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Learning from social media

elephantcreative.co.uk

Although there is still great apprehension surrounding social media in schools, there are a growing number of teachers effectively making use of it in class.

According to Online Colleges, around 90% of teachers now use social media in their classrooms or in their professional careers. The site proposes numerous ways social media can, and is, being adopted for both teaching and in the wider educational setting. A few examples include allowing students to use Pinterest for class projects, creating a closed Facebook page for the class and their families or using Twitter to post supplementary links. The scope for utilising social media is huge and if it is managed well, could be a great success in the classroom environment.

kids_learningThe idea will naturally take a while to really gain support, especially amongst more conservative areas, but there are many teachers out there using social media and reporting their discoveries. Pamela Cytrynbaum, a teacher and parent, has found that social media is key to meeting students on their level. She uses social media to post articles, clips and lectures to the students, realising that they will be viewed much more than if it was in class or a hardcopy version for instance. It can be a way to engage reluctant learners and further the discovery of those who are truly interested in a topic. In addition, by befriending their teachers, students can then connect with their friends who, in turn, could help them educationally.

Think too, of how the parents could benefit from the use of social media. By setting up a class Facebook page, parents could gain a real understanding of what their child is learning and how they can help them further their achievements. They can be notified of events and enter into more of a dialogue with the teachers. In the US, there have been PTO’s who created closed Facebook pages to keep parents and students notified. This has appeared to facilitate a more direct form of contact and was checked more regularly than the school’s website.

Case against

Whilst there is a definite case for, there are many things to take into account and a darker side to social media. Parents will expectedly be anxious of exposing their child to social media. As Cytrynbaum has noted; ‘there are real and compelling dangers online’. Were social media not to be managed well in schools, students are likely to be exposed to these elements. Unsurprisingly, there have been both teachers and students who have been banned or expelled for their use of it. This can stem from great misuse or mere stupidity on the individuals part, as we have seen from certain cases in the Olympics. Another cause for parents’ concern could be through the befriending of students and teachers, as well as others. The fears here could be based on how little they know about these individuals and how they are using social media. Often parents don’t even know how the children are using these sites and they may be reluctant to reveal this. For teachers, there could even be the possibility of increased criticism from parents through, say, the class Facebook page.

Regulations

Quite simply, all of these could be avoided were there to be proper management and clear guidelines on how social media was to be used in schools. In New York City this is already the case as guidelines have been issued relating to this. Part of this includes how teachers should separate their professional and personal accounts. However, individual schools also need to set down rules, making these well known to teachers, parents and students alike. There could even be some amount of ‘coaching’ for teachers on how to appropriately use social media and gain the most from it in class. An outright ban would be unwise and regulating it is the way forward.

Overall, despite the perceived negatives, embracing social media in schools could have some significant advantages. Broadly, it could help engage and promote learning, inside and out of the classroom. For parents, they could gain greater clarity of what their child is learning and become more involved in the school community. As a tool for teachers it could be a real blessing. Whilst they can connect on the students’ level, it could also bring greater ease in teaching certain subjects. Perhaps all this could lead to greater understanding of social media as a whole in the future.

What are your thoughts on the idea of social media being used in schools?

Josh Bennett, Content Writer
@JoshAtSMF @SocialMediaF
http://socialmediafrontiers.com/











Learning from social media Reviewed by Mili and Paul on Thursday, August 09, 2012 Rating: 5
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