Learning with Social Media: How do Preservice Teachers Integrate YouTube and Social Media in Teaching?

Little is known about digital-native preservice teachers’ pedagogies. They seem to be built on instructional strategies of integrating emergent affordances of the Internet technologies. This study aims to gain deeper understandings of the teachers’ pedagogies by exploring their preferred social media as instructional tools used in teaching practicums. A qualitative case study of a group of preservice teachers who integrated the technology in their teaching in kindergartens, primary and secondary schools was conducted. The results reveal the teachers’ pedagogies built on three instructional strategies with four preferences for the use of social media. Among the social media tools, YouTube was commonly used with other social media and non-social media tools, particularly for teaching in secondary schools. Consequently, three forms of pedagogy—the direct, constructivist and participatory, were identified in the digital-native preservice teachers’ instructional strategies of integrating potential social media affordances. The implications of the findings for preparing and developing the teachers’ knowledge of integrating emergent technologies to form their pedagogies are also discussed.