Is Social Networking a New Literacy?

Social networking is a powerful tool, but are teachers using social networking to do the same old thing using new technology, or are they using social networking to create a new way of doing things? This week I am looking at an article by Moayeri (2010) that explores this question.

Moayeri describes a study of two teachers in the same school using social networking (a Ning) as a part of the classroom work. Although both teachers are "digital pioneers" (Moayeri 2010) they used the Ning in different ways.

The first teacher would post questions on the main blog page and students would be required to respond on their own page's blog. Students were required to comment on other students submissions, but had to move onto the other students' blog pages to read their work.

In contrast, the second teacher used a single discussion forum for students to discuss topic questions. All students could then easily see the whole discussion and other students' thoughts. The forum was soon also used for social announcements. As well, the Ning site used for non-textual material and  for students to share work (such as videos made by students).

Moayeri classifies the first classroom as using new technology for traditional practice. The second classroom however used the new technology to create a collaborative multimodal learning environment and was therefore using a "new literacy".

The article is an honest overview and does note problems using the Ning in the classroom. Assessment was difficult, how do you grade collaborative work and how do you make the amount of effort required for Ning activities commensurate with the assessment weighting? The Ning also required more work of both the teachers and the students. And because of the use of the Ning, oral discussions in the classroom were reduced in the class - effectively reducing oral literacy for another literacy that is heavily text based.

There were some strong positives. Most students enjoyed having their work seen and being able to see other students work. Students liked the idea that they could see another student's piece of assessable work before they submitted their own. Students liked the idea of building a product - the final Ning - over a semester.

The second classroom reported that a stronger classroom community was developed by using the Ning as a social tool. The Ning helped break down barriers between student groups: across gender and across popularity. Given the importance of learning communities in developing positive learning environments (Charles 2005) this is a significant advantage.

The experiences in the article are consistent with what I have observed in the Grad Dip. The use of the blog in ELPC (for example) has really replaced a paper submission with an online submission. There are additional advantages, such as students learning how to use blogs and in course administration, but I would not call it a new literacy. In PPLE however, a Ning has been used as a discussion forum and it has been interesting to read other students' thoughts about discussion topics set by the lecturer. The lecturer has made the Ning submissions non-assessable, avoiding the assessment problems described in the article. As well, only about a 25% on the tutorial group posts on the Ning, either due to not wanting their work public or because of the time it takes to contribute. Would I consider it a new literacy? It is certainly different to writing an essay and different to an in-class discussion, but few people on the Ning have actually commented on another student's posting. We submit, the lecturer comments. Maybe it will only become a new literacy when we become brave enough to interact and work as a collaborative community?


Charles, C.M. (2005). Building classroom discipline (8th ed.). Pearson.

Moayeri, M. 2010. Classroom Uses of Social Network Sites: Traditional Practices or New Literacies? Digital Culture & Education, 2:1, 25-43.