Almost 3 billion people in the world use Facebook as a social media tool. Imagine that the entire number of social media users increases each day. Add this to students using social media daily, and you get the picture. In contrast to popular opinion, social media doesn’t distract students if used wisely. In fact, it encourages students to be smarter learners.
Check the list of social media tools you can implement into your education.
Why Use Social Media as an Educational Tool?
Facebook and Twitter are places where you can meet anyone, whether celebrities or long-lost childhood friends. While searching for inspiration on PaperWriter to compose an amazing college essay, don’t forget to add updates on the learning process on Facebook.
How can social media improve cooperation at college?
- Organize live lectures as a teacher;
- Use Twitter as a discussion or message board. The same goes for Facebook;
- Share links and quotes;
- Assign essay writing in the form of blog posts on WordPress;
- Attract more newbies by promoting the events online.
Tool #1: Facebook
Obviously, Facebook is the most popular social media platform in the world. As a student, you may create a group on Facebook in case of a class project. There, you’ll easily share learning materials with your group mates. You may even organize live sessions to work on the project in real-time.
If you’re a teacher, create a Facebook community. You’ll be able to post updates on lectures and share the learning material. Additionally, Facebook is a great place to start a discussion thread and encourage students’ responses to the topic.
Why consider Facebook?
- Posting updates never gets old;
- A discussion-response activity may happen virtually;
- One can organize live classes.
Tool #2: Twitter
Both Facebook and Twitter go hand in hand with each other. While the whole studying process is happening on Facebook, use Twitter for messaging. One can also create discussion threads or initiate message boards. With Twitter, both students and teachers can easily stay updated about the latest news and changes.
Twitter has a 280-character limit, encouraging students to master their discussion skills. Yet the tool allows one to practice their concise answers.
Why consider Twitter?
- It’s amazing for discussion board activities;
- When initiating chats, you can add hashtags;
- You may inspire students with daily quotes and jokes.
Tool #3: VoiceThread
An alternative to many social media tools, VoiceThread provides a vibrant experience. Users may share texts, videos, and images. Later, they comment on the shared data by the use of audio, text, and video. The tool truly engages learners in a lively conversation.
Why consider VoiceThread?
- It provides students with various forms of expression. While some students are more comfortable with texting, others enjoy sending videos;
- The tool is all about informal conversations as a part of modern education;
- VoiceThread encourages students to be themselves by removing high teacher’s expectations.
Tool #4: Blogger
The youngest brother of WordPress, Blogger is a blogging tool for beginners. As a student, you may use it to learn how writing works. As a teacher, you may ask your students to post their essays in the form of blog posts. This is much funnier than writing essays in Google docs.
Why use Blogger?
- Creating an account comes at low costs;
- The platform is much easier to use than WordPress;
- Blogger was created for multimedia content which Millenials love posting so much;
- The platform has 12 templates to choose from.
Tool #5: Instagram
There is a high chance your students (or groupmates) are influencers on Instagram. The social media platform allows users to share visual content online. With the use of hashtags, one can find anything they need. Call it a ‘tool of vanity,’ Instagram can improve one’s education.
Why use Instagram?
- Millennials and GenZs love it;
- The tool is perfect for teaching students social and digital marketing courses;
- You can tell stories as a part of classroom activities with Instagram;
- Students can comment on each other’s storytelling projects.
Tool #6: YouTube
Students love posting visual content. Don’t believe it? Check the astonishing number of Millennials on YouTube. Teachers often use YouTube as a place for storing and sharing learning materials. Other times, YouTube is a great place to stream a lesson or share a TEDTalk video with your students or groupmates.
Why use YouTube?
- It is great for streaming the course lectures;
- You may create a course channel;
- Add theme-related channels for a broader educational experience.
Final Thoughts
Social media has confidently entered our lives. Both teachers and students can use social media tools like Facebook and YouTube for education. Fortunately, most social media tools are image-oriented and easy to navigate. Meanwhile, using social media is especially beneficial as a remote studying tool during COVID-19.
We hope the article was helpful to you. Good luck!
