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Social Media’s Impact in Education

 

To Use …. Or Not To Use….

Social media is everywhere and seems to be part of everybody’s lives with people sharing parts of their everyday lives, promoting their business to becoming social media icons. 


 Before taking class EDU 766 at Dominican University, I would consider  

myself borderline for joining social media platforms professionally. In my early years of teaching, I made a conscious effort to keep my work life separate from my personal life and away from social media.  


However, throughout my exploration in technology, I have begun to see the importance in using social media as an educator and now plan on joining social media platforms to help grow my own PLN (Personal Learning Network) and I now have started to “friend” colleagues on Facebook to make personal connections with co-workers. 


SO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM!! 

Image Source: DifferencesBetween.net



So when asked to explore an area of social media, I chose to look more closely at how teachers could utilize it.  I found a few articles that not only talked about how to use social media platforms to help create and boost your  PLN’s but also the classroom.  


Why Teachers Should Use Social Media…. 

Social media is here to stay; it will continue to evolve, and as teachers, we should learn how to use it not only in our classroom but also as a resource to provide our own personal development, because we all know that learning is a lifelong journey.

Why should teachers use social media professionally? To help answer this, I looked at a couple articles.

The first one was written by Go Guardian, Why Teachers Should Use Social Media .  This article addresses many reasons why a teacher would benefit from using a social media account professionally. 

Here were just some of the following reasons listed: 


  • Opens doors to learning opportunities when convenient for your schedule. 

  • Gives you an immediate group of teachers to reach out to when challenges arise. 

  • Allows for an outside view to your solutions.

  • Allows you to be in charge of your professional development instead of waiting for provided training. 

  • Teachers are able to connect around the world and change their student’s lives through shared experiences and advice.  


Using social media lets you be part of your own destiny, finding resources and learning along with others to help mold yourself into the professional and educator you want to be. “Become connected, empowered and productive”. (Go Guardian) 


I think this infographic does a great job showing why and how teachers use social media platforms. 

Image Source: MDR Education 


So, if you finally do decide to take the plunge and join social media professionally, there are some guidelines you may want to follow to ensure that the digital tattoo you are leaving behind a positive one.  


The second article written by Talk Tech With Me 6 Tips for Teachers on Social Media in a Connected World  listed some guidelines to help guide you in creating a positive professional social media presence. When looking at them, I felt a lot of guidelines were common sense, but I think it is good to have a list of rules to help guide your decision so that the professional image you are putting on social media is a good one. I created the infographic breakdown of the tips they suggested. 


Image Source: Blogger Author 


Social Media in the Classroom….

As I mentioned earlier, social media is here to stay. As educators we use it as a tool to build our PLN’s so why not use it as a way to engage with them in the classroom. Students today live and breathe social media. 


So when I came across the article How to Use Social Media in The Classroom by The Tech Advocate,  I was intrigued to find out how they suggested using it in the classroom. They listed many popular social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Blogging and Skype.   I was surprised to find several of the social media platforms have fake or closed versions so only the content could be seen by the class (teacher/students) and not the whole world. 


To help see how you could use the social media in the classroom, I created the infographic based on the suggestions from The Tech Edvocate article. 


Image Source: Blogger Author 

Overall Thoughts….

Social media isn’t the big bad wolf or something to be avoided professionally. It  isn’t going away and shouldn't be ignored. Using it professionally can allow you to become the best educator you can be as well as inspire and help other educators.  When using it, one needs to make sure they are aware of how they use it so that they only put out a positive professional image that others can relate and connect to. It can be a great resource for educators to find tools to help support learning and also a way to connect with today’s youth to keep them engaged in the classroom.  The use of social media in the classroom will not hinder your instruction but connect students with you and each other and increase their engagement in the classroom and give you a glimpse of what social media can offer in professional and real-life applications.


Cited Sources:


Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects (2020, Sept. 02) Difference Between Social Media and Traditional Media Retrieved on Oct. 20, 2022 from http://www.differencebetween.net/technology/difference-between-social-media-and-traditional-media/


GoGuardian, Why Teachers Should Use Social Media Retrieved on Oct. 20, 2022 from https://www.goguardian.com/blog/why-teachers-should-use-social-media


MDR (2022, June, 17) Teachers' Social Media Use Retrieved on Oct. 20, 2022 from https://mdreducation.com/reports/teachers-social-media-use-infographic/


Purdue University Fort Wayne, Social Media Professional Certificate - Purdue Fort Wayne Continuing Studies Retrieved on Oct. 20, 2022 from  https://www.enrole.com/pfw/jsp/course.jsp?categoryId=&courseId=BUS459


Talk Tech With Me (2015, Jan. 22) 6 Tips for Teachers on Social Media in a Connected World Retrieved on Oct. 20, 2022 from https://talktechwithme.wordpress.com/2015/01/22/6-tips-for-teachers-on-social-media-in-a-connected-world/


The Tech Edvocate (2018, July, 22 ) How to Use Social Media in The Classroom Retrieved on Oct. 20, 2022 from https://www.thetechedvocate.org/use-social-media-classroom/
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