Assignment #1
Journal #4—Reflection on the Role of Social Media in Education
The role of social media within education is established and will only become more entrenched as time goes on. With new types of media being developed and utilized at an ever increasing rate, students and teachers will accept and adopt these tools for the classroom use. Forms of media such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and use of e-mail and text messaging make it possible for people to connect at a rate never seen before. All of these sites can be adopted to help the teacher and the student to stay in touch, learn, develop ideas and reach new heights with the possibilities of education and learning. Projects can be posted and worked on from remote sites; students can communicate with one another without the need to be in the classroom or on campus. In much the same manner as our VCC PIDP 3240, entire courses can be taught via the internet, from enrollment and assignments through major projects, assessments and marking.
When I reflect on my own course work and materials, can I foresee the use of social media within my classroom? On many levels it is a resounding “Yes”. PIDP 3240 has opened my eyes to the possibilities of different aspects of media and the internet. What I once imagined would be too difficult or require excessive work, I now realize are quite simple. A blog or wiki can be set up and created within minutes. I wish to use my blog that is still growing as a means to motivate and educate my students. Should my students wish to visit my page, they will find a site that summarizes my career and illustrates the possibilities of a future in aviation. While my blog is filled with material on my PIDP, I am also trying to expand it into something worth visiting. A quick look over the blog has some short, interesting (to me and others I hope!) video links as well as photos of my time in the industry. Every photo I have posted and the different locations I am in is a direct result of my industry time. Each picture has a story, and although I am snowboarding in the mountains, how I got there is a result of a road trip to repair a machine or a perk of the job.
Within the 16 month aircraft maintenance program, I receive my students for Level 5 at the 10 month period. They are getting over the hump so to speak and are on the downhill side, graduation in sight within 6 months. I encourage them to think about where they wish to be and in what area is their desire to work. Is it for a large airline on big commercial jets? Maybe their eyes are set on a career in the helicopter industry. I use myself as an example and my time working on turboprops as a way to motivate them for this last push towards graduation. Photos posted and rotated from time to time can keep my site fresh. Interesting jobs and locations on the road hopefully get the student excited for those parts of the industry. Additional educational materials can also be placed onto the blog. I try to hold back some of the good stuff from the classroom as a means to encourage the students to visit the blog. As an educational tool it can provide a switch from a morning of PowerPoint dryness. I also like to include links to job boards and search sites for work in the industry. By Level 5 students are beginning to think more seriously about work, these links can help them search for jobs and fine tune their resumes and cover letters.
I see value in implementing many of these tools in some fashion or another to many areas of course work. At the very least, a site such as Facebook could be used by the class as a communication tool solely amongst themselves for assignments, projects or study. I have no problem with them reminding each other about upcoming work. Over the 16 month aerospace program, the entire class remains together, only changing due to failures, drop-outs or other students cycling back into the class if there is space available. A class Facebook site would be an excellent tool. When I mention to the students that they should have at the very least a class e-mail address it is amazing the amount of times that this is the first they have heard of it. There is often the realization of an opportunity missed over the previous 10 months of the program. A Facebook site is also an excellent way for the instructor to post any news of interest for the students, such as current events regarding aviation; soliciting interest about a possible field trip; asking students to review a video before including it in future classes etc. Once graduated, a common e-mail site or Facebook page gives the class a format to stay in touch; update one another to their job search; post pictures from their current job and generally remain connected. I remind them over and over, who you know in the industry is almost as important as what you know.
Social media certainly has its place within the realms of education. I continue to solicit information from my students about what they use; what is the latest and greatest. In this way, should a form of media arise or gain in popularity that I may be able to use with a minimum of fuss, I will be able to research it and maybe try it out rather than fall too far behind the times.
I am very interested in using Twitter as a feedback device about my course and lectures. As an instructor, I am always concerned about moving too quickly or not explaining a subject clearly enough for every member of the class. Twitter could be used as a method of self -evaluation, Tweets serving the purpose of asking questions or classmates helping each other once away from school. Many of my students are ESL from the Asian rim area and as such have a tendency to avoid asking questions in class. This is a result of cultural differences and a fear of embarrassment should they admit publicly that they do not understand a certain topic. I encourage every student to use my e-mail, office phone or in the future maybe Twitter to pose these questions or concerns in a manner that ensures a certain degree of privacy. With a Twitter account, I can answer questions or direct students to textbook areas or additional subject matter. Classmates can also help each other and create a forum to discuss all matters aviation related. My lectures can be criticized or exams discussed, in essence, almost like the topic of the “Muddiest point” from PIDP 3230, yet in a digital, social media format. At the end of the week, I could have the students Tweet their muddiest point. They could easily send out a brief message about which topic they found to be the least understood of the weeks. Having received this Tweet, or chosen the most common or important, I could then start Monday by reviewing this area of the subject matter.
