Running head: RESEARCH ON VISUAL AND MEDIA LITERACY

Research on Visual and Media Literacy:

Students Views of Social Media and the Impact on the Secondary Classroom
Clarice D. Brazas
University of West Georgia

RESEARCH ON VISUAL AND MEDIA LITERACY

Introduction
The use of social media is a hot topic regardless of the circle in which one works. Schools
however may be missing an excellent way to communicate with students and create meaningful
connections between teachers and students as well as between students and the curriculum. Sites
like Edmodo attempt to create a social media like setting for students; however, students are
often unmotivated by sites like this. A main flaw in many of the studies available on this topic is
the actual perspective of the student. During the research phase of this assignment, I have
attempted to find studies, which discuss how students perceive the use of social media in the
classroom. The three following articles look at aspects surrounding the use of social media in
classrooms or the way in which students utilize the internet. The articles chosen are intended to
mimic the setting in which I work; my students are diverse and are primarily operating from a
low socio-economic status.

RESEARCH ON VISUAL AND MEDIA LITERACY

Title: Teen Culture, Technology and Literacy Instruction: Urban Adolescent Students
Authors: Jia Le, Catherine Snow, Claire White
Description: This paper looks at the ways teens view technology. Its goal is to determine how
students use technology for entertainment, for learning, and for the improvement of literacy.
First, the article establishes the absolute prevalence of mobile phones in the life of teenagers.
They substantiate this through both their own research and through a Pew study which looked at
nearly 1000 teenagers. As of 2011, 77% of teens had a mobile phone (Li 2015). Additionally, the
article investigates the idea of a socio-economic divide among youths with less financial
resources. Based on their study in a northeastern urban setting, this divide is disappearing and
teens in these communities have almost the same rate of ownership as students in a higher SES.
The authors use student focus groups to discuss students perspectives of technology. The
paper asserts the missing component in much of the research available about students use of
technology in the classroom is what students actually prefer and what they see as a useful
resource. Using national surveys, other forms of literature, and the focus groups, the authors
show most studied teens view technology primarily as a form of communication and
entertainment.
Review of Literature: The literature utilized by the authors relies heavily on a national survey
by the Pew Research Center. This survey looks at trends among teens and their use of
technology, media, and the internet. Other research included in the paper, delves into the types of
technology used in the secondary classroom and the usefulness of these materials based on the
success of students in testing scenarios. The research cited illustrates a lack of consensus
surrounding the usefulness of technology in the classroom. While some research shows students
are more successful when using technology, for example a digital text; other research shows
inconsistent results and growth from students.

RESEARCH ON VISUAL AND MEDIA LITERACY

Analysis of Methodology: The researches utilized randomized focus groups from grades 6, 7,
and 8. Within each group, there were five students taken from one class. These students were
selected from one urban Boston middle school. Students were asked a series of open-ended
questions about their thoughts on technology and how useful technology is to learning in general
as well as improving literacy skills. The results of the focus groups were transcribed and
summarized in the paper. Students were familiar with the focus group moderators. Students were
free to speak, as there were no teachers or administrators in the focus group sessions.
Summary of Results: Students expressed the usefulness of technology. They see technology like
cell phones and laptops as indispensable to their lives. Students do not think social media would
be a useful way to communicate with teachers. Students expressed seeing teachers outside lives
would make them uncomfortable. Students commented that technology is useful in math and
science classes but do not see its usefulness in an ELA classroom. Students were able to analyze
the inherent issues with utilizing technology in the classroom. For example, students discussed
how much of the information they would like to access is blocked or how saving work can
sometimes be difficult. Students also discussed the safety of BYOD.
Efficacy of Research: While the new research created by this team is limited to one group of
students and qualitative in nature, the outcomes are still effective and interesting. A replication of
this study would allow for a broader picture as this study looks only at one school. An interesting
extension of this study would be how students answers vary in a higher socio-economic class.
Personal Impact: This study was interesting to me as I assumed students would think all
technology was good technology. It makes me increase my desire to incorporate useful
technology and seek students opinions when designing assignments.

