According to EdWords™, “student agency refers to learning through
activities that are meaningful and relevant to learners, driven by their
interests, and often self-initiated with appropriate guidance from teachers. To
put it simply, student agency gives students voice and often, choice, in how
they learn.”
Most teenagers live for social media. It is how they
communicate with their peers and the world. Therefore, leveraging the power of
social media has a direct impact upon cultivating student agency. Educators can
do various things within and without the classroom, so that students are given
a voice and a choice in how, when, and why they learn. Social media is a great
tool to facilitate voice and choice because it is all about connecting and communicating.
First, educators may start by using various apps to give
students more of a voice in their learning experiences. Take Flipgrid, for
instance, when considering apps that promote student voice. Students comment in
video clips of their own creation on whatever is the focus in the classroom,
but they have the power to do this at their own pace and, often, in their own
space, too. Flipgrid is genius for the introverted student who does not like to
speak up in class, but who may desire to still comment and participate. Leaving
a Flipgrid assignment for students to do at home allows for the wait and
reflection time that all students, not just introverts, need.
Next, the segue from Flipgrid to Instagram, or Snapchat, will
be much smoother. While students are more adept at using both social media
platforms than I am (understatement), they may not have ever brought them into
the classroom for academic purposes before. Therefore, starting with Flipgrid
is a great idea, since the Flipgrid classrooms are password protected for
safety reasons.
Once students get savvy to the fact that you want to hear
what they have to say, that their voice is an important part of your classroom,
the focus may be shifted to student choice in selection of response mediums.
Allow students to reflect upon course content via social media in ways that give
students choices that speak to them. What teenager wouldn’t rather post a
digital response on Instagram on a book reading, as opposed to writing a
regular paragraph? Not many, as far as I can tell.
Now that you’ve established that student voice is essential,
and that choice is integral, to the learning taking place, it is time to talk
about the why behind the assignments and how social media facilitates this, as
well. Often, teachers give assignments that will turn into a grade, since most
classes need to assess student progress, and grades are a way to do that.
However, assigning a written paragraph, when a social media post has more
attraction for most students in your class, leaves the why behind. What I mean
is that most students would rather post a reflection on social media, than
write a reflection on paper, or on a computer. There is no reasoning behind
that other than that is what students are used to doing when they communicate. They
post, they text, they snap, etc.
The why behind an assignment can be a bit tricky. It can make or
break an assignment. If students don’t understand why an assignment is given,
then they are less likely to complete it. Even worse, if students don’t
understand why the medium used is necessary, then they most certainly won’t
attempt the assignment,
All in all, student agency is augmented by utilizing social
media purposefully. It allows students to use their voices in ways that provide
choices they find interesting and relevant to them, making the why behind
assignments all the more clear.
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