Excellence Gateway
This case study was produced by JISC RSC (Regional Support Centres) Yorkshire and Humber on behalf of the Excellence Gateway.
Sector relevance: FE colleges, Sixth Forms, Schools
Keywords: Learner support, blended learning, personalisation, collaborative learning, VLE, social networking websites
This case study looks at the use of social networking sites in teaching and learning at Calderdale College, highlighting both the benefits and challenges of their set-up and use.
Calderdale College is a further education college with its main campus based in Halifax.
There are approximately 1,200 students between the ages of 16 and 18, and also 200-250 young people aged 14-16 in the College community.
Richard Nelson, ICT Lecturer at Calderdale College, experienced problems with his College’s virtual learning environment (VLE): students had to be inducted into using the system, which could delay its use and effectiveness, and it proved insufficient for collaborative work between the students. Richard wanted something that would be easy to use and which allowed him to communicate with his students at their own level. However, social networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo, were to be avoided, as it was important not to infringe upon the students’ private space.
Richard discovered Ning at the JISC Regional Support Centre for Yorkshire and Humber e-Learning Conference 2007. Ning is a Web tool that can be used to set-up a private social networking site – i.e. an online community where members can set-up ‘profiles’ to define themselves and make friends. It was used by the JISC RSC Yorkshire and Humber for pre- and post-conference activities, and gave Richard the idea to use it with his IT students. Here, Richard could utilise the interactive and collaborative features of a social networking site, but create a definite educational learning space away from the students’ personal social networking sites. The site would be used to discuss aspects of the course being studied.
It took a few minutes for Richard to set-up his own Ning site. The College filter (or firewall) blocked third party advertising on the site. Students found the site easy to use, as it looked very similar to social networking sites they were already using. Students set-up their own profiles, complete with pictures, music and text, outlining their personal interests. Ground rules were agreed on how to use the site, including the kind of language to be use and whether it was okay to have spelling mistakes.
The level of tutor involvement was also set out: the tutor would not impose upon the individual profile area and would simply facilitate discussion.
The students used Ning to discuss the course. They worked together without copying each other.
The forum on the site develops a story of the student learning experience, from basic comments such as “This lesson is boring…” to viewing full group discussions. Another outcome has been discussion and collaboration across year groups; conversations move into the real world, where Year 1 and Year 2 students begin interacting with one another where, perhaps, they would not have done before.
It is estimated that 90% of the use of the site is chat, but a vital 10% is students collaborating with each other, which Richard says is “worth it – it is powerful when it is from them”.
Richard notes that the students relished ‘creating themselves’ in their profiles. Importantly, it gives a voice to quieter members of class. For example, a student for whom English is a second language uses her profile to describe her feelings on coming into the country and to define how she is “just like you” to the other students.
The site raised some interesting discussion, particularly when one member of the group interested in rap culture uploaded images of guns on his profile page. This led to an ethical debate on whether this was acceptable. Similarly, it was agreed that images of other students on profiles were to be removed if requested. The students self-regulate the site. The tutor polices the site as a last resort, in a similar way to what happens in the classroom. There was some testing of the boundaries at the beginning but the group worked as a team to establish their ‘acceptable use policy’. One learner with a mature attitude oversees all conversations. It is recognised as an educational space and the users act accordingly.
It is recognised that, as all users are post-16 learners, the issue of the dissemination of personal information is less pressing than it would be for students under 16. The site is private to the group, but all students realise that their information is visible to everyone else in the group.
There were some technical issues as the College initially blocked the Ning site, but Richard worked with the technical team to unblock the necessary filters. This required a flexible technical team willing to work with the project. Everyone involved backed the idea.
Ning is not on its own within the College’s teaching methods. It is simply part of the general communications, intended to complement the VLE. Ning allows going beyond education, utilising ‘blended learning’ in bringing students’ whole life experiences into their education. It is much more than just an educational profile, allowing students to ‘create themselves’. It is another learning space in the desire to achieve as many options as possible to capture all learners.
The future of the project is to keep pushing the pilot with the IT group and then try with other groups in the College. In order for this to be embraced college-wide, there is a need to build-up the confidence of the teaching staff and ensure they do not feel like they will lose control. Richard plans to further develop the idea by using a social network to create a community of college applicants, i.e. those who have applied to the College and are waiting to start. This will enable the College to keep in touch with the learners and the prospective students to start friendships before their first day.
The methods involved are similar to those used in the classroom, but the perception of them is different. Ideally, Richard would like an in-house version but the College does not realistically have the resources and, instead, can rely on the ever-developing nature of Ning itself.
• Calderdale College's website• Ning website – a web-based tool that allows you to create, customise and share your own social network for free• JISC Regional Support Centre for Yorkshire & Humber website• For more information about this case study, email the JISC Regional Support Centre for Yorkshire & Humber.
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