Reflection of My Blogging Experience

So after fully analyzing both sides of the argument of including social media into college-level courses, I have definitely come to the realization that this argument is not so simple. Both sides definitely raise some compelling arguments and after researching some of the disadvantages, I have come to the conclusion that if social media IS going to be used in the classroom, it should definitely be monitored in order to avoid distractions among students. Completing these posts and researching this interesting topic has been very beneficial because as a young adult, I have always found social media to be something we use as a distraction from school, but now I see how beneficial it can really be after actually using it in some college-courses.

Blogging my thoughts was also something I truly enjoyed because I got a chance to comment on my own thoughts about an issue that was interesting to me and put it out there for my classmates to see and comment on. It’s a great way to get your opinions out there and engage with others who share your thoughts or might have opposing arguments. I definitely plan on creating another blog and sharing my professional experiences as my college career comes to an end very soon. I hope to share my experiences in my professional field and hope to get some advice from other young professionals out there!

Happy Blogging! 🙂

Disadvantages of using social media in the classroom

Now that I have discussed all the advantages and opportunities social media can have in the classroom, I will now present the other side of the argument — the disadvantages. With todays ongoing debate about the use of social media in classrooms, finding a middle ground has become a challenge. Social media as an education tool enriches the learning experience by allowing professors and students to interact, collaborate and network. There are hundreds of sites such as Facebook, Edomodo, Twitter and LinkedIn where students are able to exchange ideas and encourage discussion while finding answers to their questions. Despite all these benefits, professors are still hesitant about using these tools in the classroom. Below are a few cons I have found while doing research on this topic that I felt were the most relevant.

• Distraction- a very common complaint among educators is the distraction these tools can have on students. Students often use these tools as ways to distract themselves from schoolwork so professors believe that by inviting students to use them in the classroom will just distract them from lectures and assignments.
• Cyber bullying- using these social media sites in the classroom can be a weapon for malicious behavior. Many studies done have found that college students admit to being harassed via these sites. Professors using these tools as a part of their course activities need to be aware of the dangers of cyber bullying and constantly monitor these sites when suing them in the classroom to prevent this type of activity. Also, many of these sites have privacy settings that can be installed to professors should use these settings to also prevent this type of behavior from occurring.
• Discouraging face-to-face communication- this is probably one of the most important disadvantages I came across when evaluating this topic. Using social media has been a concern to many educators mainly because it discourages face-to-face interactions in the classroom. Students are missing real-life valuable lessons in social skills and students who are uncomfortable expressing themselves face-to-face will use these sites and never be able to develop these very important skills.

This debate is definitely an important one to consider and one that should not be taken lightly. It is important for universities to fully understand both sides of the argument and find safe and useful ways to incorporate social media in classrooms in order to get the most out of these tools. I definitely believe using these tools encourages collaboration, but they need to be used correctly in order to be successful in the classroom! What do you think?

Happy Blogging! 🙂

How Teachers Can You Social Media?

As a professor, you might be having a hard time implementing ways of using social media in order to engage students and help them learn. I see social media as a great learning tool (as I have previously stated) since our generation already uses it in our everyday lives, why not incorporate it as a learning tool to aid in our college learning process?!

From an article my classmate helped me find online, there are 6 important strategies I found interesting to help incorporate social media into the classroom, and they are the following:

1. Set a good example- it is important to explain to students the proper way of using social media in the classroom and the importance of monitoring their classroom profiles.
2. Create a class Facebook page- creating a class Facebook page can be extremely beneficial especially for explaining assignments, communicating class activity/changes, and deadlines. Teachers can interact with students in a way they understand and students can get immediate updates on class activity and assignments in one place.
3. Establish online guidelines- as with all assignments, it is important to create guidelines. I found this strategy to be very important because it is vital that professors keep track and set specific guidelines for the way they want to use social media within their classes. They can manage private settings and such depending on the tool they are using to better monitor these sites while using them for learning purposes.
4. Devise a Twitter “channel”- this strategy is one I can relate to the most because as college student, I have used this method many times with classes and it has proved to be extremely successful! As an example, I had a question for my EDIT 2000 class I am currently in, and was able to ask my professor the questions via our class Twitter handle and see that other students were also having the same question. I was able to get my question answered on a timely manner and seeing what my other peers needed as well in order to solve my problem.
5. Use Skype for guest speakers- this was a strategy I had never thought of! Sometimes guest speakers just aren’t able to come on site to our college so what better way to accommodate a guest lecture than simply having it via Skype! This is a great way to reach important and relevant speakers that simply are not able to travel to the university. It allows professors to broaden their lesson plans and gives students the opportunity to listen to great information!
6. Get ideas from your peers- getting stuck on a project or assignments? What better way to get through this hurdle than to ask your fellow peers for advice! Instead or trying to find their numbers or email addresses, having a class social media site set up can help students exchange ideas on class topics and assignments.