Aviation is an industry that has a language all its own, filled with different terms, terminology and acronyms. I would like to use Twitter to start sending Tweets or acronyms of the day to my students or followers. Every day of the week could be a different acronym, from EICAS to FADEC, then on to EHSI and GPWS. What does it all mean? Challenge the students to figure it out, reward the ones who follow up the quickest. An accumulation of points then gets them lunch on me or an introduction to people of interest at the various companies I have connections with.
Given the time at BCIT, I would also like to photograph every step of the main engine disassembly projects during our shop time. These photos could then be posted on a site such as Picasa or Flickr. When the students are working in the shop, a laptop could be attached to the large screen monitor and the photos synced to the project at hand. Students could jump steps ahead to preview the task, or work in reverse for the re-assembly. From home this same site could be used as a study aid, seeing as on the final day of their project they receive an in-depth oral examination encompassing the previous 3 weeks of work.
I do try and use videos and links to such sites as YouTube for the most current visual aids. Many times in the shop, I will plug in my laptop and show videos relating to the subject at hand, should I be able to find them.
Utilizing other forms of social media could also be implemented into the course with the right amount of research and time. With respect to my course work and the infrastructure at BCIT, I can see this being a slow and tortuous process. What I teach and how I teach it are very regimented at the school. Students are learning about aircraft maintenance, using hand tools, inspection methods, lectures, shop time and complicated hands on project work. I am sure there is a way to apply social media to some aspect of this course, but it would have to be well thought out and probably apply to the theory segment only. What we are trying to teach is the whole big picture in this program. Not only are the hand skills critical to the process, but so are the theory lectures and projects. Topics discussed in the classroom must then be applied to the projects at hand in the shop.
We also emphasize in our teaching professionalism, integrity, honesty, reliability, critical thinking and a gamut of other aspects of the job of the airplane mechanic. Students are already overloaded with new topics, terms, and ideas from Monday to Friday, how then to spin some of this work off into a social media form? As well, our curriculum is set by the federal body of Transport Canada. Everything we teach has been vetted and reviewed by not only the institute and government body, but other such as CAMSE and EASA. Material taught; how it is presented and covered; time spent on each subject and to what degree of understanding; shop time etc. are all mandated and dictated towards the students graduating, becoming apprentices and gaining a license as an Aircraft Maintenance engineer or AME.
My major issue with implementing social media is having the time to pursue this tool. The resistance to change is quite strong within the walls where I work, and this topic has been a constant sore spot during my PID course and the various journal and rationale rants I have written. Developing something as involved as a social media aspect to my course would be an excellent project and help bring this course 10 years more up-to-date. Unfortunately many of my co-workers are still dependent on overhead projectors, chalk and talk, photocopy handouts that are 20 years obsolete and are terrified of using a computer terminal or video from YouTube. An outdated VHS tape is the best their class could hope for as a break from copying notes from the board. The mere mention of the internet or term social media strikes fear into their faces and raises their blood pressure. Development and implementation of anything new is close to impossible without the support and signatures on paper of anyone who may be even remotely involved with teaching my same class at one time or another.
That being said, I am always looking for new opportunities to teach my students. Any new form of media, video, photo or hands-on tool I will gladly implement if it will hold their attention for 15 minutes. If I can get something to sink in and stay there for the duration of my course, then it has served its’ purpose. We at the BCIT Aerospace campus are blessed with a state of the art facility, yet it is only being used to a fraction of its capability. Resistance to change is strong within the walls yet as an industry aviation is built on adapting and exploiting new technology. Pilots now have digital flight bags, essentially replacing the small suitcases they toted onto the plane with iPads full of everything they need in terms of maps, GPS coordinates and various flight data to be uploaded to the airplane. Mechanics now have the ability to be trained in a virtual reality environment, using a simulator to replace the flight deck of a large aircraft for systems work. Not many airlines have a spare $300 million dollar Boeing 777 sitting idle for the staff to use as a training resource. Mechanics are using to a greater degree simulation, computers and good old paper to expand on their learning environment. Modern machines demand an understanding of not only the nuts and bolts of the repair and assembly process but troubleshooting skills that begin before the aircraft has even landed. Todays’ technician needs to be fully versed in a wide variety of procedures and technologies to compete in an already tight marketplace. How can we as instructors prepare them for that? In the simplest terms we also have to stay involved with the cutting edge of teaching tools and technologies, and our employers have to listen and adapt to our concerns if we are to continue to remain competitive and produce a top notch product….our graduates.
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