Utilising social media for enhancing student learning, engagement and experience.
Dr Iain Keenan (Lecturer in Anatomy), Dr Joanna Matthan (Senior Anatomy Demonstrator) and Alexandra Stubbs (Physiology BSc, 2015)
We have utilised social media, primarily with Twitter, Facebook and Storify, to provide information, discussions and key points from anatomy lectures and practical sessions, and to raise awareness of anatomy and clinical skills events. We have also used our social media platforms to provide information on topics of interest students including educational resources and research opportunities. We have Anatomy and Clinical Skills social media Platforms on Facebook (facebook.com/Anatomy-and-Clinical-Skills-at-Newcastle-164686377074738) and Twitter (twitter.com/anatomyCSC) and both Iain (twitter.com/dr_keenan, facebook.com/Keenans-Anatomy-1415315915429942, storify.com/dr_keenan) and Jo (@Doc_Matthan) have our own professional education and research accounts that are followed by many of our students. Iain uses Twitter hashtags to engage students with live Twitter discussions during lectures and to provide the opportunity for students to ask questions and discuss resources outside of timetables sessions. Jo trialled the use of a closed Facebook Page for anatomy for our 25 graduate-entry accelerated MBBS students in 2014-15 and we have set up an open Facebook group for the accelerated cohort in 2015-16 to provide anatomy resources and information the coincide with the needs and timetable of students on this programme. We have also used social media accounts to engage students with our Artatomy (twitter.com/artatomy) exhibition of anatomical artwork created by medical students. A final year biomedical sciences project conducted by Alexandra Stubbs investigated student perceptions of social media for learning in both medical and biomedical sciences degrees. We have used Alex’s findings to modify and improve our approaches.
As a result of increasing popularity social media are being steadily incorporated into higher education. Social media are already widely used by students for educational purposes and provide accessible platforms for interacting and engaging with students. Social media can improve learning, develop critical and reflective thought and increase variety, interactivity and engagement. Social media can also enhance the sharing of knowledge, can enable informal and self-regulated learning and can be used in the context of social constructivism for problem-based learning.
A high proportion of medical students have engaged with social media for academic purposes and Iain received a Teaching Excellence Award for Innovative Teaching (FMS) in 2015 nominated by his students, in part due to his use of social media in his delivery of MBBS anatomy. From her project, Alex found that around half of medical students use social media for academic as well as social purposes, that Facebook is the most commonly used form of social media by both medical and biomedical students that around 50% of students use Facebook and 25% use Twitter for academic purposes. Alex found that social media is most commonly used by students for educational purposes during group work and for discussing degree content, and that students would particularly welcome lecturers posting links to scientific research on social media. Alex also found that a major barrier to student use of social media was the distraction it can cause during revising.
Using social media as a learning and teaching tool
Student Engagement, Technology Enhanced Learning
Other
School of Medical Education
Other
Up to 200 students in a group
Other (please specify below)