Social Media is helping change the face of education

It is a fact universally acknowledged that Internet has  radically changed the way we perceive of the world. Reality has been supplanted by virtual reality and geographical borders have dissolved to give birth to a highly interwired world where the information travels both poles in a matter of a click. This drastic change brought about by Internet has touched upon every facet of our life and most important of all on education.

Education has exponentially developed over the past two decades to engulf new forms and methods that no one would have ever anticipated before. Gone are the days when students used to attend school with backpacks full of weighty books, pens, and pads. Now a single laptop can hold in its memory what the whole school library has of books and documents. Free writing and drawing software are available on every gadget and with just the use of ones finger , students can draw intuitively and share their productions in real time. This educational revolution has transformed the old traditional ways of teaching and learning and before we know it there emerged a second revolution that started with the introduction of web 2.0 tools in 2004. Now we started talking about social computing and social learning.

Social networking presents a huge opportunity for schools, universities and other educational organisations to reach out and connect with students and prospective students. But how can schools and universities go about using social media in a pedagogical way and what are its benefits on both students and teachers ?

Students benefit from social networking in several ways such as :

• They develop the 21st century skills needed for a successful career after school
• They nurture a positive attitude towards the use of technology not only in their education but in their life as a whole
• It allows them to share and exchange school assignments and projects
• It lets them stay updated about their schools news
• It gives a quick instant access to their classroom updates
• It teaches them responsibility
• It creates engagement which helps students learn better
• It encourages collaboration and team work for students
• It fosters communicative skills and develops inter-personal relationships
• It helps students develop critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, and global participation

This infographic shows how students use Social Media for their education:

Social networking benefits not only students but also provides new opportunities for communication amongst teachers and educators.

Here are more benefits social networking offers for teachers and educators :

• Social networking helps teachers huddle professionally
• It provides them with their own " voice "
• It also encourages collaboration in dealing with everyday issues that teachers face in their work
• It allows for sharing of content and best practice in a friendly environment
• It exposes teachers to the possibilities offered by web 2.0 technologies
• It helps teachers develop a solid life-long learning policy
• It offers a great space for sharing experiences, collaborating, researching and updating one knowledge
• From a cultural perspective, social networking  can be a vehicle for world peace and inter-cultural understanding through the promotion of cross-cultural dialogue.
• Social networking helps teachers stay engaged in education