Students as learning designers: using social media to scaffold the experience

The ‘students as learning designers’ approach challenges transmission models of pedagogy and requires teachers to relinquish some control to their students so that they might have the space to experiment and discover how to learn. This paper outlines the findings of two studies that allowed students to explore new ways of learning, where they were encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning, and outlines what potential social media tools may have in facilitating this experience. These projects demonstrate that when students are empowered to design their own learning activities, they can deeply engage in the learning process.