UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX CAREER SERVICES

1. ADULT LEARNING THEORIES

1.1. Andragogy Learning Theory: Andragogy is a learning theory specifically for adult learners emphasizing that they are self-directed and that they learn best when the topic is of immediate value (Culatta, 2015). E-learning and social media support andragogy by allowing the adult learner to utilize the career services resources to reach targeted goals while exposing them to current trends in social media that can enhance their resume and increase their employability.

1.2. Cognitivism Learning Theory: Cognitivism aligns very well with our objective to increase the social or e-learning aspect of our (adult) career services program at the University as it is characterized by more intrinsic motivation, an acceptance of limitations of their existing knowledge and the need to modify or abandon their existing beliefs, and the ability to assimilate and ascribe meaning to new material (Perry, 1999). The adult learners who utilize the career services resources are primed in all the aforementioned ways, to reap the greatest benefit from the added social media component into the program because the content relevance, urgency and motivation will be added accelerants of learning that they need to achieve their pointed goals.

1.3. Social Learning Theory: The social learning theory approaches our learning in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral and environmental influences and provides a broad cross-section from which to educate many types of learners and especially adult learners (Bandura, 1997). This theory provides the foundation and backdrop for the use of social media and e-learning interactions in any education setting because it is based on the fact that we are social beings and everything we do has a social context that cannot be ignored.

2. EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON STUDENT MOTIVATION

2.1. 1. Facilitated Communication: Facebook offers several options for communicating with others. Users can interact by sending private messages, similar to emailing. Members who are ‘friends’ may post public messages on each other’s ‘walls’, which are personal message boards on their profiles. Communication may also occur in groups, which Facebook members can create and join (Calvert, 2009).

2.2. 2: Integration into Daily Activities: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are all social media sites that many people visit daily regardless of what day of the week it is, if they are sick in bed or heading to work or school. It is often easier for learners to access an app on their phone to accomplish what they may be reluctant to sit in front of a computer to do. The ability to complete assignments in a social media/e-learning platform may motivate learners to accomplish more in less time or on the go.

2.3. 3: Overcome the Negative Effects of Timidity on the Learning Process: Social media can provide a boundary between shy students and their cohorts that will allow the learner to overcome their timidity and interact with the content and other learners. In a physical classroom a shy person may be reluctant to speak, to answer a question, to engage in a discussion with classmates or to defend an unpopular opinion. Knowing that they are a username behind a screen can motivate them to be more engaged which provides more opportunities for exchange of ideas and multidimensional learning.

3. RELEVANT TRAINING COMPETENCIES RELATED TO SOCIAL MEDIA/ E-LEARNING

3.1. 1. Adult Learning: Adult learners exhibit some differences in how they process new information, their motivation for learning, and the level of ownership they take in their learning (Culatta, 2015). In order for the revisioning of our program to effective and appealing, the demographic we are serving must be acknowledged and intentionally targeted.

3.2. 2. Awareness of E-Learning: E-learning and social media are frontiers that are constantly changing. It is important to have a moderate level of familiarity with these dynamic tools and how to best utilize them to suit the needs of the organization and the learner (Rossen, 2001).

3.3. 3. E-Learning Management: The platform for e-learning has to be selected and maintained to meet the objectives of the organization for the learner.

4. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF INTEGRATING SOCIAL MEDIA

4.1. Consent: Social media and the Internet allow anyone to author materials that are available world-wide. Consent to use literary, video and photographic materials must be be obtained to avoid any illegal use of content that could compromise the program and the school (Henderson, 2014).

4.2. Boundaries: Instructors may have concerns about maintaining appropriate boundaries between learners and themselves on online platforms. Learners and instructors on the same social media sites can potentially diminish some of the boundaries that exist in this type of relationship. Teachers need to consider what the implications are for co-inhabiting spaces that are designed to connect people and share information (Henderson, 2014).

4.3. Managing Illicit Activity: The primary concern with illicit activity is plagiarism and being able to identify, address and in the best cases, to teach students how to avoid these activities (Henderson, 2014).

5. REFERENCES

5.1. Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W.H. Freeman.

5.2. Calvert, S., Pempek, T. & Yermolayeva, Y. (2009). College students' social networking experiences on Facebook. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 30:3 pages 227-238.

5.3. Culatta, R. (2015). Andragogy (Malcolm Knowles). Retrieved from http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/andragogy.html

5.4. Henderson, M., Auld, G., & Johnson, N. F. (2014). Ethics of teaching with social media. Paper presented at the Australian Computers in Education Conference 2014, Adelaide, SA. http://acec2014.acce.edu.au/session/ethics-teaching-social-media

5.5. Images: MindMeister stock images. Free version.

5.6. Perry, W. (1999). Forms of ethical and intellectual development in the college years. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

5.7. Rossen, E. & Hartley, D. (2001). Basics of E-Learning. American Society for Training and Development. Volume 109 of Infoline ASTD Series p. 8

5.8. Mysak, B. (2014, September 13). Social media use in education [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ3j6zf9Xms&feature=youtu.be

5.9. UOPX. (2013, November 13). University of Phoenix Career Guidance System[Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7q_kZ-7844

5.10. Eszigeti. (2014, August 10). 6 Tips for adult learning [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdI0JXSealg&feature=youtu.be

5.11. Adams, T. (2014, September 12). 10 Ethical issues in social media [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_fulKc5wh0&feature=youtu.be

6. CONCLUSION

6.1. In response to the charge to integrate social media or other e-learning into a training plan to help encourage people to view training within the career services resources more positively; the andragological, social and cognitive learning theories were discussed. The specific ways in which social media and e-learning could be implemented for each of these theories were described. The training provided to adult learners of our career services resources will compound the benefits of what these services have to offer by allowing them to engage with the content and other learners using more social techniques online. The compound benefit is that learners will acquire skills in using these platforms with which potential employers are likely expect them to be familiar as well as gaining a greater level of mastery with the career services resources that were developed to assist with obtaining employment.