Quick Uses For Social Media Like Ideas In Class

 

Although there are ways to use social media in the classroom, I prefer to use activities that are similar to social media but are not the actual one.  Mostly it is because I'm afraid that students will end up having too much fun on TikTok, Instagram, or other program.  So today, I'll be sharing ideas that can easily be utilized in the classroom but still have all the fun of social media.

Back in 2012, Dan Mayer started a site called 101 questions on line.  There is a picture to check out or a video for to watch before they are asked to type in the first question they have in mind.  Although the site was hacked back in 2020, the information is still there but you can't sign in.  This is similar to twitter in that students can only use 140 characters.  This could easily be adjusted to have student ask a math based question.

Matt Miller, author of Tech Like A Pirate has some wonderful ways to recreate the social media like experience without having students on social media.  For instance, he has templates that allow you to have students do videos just like they would on Tiktok but using Google slides.  This means you can download the templet and assign it via google classroom.  He even tells you how to set it up for every student.  This is where you could assign students to create a short video on a math topic, explain how they attacked a problem, discussed where the mistake is in a problem or so much more.  

If you prefer using Instagram or Snap chat, he has templates for those too and he explains how to set each one up.  In addition, he gives a few ideas of how to use them so you don't have to be an expert in this type of technology.  I like these because I don't have to go into a great amount of detail since my students are experts when it comes to social media and I don't have to set up accounts on each one.

Furthermore, he explains how to use certain websites to create fake Facebook pages, creating things with hashtags, and even a site where students can create fake text message interchanges.  So by just going to his page, checking out all the possibilities, and a bit of imagination, you can have students "use" social media in a safe environment.  Remember, students can make short videos explaining how to do problems, how to problem solve, and so much more. 

Check out Class Tools if you want to create fake Facebook entries. This could be used to create entries for mathematicians through history.  There is also a SMS generator that could be used to show students a discussion between two mathematicians, or two students working to solve a problem. or have students read the interchange to see if they can pick up where the error was made.  In addition, I found a tweet like tool that allows you to create fake tweets. Check it out for more things they have.

Hope this gives you a starting point for using fake social media in your classroom.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.