Social Media In Education

Social media in the classroom has been considered a disruptive innovation. Besides, teachers already have to compete for student attention. However, some schools are embracing the use of technology and social media to reach students and create virtual communities of learners. The journal of Technology and Learning (2016) says “there’s power in a community of learners. Create a class Twitter account, where you can retweet anything anyone posts in, for, or about class. Right there, the community-building starts” (p. 10).

As a distant education learner, I have used social media to build a professional development network on Twitter with like-minded educators and professional-development leaders in world-wide education. I personally use technology to deepen my academic understanding of core concepts and theoretical ideas. 

I am not concerned that technology is a disruption in education. I believe social media supports academic learning. My concern is what will culminate if we refuse to adopt these technology resources for today’s 21st century learner. The brick and mortal classroom will be rendered obsolete to the information students can access immediately using technology outside the classroom. The church is using social media to reach believers in real time, and the church is using technology as a tool instead of disabling it for daily use. 

Favorite Apps:
Dictionary.com App for Apple
Quizlet App for Android
Duolingo App on Android/Apple for Language learning
BibleGateWay App 

References:

3 Fun ways to use social media in the classroom. (2016). Technology & Learning, 36(9), 10.        Retrieved from: http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/ps/i.do?            p=GRGM&sw=w&u=vic_liberty&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA449928700&sid=sum      on&asid=21c78a4b11965309eb8dba2e67362462