2000-2500 words

Liz Beilke
Dr. Amber Strother
English 170
17 April 2019
Research Paper Outline
1. Introduction
a. With this being the technology age, people are on social media every single day.
Social media has continuously been growing in popularity in our society. With
that being said, a growing debate continues on whether or not social media should
be used in an academic setting.
b. The education system has remained relatively the same for many generations.
c. Some experts claim that changing the education system is challenging and social
media in classrooms will negatively impact students’ lives.
d. However, others claim that social media helps students explore other cultures,
teachers connect with students, and social media can positively impact the
education system
e. Thesis: When trying to improve the academic experience in this changing day and
age, it is important to implement social media use in classrooms to better the
academic experience despite some of the arguments against it.
2. Social Media Definition and Digital Native definition
a. According to Vasbø, social media is defined “As online tools that people use to
share content, profiles, opinions, insights, experiences, perspectives, and media
itself, thus facilitating conversations and interaction online between groups of
people” (110).
b. According to Chromey, “Digital natives are individuals who are born into a time
where digital technology is commonplace” (2).
3. Changing the education system is challenging
a. According to Ndyalivana, “There are many barriers to use of cellphones at
schools and attitudes of educators towards social networks” (157).
i. Negative attitudes exist within a classroom towards social media use. It is
hard to change people’s minds who have thought this way for a long time.
b. Also, some students feel the same way as educators. “Students’ concerns of social
media might change given the context and design of a class. What is seen as
appropriate use in one situation may be seen as inappropriate in another”
(Chromey, 5).
i. Getting students on board is just as important as getting teachers on board
because ultimately, it affects the students. There is no black and white
answer as to how to incorporate social media in every class. Every class
has a different dynamic and should be evaluated as so.
c. Refute
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i. Chromey stated, “Fourty-one percent of college-leveled instructors use

social media as a communication tool with their students” (1).
1. Almost half of college professors use social media in classrooms
already, so clearly something with it is working.
ii. It may be working because “Digital natives learn in a way that is different
from previous generations; they require quick access to information and
instant gratification” (Chromey, 2).
1. This generation relies heavily on technology and social media, so
using it classrooms only makes sense.
4. In addition, social media in classrooms will negatively impact students lives.
a. “Requiring use of social media would not allow [students] a break from school”
(Chromey, 7).
i. This is because students will always have to be available and will not have
social media to get a break from school. Even their social media will be
flooded with academic stressors.
ii. Explain why this would be bad
b. Refute
i. “Social media must remain strictly professional and not invade a student’s
personal life” (Chromey, 6).
1. Keeping the separation between professional and personal life is
achievable if teachers are properly trained on how to incorporate
social media. Also, students should be encouraged to make
separate accounts from academic accounts to help keep that
separation also.
5. Social media allows students to access firsthand experiences from cultures they are
studying.
a. In the article “Being a Learner Using Social Media in School: The Case of
Space2cre8” a social media site called Space2cre8, or S28 for short, was
examined. This site is basically like a Facebook or Myspace. (Vasbø 113).
b. “Distributing the movie on S28 made it possible for other students in other
countries to relate to the issues raised in the movie, to respond, and to share
knowledge from their own local, everyday spaces” (Vasbø, 121).
i. In the assignment of the movie, students from Oslo were asked to make a
movie regarding the topic alcohol or drugs. One student made a video
where a Muslim girl was caught drinking with her friend. Her uncle hit her
and sends her back to Pakistan. The girl who made this movie said she had
seen this happen to a girl in her neighborhood.
ii. This created a lot of discussion on the site, especially with students from
the US. They heard about things like this happening but was shocked to
find out it was actually true.
iii. Because of social media, students are able to learn about things like this
that happen that they may not be aware is going on. This expands their
knowledge in a way reading from a textbook never could.
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6. Teachers can connect with students better.

a. “Media products made by students have the potential to give the teacher a way to
understand important aspects of students’ identities and the interests they have
outside of school—knowledge that might enable them to develop curricula more
adjusted to students’ multiple identities” (Vasbø, 124).
i. With the aid of social media, teachers can truly learn about students’
personalities which only benefit the students. If teachers knows each
student well, the lesson plans can be made to help engage the students to
make them more interested. Overall, this helps students get more out of
the class and learn more.
b. In optional Twitter assignments throughout the semester, it was found that “The
students who participated in Twitter assignments had a higher GPA and were
more engaged. They also found that faculty became more active and participatory
through Twitter activities” (Lin, 40).
i. Students will only benefit from the use of social media in a classroom.
ii. How did this help teachers connect?
7. Education needs to change, and social media can be the way to do that.
a. As stated previously, digital natives do not learn like previous generations. The
traditional ways schools are still following do not fit what a digital native truly
needs to learn most efficiently.
b. Incorporating social media, something digital natives are very familiar with, will
help reach them in a way the old ways cannot.
c. According to Dyson, who researched the effect of Facebook in lecture-based
classes, “The intervention led to significantly higher levels of engagement and
better grades and discussed the spinoff benefits of professors taking a more active
role in communicating with students” (305).
i. As seen in this example and a previous example, social media is
improving engagement not only with students, but also with professors.
Isn’t that what we want? It is helping with engagement, which therefore
helps improve grades.
d. Also, according to Ndyalivana, “These social sites enable teachers to go the
additional mile to web conferencing with the web, sound, video, and long-range
social networking answers for 21st-century instruction and preparing” (158).
i. Social networking sites are the change the education system need. It will
help teachers reach the digital natives and be able to “go the extra mile” to
make sure students are getting everything they need out of the education
system.
8. Conclusion
a. Thesis: When trying to improve the academic experience in this changing day and
age, it is important to implement social media use in classrooms to better the
academic experience despite some of arguments against it.
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b. Although social media has downfalls like the challenge of changing the education
system and the negative impact on students’ lives with the use of social media in
classrooms the benefits far out-weigh those.
c. Social media gives students the opportunity to connect with different cultures to
learn about firsthand experiences. Also, it gives teachers the opportunity to
connect with students more to personalize the lesson plans and improve
engagement, thus improving grades.
d. Why is this important
i. The education system is not meeting the needs of digital natives as it is
today. Incorporating social media into classrooms will solve this problem.
e. Using social media in classrooms will ultimately benefits the students to improve
their academic experience, which is the main goal of education.
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Works Cited

Chromey, Kelli J., et al. “Double-Edged Sword: Social Media Use in the

Classroom.” Educational Media International, vol. 53, no. 1, 2016, pp. 1–

12. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/09523987.2016.1189259. Accessed 27 March 2019.

Dyson, Benjamin, et al. “Evaluating the Use of Facebook to Increase Student Engagement and

Understanding in Lecture-Based Classes.” Higher Education, vol. 69, no. 2, 2014, pp.

303–313. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s10734-014-9776-3. Accessed 27 March 2019.

Lin, Meng-Fen Grace, et al. “Is Social Media Too Social for Class? A Case Study of Twitter

Use.” TechTrends, vol. 57, no. 2, 2013, pp. 39–45. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s11528-013-

0644-2. Accessed 27 March 2019.

Ndyalivana, Zukile. “Integrating Social Networks in the Education System: Pros and

Cons.” Educor Multidisciplinary Journal, vol. 2, no. 1, Dec. 2018, pp. 157–

170. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,cpid&custid=s62220

04&db=aph&AN=134566704&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Accessed 31 March 2019.

Vasbø, Kristin Beate, et al. “Being a Learner Using Social Media in School: The Case of

Space2cre8.” Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, vol. 58, no. 1, 2013, pp.

110–126. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/00313831.2013.773555. Accessed 27 March 2019.