Social Media - Week 4 Journal Entry

Although this week's required readings revert back to (boring) black and white text, I found one of the articles, Adult Education and the Social Media Revolution, very interesting.

Marvin LeNoue

This article was written by Marvin LeNoue, Tom Hall, and Myron A. Eighmy and published in the Spring 2011 issue of Adult Learning.  This article specifically addressed the use of and need for social media within online higher education.  Similar to another journal article I recently read, Tweeting the Night Away: Using Twitter to Enhance Social Presence, this article suggests that today's learning management system (LMS) software (Moodle, Blackboard, Angel) "are developed for the management and delivery of learning, not for supporting the self-governed and problem-based activities of students."  Prior to reading these articles, I had not considered the weaknesses of LMS platforms, nor did I realize that these systems might not meet the needs of today's adult learners.  As LeNoue, Hall, and Eighmy stress, "instructors need to be equipped to meet the demands of teaching in an age when the Internet is, inexorably, becoming the dominant infrastructure for knowledge - both as a container and as a global platform for knowledge exchange between people."



Tom Hall

According to LeNoue, Hall, and Eighmy, "students today want to participate in the learning process; they look for greater autonomy, connectivity and socio-experiential learning, have a need to control their environments, and are used to instant connectivity and easy access to the staggering amount of content and knowledge available at their fingertips."  While current LMS software may address some of these needs, these platforms no longer support communication and collaboration as effectively as social media can.  LeNoue, Hall, and Eighmy suggest that "in educational contexts, articulation and visibility may recede in importance, giving way to other common SNS features including (a) a suite of associated social media tools that support interaction, communication, and collaboration, (b) provisions for the storage and display of audio and video media, and (c) hosting for customizable personal profile pages that support the establishment and maintenance of individual presence in the online learning environment." 

Myron Eighmy

For adults, learning is not just an internal process; adults consider learning an interactive experience where they can gather knowledge not only from the instructor and the material but also from their peers and the life experiences of others.  To support this need for interaction, LeNoue, Hall, and Eighmy emphasize that "it is important when supporting collaborative activity to provide multiple means of communication so that individuals and subgroups within the full set of participants can use means that suit their needs and preferences."  The interactive and collaborative capabilities of social media make these tools some of the richest resources for learning available today.  Teaching today's learners is not about presenting material and expecting that it is absorbed; teaching today is about facilitating a connection between material, resources, peers, professionals, and prior experiences.  As LeNoue, Hall, and Eighmy mention, "teaching in a digital world calls for expansion of the vision of andragogy."


Overall, I found this article appealing because it specifically discussed social media and adult education, it brought to light weaknesses concerning current online education software, and it stressed the need for expanded vision within adult and online education.  My biggest complaint with online education is that many online educators and program designers do not understand the distinct differences and needs of adult learners versus traditional learners within higher education.  This lack of understanding hinders online learners and weakens online education as a whole.  I applaud these authors for recognizing this difference and educating others about how to make a positive impact on adult/online learners.

References
LeNoue, M. A. (2011). Adult Education and the Social Media Revolution. Adult Learning, 22(2), 4-12.