How Social Media is Adding Value as an Educational Tool

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.

Image - swilmarth (via Flickr)

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.

Use of Social Media in Imparting Education at Schools & Colleges

[caption id="attachment_193" align="alignleft" width="190" caption="An actual 'backchannel' discussion on Erin Olson's English Class in Sioux Rapids, Iowa, about a poem called "To the Lady." "][/caption]

Social Media is increasingly being used by various B2C & B2B companies all around the world. Social Media is no longer a separate area but a part of Marketing Mix for most of the companies. And masses of people have adopted this medium & many feel handicap if they don't have access to Facebook or Twitter. Social Media has proved to be beneficial at almost every walk of life & now it is playing an increasingly important role in Educating the students in Schools & Colleges.

 


Some of the potential benefits of using Social Media in Schools, Colleges & Universities are:
1) Opening up in Backchannels: With Twitter already there and the availability of various other microblogging platforms like Today's Meet , Google Moderator , My Chat Box etc it is easier for teachers to set up “backchannels” in their classrooms. Backchannel simply means apart from the direct lecture from teacher to students there is an online channel running simultaneously for them to discuss & voice their opinions. Usually many students hesitate to open up during classroom lecture but it has been seen that these backchannels actually encourage students to open up & participate freely.

2) Turning Hobby into Work: Teachers who have used this system feel as students these days have smart phones & laptops ready with them and they do all sort of social networking stuff & surfing which can be distracting in a class room, it is better then to turn their hobby into work. Students don't feel distracted as they are discussing & sharing relevant content with their class mates. In fact they feel encouraged & empowered with these tools. They start their own blogs or online communities to discuss & share the knowledge with other students.

Here's an interesting video by University of Minnesota researcher Christine Greenhow on Social Media usage in Schools:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxrlrbP4UNo

Can you think of any more ways where social media can prove to be helpful in education?