Posted October 8th, 2013
By Kris Powers
Whether designing a campus-based course or an online course, utilizing social media in the classroom can reap many benefits for both teachers and students alike. Instructors benefit from feeling more “connected” to others across the country by developing a professional learning network outside of their classroom or office walls. Social Media sites such as Twitter and Facebook are accessible 24/7, allowing participants to log on to seek answers, support and inspiration at any time throughout the day or night. These tools allow everyone to expand their professional development easily and effectively.
For students, the use of social media can also have many benefits. Incorporating some type of social media in your course can:
· Present students with the opportunity for frequent, open communication and the ability to exchange ideas not only locally but globally by connecting with others around the world.
· Promote connections. Teachers can foster this type of connection by setting up classroom Facebook pages or creating Twitter hashtags to facilitate dialog among students, educators and professionals alike.
· Encourage students to share their work online and support one another’s endeavors. For example, a photography instructor may ask students to post their art on a site such as Facebook. These postings may or may not be open to peer feedback.
· Students can learn to balance their time on social media and also how to separate their more professional “classroom online presence” from their personal social media activities.
· Prepare them for their future. Request that students keep a blog, and make some of those blog entries part of their assignments. This reinforces their digital presence and provides the ability to share their work and establish themselves as an emerging thought leader, while also creating a lasting portfolio of their work.
· Provide access to important information any time of the day. Some schools are replacing printed newsletters with text updates, video feeds on their website or posts on sites such as Blackboard.
With regard to which social media tool to implement; educators and students need to find the one that works best for them and their course subject. An example might be a course with many guest speakers or online webinar viewing. Creating hashtags on Twitter will allow students to comment on the material presented both during and after the speaking engagement facilitating discussion among students, attendees and possibly even the guest speaker or presenter.
While some schools are reluctant to adopt social media inside and outside of their classrooms because of safety and privacy concerns for their students, another barrier is a lack of experience in how to use social media effectively for teaching and learning. Teachers and administrators alike need to learn what social media can bring to the classroom while also being observant of the protocols to ensure student safety online.
Below you will find a link to a wonderful Info Graphic created by BestMastersInEducation.com that shows just some of the ways that social media might be used in a classroom. As technology grows, there will be more and more opportunities for both traditional classrooms as well as non-traditional classrooms to incorporate these various social media tools into their own course design.
Info Graphic of Examples of Social Media in the Classroom:
Sources:
https://www.edsurge.com/n/2013-09-18-dipping-into-social-media-in-the-classroom
http://mashable.com/2013/08/18/social-media-teachers/
