There is no denying that our social media and networks have transformed the landscape of our entire lives. It is what we live and breathe for every day. They disrupt our sleep schedules, decision-making process, and most importantly our learning and growing development. As a future teacher myself, I am beginning to see the shift in children as young as six and seven.
“Statistics have shown that 96% of students that have internet access are using at least one social network.”
Social media can be used by teachers to motivate and empower their students. However, it now seems to be the main cause in distractions in and outside of the classroom. How many of you have seen students huddling in circles or practically bumping into classmates because they’re so focused on what’s trending on twitter? This is something that I encounter myself, being at a university everyday but unfortunately, I will soon begin to see this in my own classroom!
Are there any benefits to social media use in the classroom?
Though it can be distracting in and outside of the classroom, it can also encourage students to promote inclusivity and other positive activities. Besides, students are beginning to devote several hours to social media when they’re at home or not in a school environment, so that attention is not going to end when they return back to school. The last two years have been extremely difficult for teachers, parents, and students. Teachers have had to come up with very creative ways to increase their students’ concentration as well as keeping their students motivated. For some the use of Kahoot and interactive YouTube videos helped tremendously.
Youtube, a social media platform, can be misused by students, but that is less likely from happening when the teacher monitors the content before he/she exposes their students to it. YouTube serves as a useful modern tool to help keep students engaged as well as retaining information for longer periods of time. Children are known to be much more interested in something that they can watch/sing along to. The SchoolHouse Rock video, “I am a Bill” (1975) has been played in several classrooms for many years and I’m sure will continue to for years to come. This video has been known to help the students understand the process of a bill becoming a law. Besides, the video features a cartoon animated bill singing about this process, so students tend to enjoy it!
Regardless of the video, interactive learning has been known to host many benefits whether inside and outside the classroom.
“Video-assisted learning is a new trend in the education industry as it provides students an interesting way to learn and understand complex concepts and subjects. In the recent global lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic, educational and eLearning related YT channels have gained a huge number of Youtube subscribers as students around the globe were asked to attend classes from home.”
These YouTube videos can help students improve their listening and punctuation skills. Listening to a video as well as looking at words or lyrics on screen can help to drastically decrease spelling, pronunciation, listening and comprehension errors. Not to mention that parents can review any video or watch it themselves to better aid their child with their homework or practice work. It definitely serves as one way to get parents involved In their child’s learning. As we know parents can be very busy and communication is vital, so they need the use social media.
What is the bottom line?
Social media is a massive part of our day-to-day lives, affecting even teachers. I know it must be a crazy thought! It might become more common for parents to begin asking if the school has their own Facebook page. It is important to use social media for parent-teacher relationships as well as collaborations. While yes, there are some cons involved with the use of social media in the classroom, we can also see the pros that exist as well. I hope that some of these benefits seem obvious like improving teacher-parent relationships and branding a new wave of learning for students!
Something to think about… How will you use social media effectively in your own classroom?
Sources:
Benefits of using YouTube for your online education. Arizona State University . (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://web.asu.edu/newblog/benefits-using-youtube-your-online-education
How social media is reshaping today’s education system. Center for Social Impact Communication. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://csic.georgetown.edu/magazine/social-media-reshaping-todays-education-system/
Schoolhouse rock – I’m just a bill – youtube. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgVKvqTItto
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