Social Media use by young people (10-16 years old) is a topic that many people don’t believe is a good idea. Parents worry about who they talk to online, young people have the tendency to follow everyone and post about their daily lives not worrying about who can see it. I mean, this can go for anyone on social media but younger users don’t have the proper skills to understand the dangers of social media. Implementing social media use in education has many benefits including showing students proper and safe use of social media.
Other benefits of social media use in education are discussed in Manuela Willbold’s article, “Social Media In Education: Can They Improve The Learning”. Within Willbold’s article there are five benefits of social media use in education which are: “Communication & Collaboration, Finding Concrete Information Online, Parental Involvement, Improved Literacy, Communication and Reading Skills and Distance Education Opportunities”. Each of these points highlight the importance of having social media use in education. Of course, their needs to be some limitations and control over the use of social media in education because just like any new thing introduced in a classroom, situations could get out of hand. Powtoon on YouTube, discuss how teachers can properly implement social media in the classroom.
One of the headings that Willbold discusses is “parental involvement” and how important parents and guardians being informed and aware of their child’s process is. Having the quick access to websites and apps to message parents about a concern or even an achievement so that they are made aware before a situation goes from bad to worse, or so they are able to give praise where necessary.
Something that many people might say is a negative to having social media use in education is that not all students have access outside of school to have the tools to complete work online due to financial situations. An easy fix to this is that all social media use is done at school, and homework is more so reflections and worksheet work is done at home so that no one is left out and everyone has an equal opportunity. Many schools today have chrome books and/or iPads that they are able to sign out to specific classrooms on specific days to incorporate into their lessons. This not only adds the excitement factor to students, being able to use social media at school but also a different learning style to the teachers lesson as not all students learn the same way.
References: https://elearningindustry.com/social-media-in-education-improve-learning