Empirical Evidence

          If anything is to be put into an academic context, proof for those making claims must be based on empirical evidence. This rings true for the study of Social Media (SM) as well and must be done if progress can to be made along the policy, education, and treatment fronts. A SM Study at Medford High School will provide quantitative and qualitative data on Standard Usage Rates, Perspectives Behind the Screen, and The Student-Teacher Relationship. For what has up to now been purely anecdotal evidence as to why educators need to intervene in academic Social Media use, a statistical perspective based on empirical evidence will  be offered.

            

         For Social Media to be properly used as a tool by educators we must have an understanding of the environment we're working in. The SMLP has worked to provide direction for our next steps. This study will survey the virtual landscape for plans to be made in the near and distant future. The most simple information on student and teacher Standard Usage Rates will provide broad spectrum baseline data by demonstrating scope and scale of what we're working with. Simple information gathered from classroom surveys, such as how many accounts individuals are linked to on average, can answer important questions. Returns on this data gathering investment would represent the first tangible resource for academic Social Media development.

        

        Quantitative data transitions to qualitative data as social psychology heavily influences the SM Study's second method of empirical data collection, Perspectives Behind the Screen. Students and teachers will be offered a selection of hypothetical scenarios they must take time to evaluate and then decide on appropriate action. Analyzing transcripts of their reasoning will provide data on how often they consider consequence thinking, moral thinking, and ethical thinking. Insights regarding each of these areas will demonstrate how mature the campus population is acting online in relation to the Kholberg Stages of Development. The more mature we are, the more likely academic incentives will be pursued.

            For those students who are especially engaged with Social Media ethics, delving even deeper with this subject material offers the chance to collaboratively produce data and analysis. At this point, the study has been a purely academic pursuit but going further is treading in new, more personal waters. An interview with an individual or group from the interested campus population will involve the active sharing of Social Media content. As this is a reflection of our entire lives, one could argue research in this area is outside the school's purview. Getting past this bloc in the interest of transparency is necessary if TheStudent-Teacher Relationship is to have the same influence online as other actors who utilize Social Media to help pursue incentives. Third parties like government and corporations have already invested significant time into their relationship with the general population. It is time for education to do the same, no matter how significant the possible paradigm shift may be.

            Empirical evidence that will be produced by this study can offer support for policy initiatives, an enhanced perspective for servicing education, and diagnose areas where treatment is appropriate. If coordinated with imminent policy changes, the potential for progressive development in equity, collaboration, and innovation will be realized on a secure foundation.

Incentives

       Recent efforts to gain perspective before pursuing an SMLP policy initiative have been fruitful. In the twenty days since this blog's last post, time has been spent in meetings with a variety of professional educators who have offered valuable insights. Those who shared knowledge of their early investments in social media are encouraging enough to support policy reform. News like this, applied to lessons learned from the proceeding curriculum development, reveals three possible strategies in which all can collaboratively intervene. Each of these is based on one of the points discussed earlier: policy, education, and treatment.

       The process for changing words on official papers to new ones based on the SMLP's core principals is formal. The district school committee is the final check on any policy changes and appearing before them is a must. The decision to be made is, just how bold should the initial requests be? All evidence to this date suggests the most productive thing to do is amend current rules that prohibit student use of personal electronic devices. Other schools have enjoyed success after taking this approach and Medford High School is prepared to do the same. From there, many novel situations will present themselves and require further legislative acts so everyone will be encouraged to learn more. Both are good things leading to education and treatment.

       Education is buoyed by the SMLP's previously conducted curriculum development. The focus on our student-teacher relationship in a classroom setting provides sufficient material for any teacher who wishes to implement Social Media as a curricular enhancement or as a focus in itself. Faculty as well as many in all grade levels have expressed a desire to learn more and incentives exist for both sides of the relationship. Teachers can gain Professional Development Points as part of their contractual obligations. Courses already underway rely on educational tablet instruction and are perfect for helping employees put Social Media in an academic context. As for students, fulfilling graduation requirements becomes the incentive for committing to collaborative development. Mandatory community service hours are a significant resource and will be discussed more in future posts.

       The final intervention attempts to treat the current condition of our new educational tool. As it exists today, Social Media in the hands of a mostly uneducated campus population  is in disrepair. Our information represents a tangible product of the lives we lead and early anecdotal impressions, while showing many positive trends, are frequently alarming. Of course the key word there is "anecdotal" but more thorough research will be conducted soon. Identifying detrimental behavior is no easy task but, as Medford High is increasingly viewed as a learning environment, useful data can be generated.

       Pursuing these incentives over the months ahead will provide many opportunities. Ideally, blog posts will be published with the same regularity as in the internship's first two months and will detail novel situations as they develop. While tempting, adhering to a calendar of scheduled goals is restricting because the school's daily life is always in flux. Instead, the SMLP will do its best to collaborate with a balanced approach to each strategy. For up to date inquiries, do not hesitate to ask.