Social Media Use and Academic Identity in a Diverse K-12 District

• In Event: Plugged In: The Potential of Technological Innovations to Improve College Readiness, Access, and Success

Abstract

New literacies theorists claim that social media should be more regularly integrated into classroom instruction (Black, 2008; Lankshear & Knobel, 2008). Until recently, most K-12 school teachers have shown little inclination to do so, whether due to lack of sufficient access to technology, fears of straying from a standardized curriculum, or concern about issues of privacy and security. However, some school districts have embraced social media, such as the culturally and linguistically diverse district in Colorado examined in this study.

The district provides individual netbook computers and access to Google Apps to all students in their language arts classes, from fifth through tenth grade. Teachers are also trained and encouraged to introduce blogs, micro-blogs, Skype, live chat and wikis into instruction. This study investigated the impact of computer and social media use on students' literacy, academic achievement, and identity development, all precursors to college readiness. The paper is motivated by a sociocultural perspective that views literacies as plural, shaped by social context, and co-constitutive with learner identity (Gee, 2004). We tracked students' literacy processes and outcomes and identity development through classroom observations, interviews, surveys, photographs, analysis of blog postings, and evaluation of test score data over two separate academic years.

Literacy processes changed notably, with students using social media to write to authentic audiences extensively every week. Students, in blog postings and interviews, reported a very positive attitude toward writing and their future, with a number of students openly expressing an interest to pursue careers that involved writing, and students also indicating enthusiasm about making use of new technologies in future careers. Test scores revealed that English learners, Hispanics, Blacks, and low-income students all showed strong gains in academic achievement as a result of the program, thus closing gaps with their peers and better preparing them for continued success in secondary school and ultimately college. Finally, observations and interviews indicated important changes in identity, especially among many English learners, who came to see English less as a foreign element and more as a tool that they owned to express their voice to authentic audiences.

The study suggests that social media use, when introduced as part of a broad curriculum reform and supported with student technology access and teacher professional development, can help diverse K-12 learners bridge digital divide, improve both traditional and new literacies, and better prepare for the challenges of more writing and autonomous learning in higher education.

Authors

• Mark Warschauer, University of California - Irvine

• Binbin Zheng, University of California - Irvine