I found these strategies to be very interesting and true and 100% recommend college professors to take advantage of all the online tools that can be used! Because in the end, who doesn’t get bored of just listening to lecture after lecture? What do you think?

 

Happy Blogging! 🙂

p.s. – I have attached the article here so you can read if interested!

Benefits of Social Media

What are the benefits of social media in the classroom and what skills can college students gain from usage? This is the question I will be addressing on my blog today! We all know there has been A LOT of criticism aimed toward social media and the effect it has in the way students process and retain information, as well as how distracting it can be. Coming from the generation where we are pretty much run by social media (I know you all know what I’m talking about) I have to completely disagree. I strongly believe that social media offers plenty of opportunities for learning and interactivity.

I see social media as a way for students to experience the world through more than just books and assignments. We can use these tools to learn and adapt to the world via a new form of communication. Using tools such as Facebook, Twitter YouTube and many more have opened so many doors to new and exciting way of learning and I don’t think professors should be scared to apply these methods to their curriculums. If you don’t agree, you might be asking, “what could you actually learn from social media?” Well below is a list of just a few things we can learn:

• Connections – social networks are all about forming connections whether they be professional or not. These connections can help students interact and engage with each other using the web, sharing opinions and learning topics from around the world whole engaging.
• Web engagement – Using the web helps students share and comment on each other’s posts interacting with peers and even teachers about class-related subjects. Nowadays, online engagement is very important in any business and it is vital that students learn and become experts at developing a sense of Internet presence.
• Knowledge – social media users share among themselves a ton of important and relevant information day in and day out. From tips and tricks to DIY projects, students also use these tools to share helpful information for classes. They are able to analyze, assess, retain and share information, which is so very helpful in the learning process.

Having a strong social media presence is super important nowadays. Students and even professors can learn so much by incorporating these tools and using technology in their favor. It’s important for schools to see the real benefits of technology and not just see it as time-wasting tools. What do you think?

Click here for an interesting article about how social media websites can be a powerful aid in writing assignments!

Happy Blogging! 🙂

 

Universities & Social Media

Is higher education failing students in teaching proper social media skills? In my opinion, Universities aren’t doing the best job at integrating social media into their curriculum. Very few universities actually offer social media classes and when they are offered, they tend to be electives rather than integrated into a larger curriculum. I think in this day and age, it is extremely important for classes to integrate and use social media tools in a productive way that encourages collaboration in classrooms. With today’s job market, it is essential for young professionals to possess these skills since many companies are using social media in order to grow their business. Many are looking for social media savvy individuals to help their company keep up with today’s digital life.

According to the article below, social communication done well increases productivity, saves money and time, and improves engagement and satisfaction. So why are schools not implementing social media into their curriculum? I believe that by utilizing these tools, Universities will be able to engage students and see a positive shift in education. What do you think?

Click here to view article and let me know your thoughts on the matter.

Happy Blogging! 🙂

Intro!

Hi! I hope you have had the chance to go through my blog and get to know me a little better. I have made this blog with the hopes of informing my followers about my opinions of education and some interesting topics I have chosen to discuss. The main topic I will be blogging about is the use of social media in higher education. As my senior year of college is quickly coming to an end, I have noticed the rise of social media platforms being used in college classes for learning and collaborating. It amazes me the amount of platforms that exists now-a-days that people use to connect and network with each other.

I have chosen this topic because I am a huge advocate of using social media in classrooms in order to learn and collaborate with others for school assignments. I believe I have gotten the most out of classes that encourage us students to use these tools in order to engage us in different topics and help us explore on our own while we communicate and share with others. I will be exploring both sides of the argument and also blogging about some disadvantages to using social media in classrooms, how social media enhances student learning and how it is being used today!

I wanted to introduce you guys to the topic of discussion for my blog and encourage feedback from you all! But for now, I wanted to share this image, which illustrates the wide array of social media tools available today.

Happy blogging! ☺

Click on image to enlarge