Blogs & Articles
Sample: Leveraging Social Media for Education
Project Summary
In the age where social media is considered is evil everyone likes, we would like to showcase how it can be used
optimally to gain more knowledge and positive usage of this medium with a help of a blog. Web also want to make
sure that we dont come across as preachers of social media but giving a new perspective of it as it might give them
new ideas and educate them. It should have more thought leadership aspect to it.
Creator Profile
The author is an expert, having penned articles for leading educational technology brands.
2020 was a year when the entire world witnessed a paradigm shift in almost every sphere of life. It left ample room for radical digital transformations, be it in our workspace or in our education system.
Indeed, the coronavirus pandemic, which kept students from attending schools, acted as a veritable catalyst for ushering in the era of virtual classrooms in their truest sense. While work-from-home became the new normal, online teaching became part and parcel of a student’s life.
There has been a preconceived notion about social media, that it depletes an individual’s productivity in more ways than one can possibly imagine. To be frank, we rarely come across instances where we discuss the upside of using social media for accelerating productivity and growth, especially with regard to students.
Here are some of the ways in which social media can be used for enhancing the learning experience for students.
1. Social media groups for broadcasts
Groups are a very common feature on various social media platforms. They enable you to connect and network with like-minded people and share your opinion and knowledge about a lot of things. Creating classroom groups for sending out important broadcast messages can be considered a great use of these groups. These services are free and enable teachers to share important class updates such as homework and other announcements.
2. Using blogs as discussion forums
Blogs have become an increasingly popular medium for content creation and are read by students all across the world. This is due to the fact that educational blogs can be easily linked back to classroom groups, making it easier to deliver knowledge to students. There are various platforms that can be leveraged for publishing blogs for students.
3. Educational apps for learning outside the classroom
With the market of smartphones growing exponentially over the past ten years, there have been a plethora of apps focusing on Ed-Tech and its allied entities. These apps ensure that learning is not just limited to classrooms, but can be expanded beyond their walls as well. These apps are based on cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science, which not only make the experience fulfilling, but also ensure that it is hyper-personalised for extracting the maximum value out of it.
4. Enabling better access and affordability
Prior to the advent of social media, accessibility to good educators was a challenge the world over. It is widely known that the Internet is a great leveller, and social media has been a great medium for educators to reach out to their target audience. Instead of being physically present in classrooms, they can now simply upload videos of their lectures on various social media platforms. This way, they can reach millions of students who are eager to learn from the best educators worldwide.
5. Source of credible information
Social media is certainly regarded as one of the most credible sources of information. Apart from updating us on current affairs, it acts as an amazing medium for sharing views on different topics and specialised issues, and understanding others’ opinion about these. The scale at which social media connects people is phenomenal, and if used correctly, it can help millions of students across the world to learn and grow together.
6. Expertise learning through online courses
Technology has ensured that one can learn anytime and from anywhere. Online courses can act as a great medium for not only those wanting to learn the basics, but also for the ones who wish to gain mastery over a particular skill set. Various platforms offer these courses at subsidised rates. Learning Management Systems can help you manage your courses and track your growth too.
Social media is indeed a great medium for students to learn and educate themselves by connecting with the right set of people. Learning can happen from more than one platform; social media provides just the right mix of a diverse set of platforms so that students can learn holistically.
