What can social media do for our students? An exploration through visual thinking.

What can social media do for our students? An exploration through visual thinking.

A growing body of research suggests that the use of visual imagery and/or diagrams are effective tools to aid conceptual understanding and memory recall (Boggs et al., 2010; Fernandes et al., 2018; Wammes et al., 2018; Meade et al., 2019, Novak Kinchin).

Evidence suggests that taking visual notes, as opposed to just written ‘traditional’ notes, helps many learners to manage unfamiliar ideas and concepts, to assimilate information and to build bridges between concepts, helping to internally process information and recall it more easily (Andrade, 2009; Rhode, 2012). And yet students (and staff) may not be introduced to such techniques or even be aware of them.

Building upon current work with staff and students this fun, interactive workshop session will invite you to come and try out some of the techniques for yourselves and help us to compile shareable visual resources which address the fundamental question “What can social media do for our students?”.

We will begin with a brief introduction to a selection of visual notetaking techniques, focusing on sketchnoting and concept mapping. We also welcome delegates with specific interests/expertise in mind mapping.

During the session, you will have the opportunity to ‘have a go’, either on pencil and paper or on computer/online. We will encourage you to use new skills to take and make notes on sessions you attend throughout the day, tweeting outcomes if you are comfortable to do so.

Our overall long-term aim is to create and share a bank of visual notes which address the theme of “What can Social Media do for our Students?” Over the day, we will encourage face-to-face verbal and social-media-generated feedback which we can feed forward and share after the conference (with your permission, of course). We would also like to share some of the brilliant ideas from the other conference sessions which you may have recorded visual notes for!

Peter Hartley @profpeterbrad

Dawne Irving-Bell @belld17

References and sources

Kinchin, I.M. (2016) Visualising Powerful Knowledge to Develop the Expert Student: A Knowledge Structures Perspective on Teaching and Learning at University. Sense Publishers.

Novak, J.D. (2009) Learning, Creating, and Using Knowledge: Concept Maps as Facilitative Tools in Schools and Corporations 2nd Edition. Routledge