Effect of Social Networking on Education - Essay Example

?Running Head: Effect of Social Networking on Education Effect of Social Networking on Education [Institute’s This paper aims at describing the impact of social networking on education. It explains the positive as well as negative impacts of social networking and gives recommendations about how to get rid of the negative impacts of social networking. It also gives some view about researchers and provides a conclusion. In addition to this, the paper also provides some examples which makes it clear that how social networking affects the education. These examples are related to the relationship teacher and students, students with other students, students with counselors, teachers with other teachers, students with professionals and students with the handicapped students. Advantages and disadvantages of social networking are described from the point of view of emotional behavior, attitude, and performance of students and teachers. Apart from this, financial aspect is also described in the paper. In the same way, disadvantages of social networking are also explained in detail by using some examples. The paper also explains that how the involvement of parents in social networking of children affects the education. Since most of the students and teachers are more active in developing their social networks to get good job opportunities, therefore special attention is given to this point in the paper. Not only is this, but in order to give a clear picture of the points discussed in the paper some studies are also incorporated. This paper also describes the impact on the education of those students who are not active in their social networks and the impact of social networking on educational institutions is explained. Some recommendations are provided in the end, which explains that, how to use social networking positively. Social Networking and Education In this modern era, social networking is spreading everywhere. As in other areas of life, social networking has a large impact on education. According to some theories, interaction increases learning and through social networking students interacts with other students, professionals, teachers, counselors, etc. The interchange of material, social, and informational resources between two individuals is referred as ties between them. This interchange of resources is called relations in the analysis of social networking (Kear, pg 120). Relations in the social networking are both positive as well as negative. According to the researchers, advice and friendship relations have positive impact on education and learning. However, on the other hand, some relations have an adverse impact on education. For instance, through social networking students interacts with different students belonging to different cultures and races, speaking various languages and believing in their own religion. In this way, these students can share with each other about their cultures, religion, and traditions. This interaction with students of different classes makes the students aware of many things. An English student can learn about the culture of a Hindi student and likewise a Hindi student can learn about an English student. Beside this, they can easily discuss about the job opportunities of their countries, which let them aware about good positions in reputable organizations. Through this interaction, students can also get aware about the educational institutions of different countries and it provides an opportunity to them to gain knowledge about the institutions directly from the students over there. Knowledge about the educational institutions can also be gained through internet, magazines and from different websites, but since all these sources are mostly used for marketing purpose, only the positive side of the picture is displayed. However, through social networking true knowledge can be gained. People who misguide others are the exceptional cases (Orey, Branch, & Jones, pg 209). Social networking, on the other hand, enables the students to get aware about the latest technology and the ways through which they can make the process of learning easier for them. Google, Word Press, and Wikipedia are some of the wide reputable names among students, teachers, professionals and anyone who is directly or indirectly related to education. Social networking is not only beneficial for the students but it also assists teachers in a number of ways. A good teacher is the one who always involves himself in the process of learning and he considers himself as a student rather than considering that he has learned everything in the world. Therefore, dedicated teachers are active in their social networks for learning good ways of teaching. Teachers sometimes gather interactive matter from multiple sources and combine in such a way that students will love to learn and do not get bored easily. Online tools of learning such as wikis and blogs are spreading knowledge at a fast rate and according to a study, students from thirty-five percent of the schools in the United States are involved in blog posting each day. The other students who read these blog posts gain knowledge of different subjects. These blogs are interesting and are written by talented writers. Beside this, feedback is also given on these blogs from the readers, which motivates the writer in case of appreciation. One research also tells that around twenty-two percent of the schools in the United States are involved in Wikis (Tatnall & Jones, pg 55). Besides, social networks also increase awareness, which has a direct impact on education. It has been observed that people who have developed good social networks are well aware about the educational institutions, scholarship programs, seminars, educational gatherings etc. In addition to this, advice networks also affect positively on education. Through such networks, students as well as teacher s get opportunity to learn and share something. Private social network is another good example of social networking (Hargadon, pg17).This network let the teachers and students to communicate outside the class in a group. Through this network, queries can be easily discussed with the teachers and answers can be given to the questions posted by the teachers. These things cannot be done in a short time span of a class. Another merit of social networking is the assistance of financially weak students. Those students who face financial problems in meeting their educational needs can easily get material and guidelines from such networks (Agosto & Abbas, pg 34). They can learn from this matter and discuss the queries with the teachers as well as other students. Social networking eliminates the concept that money is essential for learning. Not only is this but through social networks people also engage in different competitions of learning where they can debate , arrange projects and perform multiple tasks. These games are an interactive way through which students learn rapidly. Through social networks, students interact with the professionals of different fields and gain knowledge about many organizations, in this way social networks craetes many job opportunites for the students. According to a study, students who are more socially active get good jobs as compared to other students. Students also gain confidence to talk to the professionals and social networks provides an opportunity to give online interviews. One of the best professional social network nowadays is linkedin (Tatnall & Jones, pg 89-94). However, on the other hand, social networks do have some negative impacts on education. People who are more active in social networks give much of their time in extra curricular activities and want to be an attention seeker. Some people sometimes misguide others through social networking. Besides this, the teenagers sometimes involves in relationship with the opposite sex due to which these teenagers faces depression and stress. These emotional relationships affect the academic performance of students and once they involve in any of such relation they started wasting hours in this (Butler, pg 103-108). In order to avoid this drawback of social networking, it is essential that parents should be aware about the social networks of their child. In this way, they can keep a watch on what their child is going and guide their child about how to use social networks in a manner that is positive. On the other hand, privacy is a great challenge of social networking. There are many people who are expert in hacking, these people can access the account and can use it in a negative manner. However, many developments and software’s are now being made to avoid this drawback of social networking but still some people face it. It is essential that students must install antivirus software in their computers and should get aware about the privacy control before involving in any social network. It is a fact that face-to-face interaction gives a clear picture of things rather than communicating through internet. Face to face, interaction let the students to see the body language of the teacher and according to some researchers; there are many students who learn best through face-to-face interaction. However, there are some students also who enjoy learning online rather than in the traditional classroom. A study also shows that a social network increases the tendency of becoming dishonest in a student. For instance, a student who is giving an on-line test might think to cheat easily through Google, which is not simple in the common classroom because during assessment, a teacher keeps an eye on the students (Wankel, pg 37-43). However, extra curricular activities have their own significance, but proper attention to the course material is also imperative. Through social networks, people also develop some negative relations, these relations can change the attitude of the students, and this has a direct impact on their educational career. Conclusively, social networking has both pros and cons for education. It is essential that we should avoid the negative relations of social networks and gain benefits through developing positive relations. Works Cited Agosto, Denise E. and June Abbas. Teens, Libraries, and Social Networking: What Librarians Need to Know. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Libraries Unlimited, 2011. Butler, Allison. Media Education Goes to School. New York: Peter Lang, 2010. Hargadon, Steve. "The Role of Social Networking in Education." Educational Networking. Retrieved on July 20, 2012: www.educationalnetworking.com Kear, Karen. Online and Social Networking Communities: A Best Practice Guide for Educators. London: Taylor & Francis, 2010. Orey, Michael, Robert Maribe Branch and Stephanie A. Jones. Educational Media and Technology Yearbook. New York; London: Springer, 2010. Tatnall, Arthur and Anthony Jones. Education and Technology for a Better World. Berlin; New York: Springer, 2009. Wankel, Charles. Higher Education Administration with Social Media. Bingley, UK: Emerald, 2011. Read More