Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter get a lot of flack for being overrated. Many people don’t understand the fascination for personal use and they are even more in disbelief when it comes to using social media for a practical purpose such as to make money (business), or to engage and educate (education).
In my (humble) opinion, systems such as Facebook and Twitter can be immensely beneficial to education. The caveat is that social media needs to be strategically and purposefully implemented based on sound pedagogy and based on the objectives that need to be met for any given lesson or course. For example, if an instructor is teaching a class in which group discussion and engagement is valuable to meeting objectives, Twitter could be used to serve those needs. The instructor could show a live class Twitter feed during an in-person class. The students could be presented with a question and be asked to reply on the Twitter feed. Students may include research or personal experience to add to the discussion. One advantage to using the Twitter feed over just having regular class discussion is that more students are likely to interact. Students that are typically introverted may feel more inclined to contribute to a Twitter discussion. A second advantage is that students can be encouraged to “continue the conversation” outside class throughout their day. As students are at work, at play, or doing homework, they can continue to post research, thoughts, pictures, or videos that can add to the discussion.
Social media systems such as Twitter are not just for leisure tweeting anymore. With a little bit of forethought and a little bit of creativity, educators can create engaging, interactive lessons for students in an environment in which they are already connecting.
Have you thought of using Twitter for education before? Have you already implemented it in a course or lesson? I would love to hear about it in the comments.
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