RESEARCH ON VISUAL AND MEDIA LITERACY

Title: Being a Learner Using Social Media in School: The Case for Space2cre8
Authors: Kristin Beate Vasb, Kenneth Silseth, and Ola Erstad
Description: This article looks at the use of social media in schools. The school studied here is a
school in Norway made up a diverse population with students who are primarily from a lower
socio-economic status. The authors mention several times that the study is ethnographic. The
students in this study are utilizing the educational social media website Space2cre8 (S28). The
site offers many of the same interfaces as mainstream social networking sites like a personal
profile, and the ability to chat, write blogs, set up groups, and share other forms of media. While
the primary, intended use of the site is educational, students are encouraged to use it outside of
school and communicate with other students around the world. The authors of this study looked
at how students approach, utilize, and perceive S28. The focus of the study revolves around the
idea of S28 functioning as a separate space for students.
Review of Literature: While the authors consult several articles presented, there are two main
publications discussed. The first Digital Youth Project, Kids Informal Learning with Digital
Media, (Ito et al. 2009) looks primarily at teens use social media. In the second source, Working
toward a third space in content area literacy: An examination of everyday funds of knowledge
and resources (Moje, 2004) the spaces in which people operate are discussed.
Analysis of Methodology: The authors of the study used primarily qualitative forms of research;
the authors used varying forms of observation by watching students in class, videotaping
interactions, online monitoring, and interviewing students. Researchers coded these observations
by theme to produce trends in the students use of the site. The apparent themes of the study were
school knowledge, everyday knowledge, ethnic identity, religious identity, and popular culture
(Vasb, Silseth, Erstad, 2014, p. 114). These themes appear in the work samples presented from
students as well as create a context for the study.

RESEARCH ON VISUAL AND MEDIA LITERACY

Summary of Results: The study boils down its results to the experiences of two students who
the authors say represent the main themes present in the study as well as a main dichotomy
present in the research. The two students presented view the site in one of two ways either in a
school oriented or out-of-school oriented way (Vasb et al., 2014, p. 115). The study looks at
three ways students used the site: chats, student created movies, and blog entries. In discussing
the results, the authors state, This compilation of different types of experiences indicates that
using social networking sites, such as S28, in schools connects school knowledge and everyday
knowledge in what Moje et al. (2004) define as a third space (Vasb et al., 2014, p. 123). This
aspect of the study points to the idea that social media when used correctly can act as a bridge
between students school life and home life creating a more authentic experience for students.
Efficacy of Research: The research appears to have been thoroughly conducted and is likely
reproducible in another environment. While the findings of the research were interesting, there
was very little application or extrapolation. For example, there were numerous, obvious
unanswered questions. For example: did one set of students perform better than the other set? Is
one set of students more likely to spend time on the site than the other set? Did students enjoy
their time on the site? Do students find the site comparable to real/non-educational social
media sites?
Personal Impact:
As mentioned in the efficacy section, there are many lingering questions about the application of
this work. In a secondary school, it would be interesting to see if students would utilize a site like
this. In schools in the United States, much of the internet is censored. For example, Edmodo is a
popular social network style website schools use. However, Edmodo lacks the tools students
enjoy like profiles, sharing media, and chat features. Based on my experience, these aspects
would draw students into the site and create the third space.

