Social media is a great way to be aware about what's happening in the world around us. It is also a fantastic way to learn new things from our peers and online friends. It is no surprise then that social media can play a crucial role in the education in schools, colleges or universities. There are many advocates but more detractors to the role of social media in education. But i am of the positive view regarding the role of social media in education.
I had done a post earlier where i discussed 2 ways social media is contributing to the imparting of education. I would like to carry forward that discussion in this post. I was looking for some Indian examples where social media is being used actively for education but couldn't find it on Google. Probably an offline search is needed to find out. You are welcome to share any examples, Indian or Non-Indian in the comment box below.
Although i did find out one facebook page the purpose of which is to encourage fans to use their knowledge and skills to create and design products. The focus of page is on using electronics for bringing joy and freedom to persons with disability and their families. On the way they also learn electronics. This is a noble cause indeed. If you to this page you can see members helping each other on various aspects of electronics.
Similarly i came across a very interesting collaborative online wiki maintained by the Singapore Management University (SMU) which mainly exists for the purpose of education of students. This is a very ambitious project which is updated regularly and shares the information on digital media in various countries around the world.
The best part of social media as an educational medium is that it encourages openness, sharing, collaboration & updating of information in the real time. The children in the modern age are growing with gadgets and modern technology all around them.
Companies like Educomp are encouraging audio-visual techniques along with educational softwares to 26,000 schools and 15 millionlearners and educators across the world! In that scenario it would be great to introduce social media for the learning purpose too.
I was reading about a school in New Jersey (USA) whose principal has nearly 12,300 Twitter followers and he is openly advocating the usage of social media for educational purpose in his school. To him social media is an enabler. We have to enable young students to use this medium in a productive way otherwise just by banning them, they may turn wayward and waste a lot of their time off school in unproductive activities.
What are your views on social media as an educational tool? Please share your thoughts or any examples you know of in the comment box below.
Image - swilmarth (via Flickr)
Although i did find out one facebook page the purpose of which is to encourage fans to use their knowledge and skills to create and design products. The focus of page is on using electronics for bringing joy and freedom to persons with disability and their families. On the way they also learn electronics. This is a noble cause indeed. If you to this page you can see members helping each other on various aspects of electronics.
Similarly i came across a very interesting collaborative online wiki maintained by the Singapore Management University (SMU) which mainly exists for the purpose of education of students. This is a very ambitious project which is updated regularly and shares the information on digital media in various countries around the world.
The best part of social media as an educational medium is that it encourages openness, sharing, collaboration & updating of information in the real time. The children in the modern age are growing with gadgets and modern technology all around them.
Companies like Educomp are encouraging audio-visual techniques along with educational softwares to 26,000 schools and 15 millionlearners and educators across the world! In that scenario it would be great to introduce social media for the learning purpose too.
I was reading about a school in New Jersey (USA) whose principal has nearly 12,300 Twitter followers and he is openly advocating the usage of social media for educational purpose in his school. To him social media is an enabler. We have to enable young students to use this medium in a productive way otherwise just by banning them, they may turn wayward and waste a lot of their time off school in unproductive activities.
What are your views on social media as an educational tool? Please share your thoughts or any examples you know of in the comment box below.
Harmanjit. Great post. Social Media for educational purposes, I believe, is an untapped resource.
ReplyDeleteKudos to yoy for bringing this to our attention.
@997dave:twitter
Thanks Dave! Glad you liked the post. :)
ReplyDeleteNice post Harmanjit! Students in India are yet to realise the potential that Social Media holds. Twitter can be used for crowdsourcing by students and other Social Media tools too are not that far behind! anyway, my first visit to your blog. Pretty awesome i must say.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ravindra for finding the post thought provoking and liking my blog. Hope you keep visiting & reading the posts. :) You also have nicely designed blog.
ReplyDelete