Teachers use Social Media as a Medium in Education

The use of social media in education continues to be something of a hot topic with arguments both for and against using Facebook as a 'broadcast' account. This is a one-way communication from the school to parents, as an information portal to make more effective approach. This is a great use of social media for many reasons including: quick, easy, cheap, most parents will have an account, saves on "lost" letters on the way home and also saves on printing costs. Now a days an increasing number of educational institutions are using Facebook pages for promotional reasons. This is yet another tool for schools and universities to market themselves. Schools are beginning to use Facebook groups to communicate with students.

This is a very powerful thing for sharing information and collaborating with students from a safe distance. Facebook groups do not require members to be friends with each other. As members of the groups can exchange files, links, information, polls and videos very quickly. Anytime someone contributes the group its members will receive a notification. If you have the Facebook smartphone app these can be pushed to your device. It is reported that 60% of people who are over 16 years old have a profile on one of the social networks. Nobody will deny that the biggest number of these people is students who use the following websites for different purposes. The question is: can social media have a positive influence on education or all its features are only detrimental? Undoubtedly, the popularity and passion for social media can be advantageous in education if used correctly. The first and it might be the biggest advantage of social media is communication. You can connect with anyone you need anytime and anywhere. People who use the same social network create their own community with common interests, activities, and topics for discussions. Social media websites have improved student’s communication as they can connect with their classmates easily. Another thing is the possibility to collaborate provided by these social networks. Group discussions and even video calls contribute to the efficacy of the delivered team projects. Social media websites contain an abundance of different information with millions of links to other resources. That means that apart from games and music students can find answers to important for them questions there. Teachers can make a group to share great ideas for making learning easy and effective.

By: Anuja Arora

Link: https://www.npr.org/2018/12/04/670829785/teachers-turn-lessons-into-instagram-worthy-photos