{{notability, date=May 2012
Social networking pedagogy is a
philosophy of education
The philosophy of education is the branch of applied philosophy that investigates the nature of education as well as its aims and problems. It includes the examination of educational theories, the presuppositions present in them, and the arguments ...
described by curriculum theorists
Thomas Patrick Huston and Hallie DeCatherine Jones as a form of learner-driven
participatory culture
Participatory culture, an opposing concept to consumer culture, is a culture in which private individuals (the public) do not act as consumers only, but also as contributors or producers (prosumers). The term is most often applied to the product ...
where the user's experience is reciprocal, consisting of a range of input and output experiences mediated by
social networking technologies. The range of individual and unique differentiated user experiences form a composite impression on the individual which functions as an
epistemic form of how we come to know and experience the world and its social, cultural, political and economic realities.
In educational settings, social networking pedagogical approaches place social networking technologies at their core, thus presenting expansive opportunities for education to extend the
curriculum beyond the traditional walls of educational institutions by reaching into the daily-lived experiences of individuals. The
archival features and lack of
temporal constraints associated with Internet technologies sustain continually changing currents that educators can connect to
student-driven interests by engaging them with
trending topics
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, an ...
. Through social network pedagogy, educators can develop a teaching
praxis
Praxis may refer to:
Philosophy and religion
* Praxis (process), the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, practised, embodied, or realised
* Praxis model, a way of doing theology
* Praxis (Byzantine Rite), the practice of fai ...
where the classroom and social space blend and individuals' creative contributions are acknowledged for their cultural value.
Jones and Huston began theorizing the development of social networking pedagogy during their tenure as doctoral students at the
Indiana University School of Education where they were colleagues in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. They point to the fields of
cultural studies
Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the political dynamics of contemporary culture (including popular culture) and its historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers generally investigate how cultural practices re ...
and
critical pedagogy, especially the contributions of David Trend with his book ''Cultural Pedagogy: Art, Education, Politics'' and the critical theorist
Henry Giroux
Henry Armand Giroux (born 1943) is an American-Canadian scholar and cultural critic. One of the founding theorists of critical pedagogy in the United States, he is best known for his pioneering work in public pedagogy, cultural studies, youth st ...
.
Philosophy of education
Social networks
Pedagogy
Critical pedagogy
Cultural studies