Jason Levine began using social media like YouTube and Facebook to engage with students and teachers around the world. Through these interactions, he was invited to teach English in Morocco. He then used what he learned from students on Facebook to develop his own online course. The document provides tips for using Facebook groups to listen to learners, such as keeping conversations active by regularly liking, commenting, and posting engaging content to better understand students' needs.

1. Listening to
Learners in
Social Media
Jason R. Levine

2. Your use of social media:
personal or professional?

3. I started teaching online
with YouTube.

5. Teachers in Morocco began chatting
about my videos on Facebook.

6. This led to an invitation to go to Morocco as
an English Specialist with the U.S.
Department of State.

7. Sylvia Guinan invited me to co-
host a class with her on WizIQ.

9. I wanted to teach my own course
online but I wasn’t sure what to
focus on.

10. I began to actively engage in the FB
group, Global English Forum.

11. I set up a Facebook page to interact
with students and teachers.

12. Benefits of Facebook groups
•Network with students in a safe, public environment
•Make FB friends with students
•Find out what learners’ needs truly are
•Gain learners’ trust
•Members receive notifications

13. Stay in the Kitchen!

17. Joining Facebook groups
•Research before you join
•Find out who the admins are
•Consider active vs. inactive groups
•Disable email notifications
•Add friends who will help you interact there
•Look at ‘Suggested Groups’

19. Listening to learners in Facebook groups
•Keep conversations going
•Like and comment often
•Ask and answer questions
•Paste useful links
•Don’t try to sell yourself or your product/service
•Accept friendship requests from students

20. Posting in Facebook groups
•Post great content and interact with members
•Don’t try to sell yourself or your product/service
•Comment to boost your post to the top of the feed
•Like and comment to get your post in more members’
feeds

21. Being an Admin or Creating a Facebook Group
•You have control over the style and direction of the
group
•You can schedule events
•You can decide who is in and who is out
•You can decide if the group is open, closed or secret

23. I used what I learned from learners on
Facebook to launch my first online course.

27. Teaching on the ground
and in the cloud