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Chapter 14
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-1692-7.ch014
ABSTRACT
The chapter discusses best practice approaches and metrics for evaluation that support seamless learn-
ing with social media on three diferent organizational levels: (1) the learning organization, (2) the
learning program/curriculum, and (3) the individual teacher/learner. Initially, we establish how social
media and seamless learning are connected, by sketching a brief overview of the history and evolution
of each concept. We draw upon the theoretical frameworks of social learning theory, transfer learning
(bricolage), and educational design patterns to elaborate upon diferent ideas for ways in which social
media can support seamless learning. To exemplify how social media can support seamless learning
we follow up with presenting three case studies on the organizational level, on the program level, and
on the individual level. Each case study analyzes the context for the use of social media, followed by a
discussion of how social media serves as a catalyst for seamless learning.
INTRODUCTION
For at least two decades, contemporary educational research has advocated the blurring of boundaries
between formal and informal learning to create seamless learning experiences, a term created by Kuh
(1996). Seamless learning refers to the integration of learning experiences across formal and informal
contexts, individual and social spaces, as well as face-to-face and online settings (Wong & Looi, 2011;
Wong, Milrad, & Specht, 2015). The emphasis on student centered learning focuses the institutional
Social Media Strategies
for Seamless Learning:
Approaches and Metrics
Stefanie Panke
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
Christian Kohls
TH Köln, Germany
Birgit Gaiser
Helmholtz Gemeinschaft, Germany