Social media has taken over the world. It has infiltrated every sphere of society. What was supposed to be an enhancement in social communication, has become an enhancement in business, education and even politics.
Social media has grown to such an extent that if you don’t embrace it, you get left behind. The flip side is that all the changes that it brought about are not necessarily good. People have become overly reliant on social media and in many cases, they have nearly lost the ability to think for themselves.
Social media in education has had a profound impact on education and many of the effects thereof have yet to be studied. There is no doubt that social media is here to stay. It has become such an integrated part of everyday life that it cannot be separated and confined to the social world alone. But there are a couple of things that have already been established.
Looking at the positives
When social media is used for the right purposes is can be an amazing tool to enhance education. Students have the ability to network like no other generation before them. They understand the inner-workings of the social media world and know how to make connections.
Not only that, but they speak each other’s language. With the rise of social media came a new way of speaking and for the previous generations to come to grips with the new terms can sometimes be challenging.
Creating learning spaces
You can create and promote your class on social media. When you do this, you provide your learners with a native platform from which they can work. It provides them with the opportunity to communicate with their peers and enables ubiquitous learning.
They have access to all the class material, whether they are at school, home, or the mall. If they have their devices and an internet connection, they are good to go.
Collaborating worldwide
Social media and education have taken the boundaries of geographical location. No longer are students confined by their immediate location. They can collaborate with people from all over the world. Their pool of collaborators has grown to a global scale.
All they need to do is find the people who are in the same boat as they. Seeing that you have a global bank of collaborators, you also have a global bank of resources that you can access. Someone on the network can provide suggestions like essay writing service at https://ca.edubirdie.com/write-my-essay-for-me as a tool that you can access to help you in your studies. Not just essays, it’s perfect for thesis, dissertation and college essays as well.
The downside of social media
You only have to turn on the TV to see that there are also negative effects of social media. When one looks at social media in schools, there is no doubt that it has brought with it, a host of problems as well.
Cyberbullying is on the rise and it is as if the students and adults for that matter has no more filter and cannot distinguish what is appropriate and what not. Social media in schools have made the educators’ jobs a lot more difficult as videos and images can be taken out of context and land a teacher in serious trouble.
New opportunities for mischief
Technology is amazing but puts it in the idle hands of a student and it can become a tool of chaos. The number of viral videos that are sent into the world is staggering and the problem is that once it is sent, it can never be retrieved or removed.
The students of today have not yet mastered the art of tact and don’t fully grasp the consequences of their actions when they do things in the digital social world. It has become ever more important for parents to intervene and teach their kids a whole new set of skills that were never before necessary.
Other things to consider
The social media effects on education are far-reaching and can go both ways. Just like a viral video can wreak havoc, it can also empower or make known something or someone who has done something inspiring or revolutionary. The social media effects on education are not done though.
The pool of knowledge and research is only beginning and a lot of focus is placed on the benefits thereof. Only recently have scientists, educators, and researchers begun to delve into the adverse effects of social media on education.
To conclude
It has reshaped how education is done. There are still many growing pains that it needs to go through, but every new technology had to go through this. Social media and education and the interconnectedness of the two is just another field of research that has to develop.
There’s no reason why it should not work, but it is going to take a lot of work to find a balance and teach everyone the skills they need to navigate the social world safely and without putting others in a bad light. The positive aspects outweigh the negatives and should be encouraged and refined to ensure that the generations of tomorrow will learn from previous mistakes.
Author Bio
Jeremy Reynolds is an education expert working with top schools and colleges to provide students an ideal education environment where they can realize their full potential. In doing so, he uses technology in education to its full impact. In his free time, he loves to play golf with his friends, take his dog out for a walk and try different vegan salads.
