Creative Ramblings

The following is a guest post by Ella Davidson. Her bio is at the end of the article.

Social Media has allowed for an unprecedented availability of communication among individuals. Creating a diverse spectrum of available information and connection, the education system can tap into this invaluable resource in order to offer students a greater ability to learn.

With the rapid progression of social media, students, across the board, have grasped onto outlets such as blogging websites, Twitter, and Facebook. Generating an influx of users from all ages, young, education bound students, have largely developed into the main frequenters. Using these websites primarily for social construction purposes, students have grown increasingly committed to networking websites and as of 2010, “74%” of students, 7^th-12^th graders, “say they have a profile on a social networking site” (Henry).

As students grow more comfortable and willing to dedicate time to social media sites, it is reasonable to consider expanding the realm of communication to education purposes as well.

While not directly intended for education, Facebook contains many elements that may benefit the educational process. In many classrooms, individual student-to-teacher attention is hard to come by. However, through Facebook, students can connect with their teachers and engage in a directed and comfortable dialogue.

Unlike the traditional lecture style, Facebook’s utilities allow for a collaboration of information outside of the classroom. Take for example the “group” application. A teacher could simply create a group for the classroom which would let students post questions from class, view due dates on homework assignments, share links, and even work on group projects more efficiently.

By assuming a method of teaching comfortable with those learning, the information learned would be more organic and endorse a dialogue between student and teacher. Facebook has its educational advantages with groups and easily posted information, but other social media sites offer other resources that are equally valuable.

Just as Facebook leads to a more direct student engagement, Twitter similarly creates an atmosphere that is both informally relaxed and also creates access to a constant stream of online discussion. Distinctively a Twitter function, although Facebook has more recently switched, is the mobile function. Although Twitter consists of an online site, one of its most predominant features is its ability to produce a stream of mobile material.

Allowing users to post information from anywhere, this could become an educational tool through its capability to birth an online discussion in addition to classroom dialogue. With the simple accessibility students less willing to add to the discussion in the traditional educational setting may be more willing to ask questions and generate ideas. Furthermore, due to the extensive range of people using Twitter and user’s access to following profiles, it could become an interesting and insightful resource for expert research.

WordPress and other blogging websites offer their own unique opportunities for education. From developing out-of-class discussions on specific subjects to making group projects, blogs are useful in an out-of-class context. At Duke University, Professor Michael Munger, suggests that “the blog form, which has evolved naturally, is the best way of having a conversation [online]” (Liu).

As such an effective communicational tool, blogs can be implemented in a variety of manners. One unique way to enhance student learning is through a class blog. With a blog entirely devoted to a class, teachers could individualize student learning by responding to direct questions and comments online. Additionally, creative assignments could be established in which students would post articles to the blog themselves.

Social media has become an integral part of children’s, to young adult’s way of communicating. As a reliable and comfortable means of communication, the connection between education and these sites like Facebook, Twitter, and WordPress is inevitable. Offering a wide array of benefits such as individual attention, increased engagement in and out of class, and a dialogue rather than lecture between students and their teachers, social media is a progressive method of enhancing education.

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“Daily Media Use Among Children and Teens Up Dramatically From Five Years Ago, Big Increase in Mobile Media Helps Drive Increased Consumption .” The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. The Kaiser Family Foundation , 20 Jan 2010. Web. 3 Feb 2012.

Duerden , Daniel. “Social media as a tool in educating.” 360 education solutions. N.p., 14 OCT 2011. Web. 3 Feb 2012.

Fleerackers, Tom. “Social media as an educational tool.” Flat World Business. WordPress, 30 May 2011. Web. 3 Feb. 2012.

Liu, Mingyang. “Professors introduce blogs in class assignments.” Chronicle, The Independent Daily of Duke University. 02 May 2005: n. page. Web. 4 Feb. 2012.

Ella Davidson is part of Coupons.org,  a consumer savings site that offers coupons and deals for a wide-range of retailers.