Countering a Common Challenge in Higher Education: Keeping Students Focused & Engaged
The impact of social media on our lives is seldom argued to be less than stratospheric. With more than half of the world’s population reported to be using social media [1], a staggering 2.4 billion Facebook users [2], and an estimation that, on average, we have 7.6 social media accounts each [3], it comes as no surprise that our consumption of social media is growing by the year. Indeed, latest estimates suggest that the daily social media usage is, on average, over two hours at 144 minutes. [4]
For better or for worse depending on your views, social media has transformed every aspect of our lives: it has influenced our politics, how we digest current affairs, how we find partners and friends, and, inevitably, it has also changed how we absorb information.
The monumental shift to a world focused on information and news via devices poses an enormity of questions. We are familiar with the debate around social media and its influence on current affairs and the impact it has on elections and votes. There is much discourse on how social media can be used in malevolent ways—how it can be used to spread “hate” and “fake news” and how people, hidden behind a wall of anonymity, can unveil opinions far exceeding those they would say face-to-face. There are suite of questions and issues, too, around the impact social media has on the mental health of its users.
Shining a spotlight onto the realm of education, there are fantastic examples of how social media has complemented learning. We have heard first hand of Facebook groups being set up for large cohorts, where relevant links, videos, and polls are posted, and where discourse flourishes amongst large numbers of students across weeks and months, fostering a sense of community and teamwork and collaboration. We have also seen blogs being set up where learners share their reviews, their thoughts and their insights.
But whilst there are positives, it is also fair to say that there are negatives. There is discussion and research into the link between technology, social media, and the impact our multi-tasking, app-jumping behaviour has on our memory.
Indeed, one survey conducted by neuroscientist Ian Robertson, showed that people can no longer remember as many basic facts such as birthdays and phone numbers, which he claims is due to increased reliance on external sources of memory such as computers and mobile phones[5].
Given that learning is reliant on focused attention and retention of knowledge and concepts, that in turn has an impact on education the world over, regardless of where in the world you are, what grade or school year you’re in and what subject you’re learning. If you can’t recall what you are being taught at the points where you’re being assessed, there is a problem. In a world where students are sometimes heard to be watching Netflix in lectures and where the appeal of social media is paramount, the question educators find themselves asking commonly is: how can we engage our learners, and how can we keep their attention? How can we keep them focused and off Facebook?
It was a question Panjarat Phumpradab at Assumption University in Thailand, was facing. She faced two challenges with her cohort: engagement in lectures as well as engagement with the online materials she was setting her learners each week.
Panjarat explained that in her experience, “The students these days are different to those in the past. It is harder for us, as educators, to keep their attention.”
Panjarat also shared that she faced an issue, not just in keeping their attention, but in even understanding where her students were “at” in terms of their understanding of key readings she set each week. Panjarat explained that whilst some of her cohort would be happy to share their experiences with the material, “large numbers” remained silent. ““It was really hard for us to tell who was engaged and who wasn’t at that point,” she commented.
The solution, for her, lay in a number of tools and a shift in the learning model she was utilizing. A blend of pre-built online quizzes, required reading that formed part of learners’ grade and that could be monitored, and one of McGraw Hill’s digital solutions provided the solution to counter all her challenges.
Read more about her experiences and how she has seen a rise in grades alongside a rise in confidence and a shift in classroom dynamic for the better here.
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[3] https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/amazing-social-media-statistics-and-facts/
[4] https://www.statista.com/statistics/433871/daily-social-media-usage-worldwide/
[5] http://elearningtech.blogspot.com/2009/01/better-memory.html?_sm_au_=iVVvFS1NgqbMvHN6sFFJjK6T6ctLq