RESEARCH ON VISUAL AND MEDIA LITERACY

Title: Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning with New
Media
Author: Antin, J., & Ito, M.
Description: This e-book was referenced in several other articles reviewed for this study. The
book focuses on the influence of social media and other forms of new media on the lives of
teenagers and kids. The sections explored here, deal primarily with media ecologies and how
young people spend their time on the internet. This information is valuable because without a big
picture view of how Americas youth spends its time on the internet it is difficult to create
meaningful online experiences in the classroom.
Review of Literature: This text does not expend much energy looking at other texts. Its primary
purpose is reviewing the research of the authors and creating new material. The authors do look
at several wide scale surveys from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Pew Research
Foundation. These quantitative studies look at how children and teens interact with both old and
new media. The authors utilize this research to support their own ethnographic, qualitative
studies.
Analysis of Methodology: The authors developed a framework for looking at how children and
teens are interacting with media. The authors created three categories for how young people are
spending their time on the internet. The description provided states, The three genres of
participation that we introduce . . . hanging out, messing around, and geeking out- are also
genres that are defined relationally. [These structures] allows us to use an emergent, flexible, and
interpretative rubric for framing certain forms of practice (Antin & Ito, 2010, p. 31). This
flexible structure is necessary to seize all of the diverse aspects of youth culture on the internet.
Through this framework, the authors are able to address the ways in which students spend their

RESEARCH ON VISUAL AND MEDIA LITERACY

time. Through their qualitative research, the authors spend time interacting and interviewing
young people of varying ages. Based on this information, the authors create case studies useful in
various settings.
Summary of Results: The summary of the study points to the three aforementioned genres as
ways students spend their time. Students spend their time planning to meet up to hang out.
They are often talking about ways they can get together. When they cannot be together, they still
create a new space online where they can still be together through chat and sharing media.
When teens are not focused on hanging out, they are messing around. This includes spending
time perusing fun material on the internet and using various platforms to share that information
with their peers. Finally, students use their time on the internet to pursue topics that interest
them. This could encompass any topic from baseball to celebrities.
Something discussed which does not fit into one of the categories is how students spend
time on the internet to avoid doing other work. The authors suggest that parents and teachers see
this behavior as well as the time spent hanging out to be counterproductive. Schools often spend
time to prevent students from exhibiting this behavior. An interesting finding is because of this
so-called counterproductive behavior students are forced to become more creative. The authors
state, Teenagers develop work-arounds, ways to subvert institutional barriers to hanging out
while in school (Antin & Ito, 2010, p. 48). This time spent creating work arounds is probably
more useful than the time most students spend in class.
Efficacy of Research: This research contains great depth. It is referred to by a great number of
other authors because of its high quality and abundance of useful information. While the study is
qualitative, it uses selected quantitative research to support the trends and analysis present. This
research was interesting to read and should be a primary resource for anyone studying this topic.

RESEARCH ON VISUAL AND MEDIA LITERACY

Personal Impact: This research is valuable to me as it gives a greater understanding of student

motivation while using digital media. Understanding student motivation, could lead to creating
more engaging activities in the classroom. The idea that students gain something by working to
avoid the constraints put into place by school boards and other adults is heartening.

Reflection:
When I began this project, I misread the material and assumed we would be conducting
our own research. After realizing this was not the case, I endeavored to find research that would
answer the question: How do students view social media and how would they like to use it in the
classroom. Each of the sources consulted were interesting and provided specific aspects to this
research. While I attempted to find research that spent more time surveying teens about how they
view social media, this information if present was usually buried in the thoughts or observations
of adults.
In schools, professionals often discuss using technology as a way to fix all manner of
problems in the classroom. While I agree with the idea to an extent, if the use of technology is
not executed well it can cause more problems. Students already spend enormous amounts of time
using social media. It only makes sense to harness this in the classroom. The issue, however, is
that adults often do not understand students motivation or the way in which they enjoy spending
their time. With a greater understanding of the relationship between teens and social media,
teachers and instructional designers can create materials, which actually appeal to students.

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References
Antin, J., & Ito, M. (2010). Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out: Kids Living and
Learning with New Media. Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press, 29 58.
Li, J., Snow, C., & White, C. (2015). Teen Culture, Technology and Literacy Instruction: Urban
Adolescent Students Perspectives. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, 1 36.
Vasbo, K. B., Silseth , K., & Erstad, O. (2014). Being a Learner Using Social Media in School:
The Case for Space2cre8. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 110 - 126.