
they set a goal of 250 Tweets or Facebook posts as well as 50 blog posts about
the benefits of career and technical education and maintained funding for the
Perkins Act to the economy and workforce. The final results of ACTE’s efforts
included 475 Tweets and “Re-Tweets” where followers on Twitter re-posted ACTE’s
original Tweets, or posts, 42 Facebook posts, and only twelve blog posts. There
were over a dozen articles and news stories made that centered on the efforts
of ACTE and their desired goal to see continued funding of the Perkins Act
(Kidwai, 2011.) ACTE recommends that an effective social media awareness
campaign be kept short and direct, employ data and stories, and most
importantly maintain a respectful tone to its audiences. A successful campaign
may possibly build enough credibility to lead into a greater acceptance of a
structured computer conference focused on addressing social norms that support
a culture of violence against women.
As great as social media sounds, there are some
limitations such as how do we measure success of a structured computer
conference? This could somewhat be offset by pre- and post-surveys held during
a synchronous learning session, however, it may become daunting and maybe close
to impossible in an asynchronous setting. Narratives and observations of the
way that discussions have progressed may be one solution. Limiting the number
of participants would be counter to the goal of reaching out to the public
at-large, but keeping groups of participants to a manageable size may be
another solution. Many asynchronous discussions could be conducted
simultaneously on different accounts or pages. Most research points to the
current use of social media is as a supplement to classroom learning, and not
as a method in and of itself (Lester, 2011).
At the end of the day, social media has become a tool
that is relatively easy to use, readily accessible as a free application with
minimal requirements to get started (DuBose, 2011,) and become so prevalent in
our global society that we must consider ways to harness this technology to
affect positive social change through educational opportunities that foster
deep, higher level conceptual change even in the area of violence against
women. The greatest challenge for Women’s Shelter of South Texas now is to
actually implement the strategies stated above of creating a social media
campaign that attracts the attention of mass media while also building general
lower level awareness with the public then prepare to conduct a series of
computer conferences that foster higher level discussions and learning.
Resources
Bosker, B. (2011, September 8). Twitter Finally
Shares Key Stats: 40 Percent Of Active Users Are Lurkers. Breaking News and
Opinion on The Huffington Post. Retrieved March 25, 2012, from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/08/twitter-stats_n_954121.html
Bullas, J. (2011, September 2). 20 Stunning Social
Media Statistics Plus Infographic | Jeffbullas's Blog. Social Media
Marketing and Blogging. Retrieved March 25, 2012, from
http://www.jeffbullas.com/2011/09/02/20-stunning-social-media-statistics/
Dubose, C. (2011). The Social Media Revolution. Radiologic
Technology, 83(2), 112-119.
Facebook Newsroom. (n.d.). Facebook.
Retrieved March 25, 2012, from
newsroom.fb.com/content/default.aspx?NewsAreaId=22
Hsiu-Ting,
H., & Steve Chi-Yin, Y. (2010). Educational use of social networking technology
in higher education. Teaching In Higher Education, 15(6),
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Jonassen,
David H. (2006). Modeling with Hypermedia & Modeling with Structured
Computer Conferences. Modeling with
Technology: Mindtools for Conceptual Change, 3rd Edition,
Chapter 16-17.
JOSEPH,
S. (2012). SOCIAL MEDIA, POLITICAL CHANGE, AND HUMAN RIGHTS. Boston
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Kidwai,
S. (2011). Social Media as an Advocacy Tool. Techniques: Connecting Education
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Lester,
D. H. (2012). Social Media: Changing Advertising Education. Online
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Rivero,
V. (2011). We're Talking Social Media in Education. Internet@Schools, 18(3),
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