Exciting Methods of Using Social Media in Classrooms - Essay Example

Exciting Methods of Using Social Media in rooms Exciting Methods of Using Social Media in rooms Years ago parents and teachers alike discouraged students from the access and use of technology, particularly television and mobile phones, both at home and in school. They saw these as distractors to students’ academic course and advancement. However, today, teenagers are more socially adept and active, at least virtually. More than 90% of teenagers according to a study on teenagers by Pew Institute Research use the internet (Borges, 2013). In fact, eight out of ten of teenagers use some kind of social media, especially Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook. It is not just teenagers who are avid social media users. Social media have indeed shaped the society today. Many social media sites such as Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook are influencing how we communicate, talk, interact, as well as what we speak and converse about (Tomaszewski, 2012). Therefore, educationists, administrators, and teachers should not be apprehensive about the thought of inspiringly using the social media in the classroom. This is because when used carefully, social media can be a very powerful and important learning tool in classrooms. Through social media, students have more access to a lot of information than they did before. Social media encourage students to interact and engage actively with classroom material; it helps them to learn and develop new ways that they were not able to in the past. Students are up-to-date with new technology and usually spend a lot of time on social media sites online. Therefore, integrating and allowing or enabling students to utilize social media in the classroom plays to their interests and skill and allows them to be more responsive and engaged during class time. Further, social media also create student online communities where students can converse with one other and access important information about the class outside the class. For instance, a teacher or instructor can create a Facebook, Whatsapp or a Twitter group for his or her class, or for subsets such as lab groups or study groups. Such social media groups enable for easy communication and interaction between students among the students themselves and teachers as well as (Renfro, 2011). A class or study group on Facebook is a way that students can be able to ask questions on topics and issue that they do not comprehend in class. Additionally, it is a method which students can share information and their knowledge amongst themselves. It helps foster better relationships amongst class members and also better students’ communication skills, especially with regards to online communication. In these groups, teachers can post links to important class notes and articles, extra class notes, and book reviews, as well as post upcoming due dates and class events. This creates news portal for students regarding class matters and allows the students to be constantly in touch with other classmates and a teacher. Social media can also be utilized inspiringly in the classroom by creating a Twitter handle or constant news feed through which students can tweet their thoughts and answers to questions being discussed in class. This is another arena that students can use to communicate, interact, and succinctly express themselves. Further, a teacher can instruct his/her students to track trending current events and hashtags and allow them time to tweet about these hashtags and current events (Lepi, 2012). This will enable and allow them to be up-to-date with the current news and events and giving them confidence with regards to online communication. Most influential and famous personalities, corporations, organizations, and issues are on Twitter. Thus, teachers, for instance, can have their students follow those people, companies, issues, or corporations that are related to what they are studying (Staff Writers, 2010). Teachers are also able to post supplementary course material such as links to class notes, articles, and can retweet relevant and interesting articles from others. Additionally, teachers are also able to remain up-to-date with the latest educational and technological trends, as well as get support and ideas from other educators. Blogs can also be inspiringly used in classrooms to advance and promote learning. The teacher can create a blog for the class where he/she can post topics of discussion that students must respond to. This creates a collaborative arena from which students can connect and interrelate with one other on a topic-by-topic basis, and help them develop their creative, critical thinking, and discussion/debate skills. Responses from such a discussion blog can then be deliberated in the classroom a later (Renfro, 2011). Teachers can also post on these blogs class course details, lesson plans, timetables, assignment detail, turn-in dates, exam dates, and reminders for important events. Students can also create blog post on a daily or weekly basis, develop their writing skills and help them establish their arguments and own voice. Students are also encouraged to respond to class blog posts so that they can receive feedback on their ideas and writing. Blogs also act as an important place from which students can communicate and share with each other (Renfro, 2011). Social media sites such as YouTube can also be integrated into the classroom environment to enhance student’s learning experience. A teacher can record his or her lessons and post them on YouTube for his or her students to access and view at any time that they want. Using YouTube video as a learning, and teaching tool is an excellent resource especially for students who do not grasp the information or learn as quickly as everyone else. Students can be able to rewind, pause, and replay learning videos posted on YouTube as long as they want (Lepi, 2012). Additionally, teachers can design class projects in which students choose a topic, research on it, record a video, revise it, and upload it to YouTube, as well as share it with other students. In doing this, students can learn an imperative skill; this also gives them the freedom to decide whether or not, and how and when they would like to present their video. It encourages critical thinking, creativity, planning and makes participation and making projects very attractive. There are many more inspiring ways in which social media can be integrated and be used in the classroom. When they are carefully and strategically used in some of the ways that have been described in this paper, social media can be a critical and powerful learning and teaching tool. Students will no longer need to pick up a dictionary to look for and search for the definition of words or purchase they most recent atlas edition to find the latest domestic product of a country. All these information-up to date information-is available to them via their smartphones, tablets, or PCS; through social media they can access and share it quite quickly. However, there are a myriad of challenges that face the integration and use of social media in classrooms. Mainly educators are faced with the challenge of understanding how to harness the power and benefits of social media in the classroom (Tomaszewski, 2012). There is also the concern that students need to be kept excited and engaged on learning and that their interest in use of social media in the classroom is purely for academic or classroom related matters. Issues of privacy as well those of cyberbullying have also risen. The extent of information that students and teachers can share online are also significant issues that threaten the use of social media in the classroom. Overall, students are engrossed in social media and use them daily. Several researchers have revealed that the use of social media in classrooms improves students’ interest in learning and keeps them excited and engaged on learning. Therefore, educationists, administrators, and teachers have no choice, but to devise ways and methods in which they can effectively integrate and utilize social media in the classroom despite their somewhat dangerous and distractive nature. References Borges, N. (2013). Hashtag in the Classroom: Can Social Media Improve Education? Retrieved October 06, 2014, from http://wlrn.org/post/hashtag-classroom-can-social-media-improve-education Lepi, K. (2012). 10 Real-World Ways Schools Are Using Social Media. Retrieved October 06, 2014, from http://edudemic.com/2012/10/10-real-world-ways-schools-social-media/ Renfro, A. (2011). 8 Social Media Strategies for Your Classroom. Retrieved October 06, 2014, from http://gettingsmart.com/blog/2011/12/developing-a-social-media-strategy-for-your-classroom/ Staff Writers. (2010). 100 Inspiring Ways to Use Social Media In the Classroom. Retrieved October 06, 2014, from http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2010/05/100-inspiring-ways-to-use-social-media-in-the-classroom/ Tomaszewski, J. (2012). Study Suggests Benefits of Social Media in the Classroom. Retrieved October 06, 2014, from http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/study-suggests-social-media-has-place-in-classrooms.shtml#sthash.QiT0d458.dpuf Read More