Effective education requires engagement from both the students and the teachers. Technological advances in the way we communicate, through social media, has permeated other sectors of our lives as well. As such, education has seen a new way of carrying out the traditional face to face iteration of the process. Instead of students and their instructors passing information between themselves in a passive way, technology allows them to participate in creating their own learning environment. Since communication is an essential part of education, those going through the process can also learn a lot from each other as they do from their teachers. In turn, lecturers can take up the responsibility of facilitating education through enforcing productive learning activities.
Ideally, there are numerous forms of applying social media technologies for learning and teaching. Although implementing the tools provided by such advances can increase engagement, they may not offer much in terms of making a particular course more interesting to the learners. However, the advantages offered to come in the form of social media characteristics. This article discusses how each of them lends a hand towards improving the quality of education.
Enhancing a Platform for Communication
The use of computers and other related technologies in schools has had humble beginnings. Teachers started by sending notes, in PDF form, to their students via emails. Plus, learners could participate in online discussions facilitated by the lecturers in forums. The increase in technological complexity has enabled the use of more advanced teaching methods that encourage communication and the passing of knowledge. Hence, students, today can engage with their peers on platforms such as Twitter and YouTube to exchange what they have learned in environments that they are comfortable in.
Boosting Collaboration as a Tool for Education
Education strives to create a workforce that can work together to achieve a common goal. Still, there is an emphasis on molding the next generation to think critically, engage in meaningful discussions, and collaborate on various tasks. Instead of looking for a paper writing service, students can band together to learn the skills necessary for completing their class assignments.
Moreover, not many careers allow people to pursue projects on their own without requiring any input from their colleagues. We can use social media technologies to instill the values of collaboration among students. Teachers can break down a task into segments that every member of a class group can work on. Eventually, the learners would need to compile their work into a coherent document that solves the overall question.
Social Media Tools can Enhance Creativity
The conceptual age refers to an era where ideas and inventions spring up from unlikely sources to create products and services that are in high demand in today’s markets. Training programs are incorporating social media technologies to assist in the development of new skills in learners. Multiplayer games are a terrific example of the new ways that students can learn how to be creative. We can see further examples of applying such tools in education through the use of gaming in the military. Cadets can learn how to act in real-world scenarios by practicing them in the virtual world.
Teachers can harness social media to help their students discover creative ways of approaching problems. They can learn how to interact with new concepts in new and inventive ways. These activities can increase engagement and a knack for thinking outside the box.
Building a Community Geared Towards Education
Perhaps the most obvious of the characteristics of social media is the ability to create communities of like-minded individuals. A prime example is how Facebook implements groups on their platform. There, people who have similar ideologies, but different backgrounds find a place to engage with their interests without shying off. Three modes of learning happen in such communities:
- Student and student.
- Teacher and student.
- Student and content.
Allowing learners and their instructors to create groups where they can discuss concepts and share ideas improves the quality of education. Shy students can open up about their interests from the comfort of their own home without being afraid of being made fun of by peers with different motivations.
We should strive to incorporate the use of social media tools in the classrooms. It can enhance the traditional face to face mode of learning while Boosting the skills needed in today’s job market. Hence, we can look forward to preparing the next generation of a competent workforce.
