Explorative thoughts on bringing together reflection and social networking

Abstract

Reflection is a timeless instructional strategy to enhance student learning. With the rapid development of social networking technologies, we can now facilitate student reflection in a more dynamic and interactive way. The ubiquity and ease of use of social networking tools offer instructors the ability to creatively structure their teaching. Because students and instructors can communicate and pass knowledge back and forth anywhere easily from any mobile device via the internet, these technologies provide an opportunity for contextual learning outside the classroom. As such, reflective interaction is an obvious way to take advantage of social networking. This article explores the idea of connecting reflection with social networking and discusses how technology has transformed reflection and examines the role of social networking tools in enhancing reflective interaction.