Assessing the Use of Social Media in Education

Introduction

The integration of social media in education has gained significant attention in recent years as more and more students and teachers turn to these platforms as a means of communication, collaboration, and engagement. The advancement in technology has never failed to amaze us in real life. Technological advancement in clearing up the barriers in education by enabling smart features, which are widely being used today. The blessed feature of this technology is “Social Media“, which has effectively connected the world. Nowadays, social media is the platform where you can get tons of information you want. The role and use of Social Media in Education have been mentioned below. This blog will assess the benefits and drawbacks of social media in education and explore some best practices for its practical use.

How Social Media Can Be Used in Education

In recent years, educators have started to explore the potential of social media as a tool for teaching and learning. Here are some ways in which social media can be used in education:

Collaborative Learning: Social media can bring in collaboration and knowledge sharing among students. For example, teachers can create groups on WhatsApp and Facebook for their classes where students can share resources, ask questions, and engage in discussions. It can develop a sense of community and encourage students to participate actively in their learning.

Active Learning: Teachers can use Twitter to ask students to tweet their responses to a question or prompt or create polls on Instagram to evaluate students’ opinions on a topic. It can help students to develop critical thinking skills and encourages them to think creatively.

Personalized Learning: Social media can personalize learning experiences for students. For example, teachers can use data from social media platforms to understand their students’ interests and preferences and use this data to create more engaging and relevant learning experiences. Teachers can also use social media to provide personalized feedback to students, which can help them to improve their performance.

Access to Information: Social media can provide students with various information and resources. For example, teachers can use Twitter to share news articles, videos, and podcasts related to a topic being studied in class. It can help students to stay up-to-date with current events and deepen their understanding of the subject matter.

Professional Development: Teachers can use social media to engage in professional development and connect with other educators. For example, teachers can use Twitter to participate in educational chats and discussions, share resources, and learn from other teachers worldwide. It can help teachers to stay current with best practices and trends in education.

Evaluation of Use of Social Media in Education

Over the years, social media has also made its way into the education sector, with teachers and students utilizing these platforms to enhance the learning experience. However, while using social media in education has its advantages, it also has drawbacks.

One significant advantage of social media in education is that it promotes collaboration and communication. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram allow students and teachers to share ideas and discuss important concepts beyond the classroom walls. Social media acts as a way to communicate with each other. Hence, education can go beyond classrooms as, with a simple click, students can clear all their doubts by just contacting their professors online. It helps in providing more opportunities for the students to open up, which does not usually do in the classroom scenario. Using social media plays an important role in academics as students can get the useful and required information, presentation slides, ideas for project works, research paper access, and many more. It also helps a student to connect to a group where team discussion ability and professional communication outside the work area are inculcated. On the other hand, social media can be highly advantageous in accessing free education and mentoring students regarding personal issues apart from academics.

Another advantage of social media in education is that it can enhance the learning experience. Information sharing on social media has become the current scenario after the world got struck by the novel pandemic of 2019. The importance of technology was highly felt, and the education system was highly reformed. According to a survey, students and teachers do feel more comfortable assessing information on social media. It is no doubt a faster and most convenient choice for all. It also imparts timely communication to the masses. The novel pandemic has made everyone flawless with new technology. Specifically, students learned the trends in the IT sectors. Skill development along with quality education is what the education system got through the social media dependency during three years of war against Covid. The best way to learn something new and get good at extracurricular activities is to learn more aspects of social media’s role in education.

However, the use of social media in education also has its drawbacks. One major disadvantage is that social media can be distracting, especially for younger students. With so much content on these platforms, students can easily get sidetracked and lose focus on their studies. Additionally, social media can be a source of cyberbullying and harassment, negatively impacting students’ mental health and well-being.

Another concern with using social media in education is that it can perpetuate inequalities. Not all students have access to the internet or social media platforms, which can put them at a disadvantage. Additionally, some students may not feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas on social media, which can hinder their ability to participate fully in the learning experience.

Not everything is all positive about social media. Using social media in the educational field does not always seem to give a positive output. Social media makes children more fond of hovering over the internet and internet books rather than sticking to the books. It also impacts the academic performance of a student when social media dependency increases, as distraction among the young masses is easy. Many children using too much social media have undergone social isolation in real life. Too much dependency on the internet and social media also reduces the ability of a student to self-learn things. Not to mention only the academic negativities, but it also affects young individuals physically, deteriorating their health. The blue screen makes the eyes stressed and an individual starts having problems with vision at an early age. This is not all, one must not forget the most important criteria, which is cyber bullying.

Everything comes with both pros and cons in life. Social media in the educational field can be both a boon and a bane for us. However, using it in the correct way is the need of the hour.

Conclusion

In conclusion, social media has become an increasingly popular tool in the education sector because it facilitates communication, collaboration, and knowledge sharing among students and educators. Encouraging social media usage with proper safety warnings and safe browsing guidelines can seem to be helpful. Parents’ guidance in social media handling and the activity of children must be there in order to avoid unwanted incidents. Hence, social media can be flagged as “handle with proper care” in the field of education!