The Argument for Social Media in the Classroom

           Are you interested in incorporating social media in your classroom, but you are not quite sure how to do it?  The next several blog posts will help to get you started with Twitter in your own classroom.  Here are just a few solid arguments for using social media in the classroom:

-Your students will find ways to express their voices, while communicating and connecting with others, while learning literacy skills.

-When you have one account for your class, it can help form a sense of community.

-"Social media provides educators with the exciting new opportunity to connect with students in a manner that continues to provoke thought and discussion outside of the classroom setting" (Abe & Jordan, 2013).

-"The use of social media encourages students to interact with one another and may increase engagement and interest in the course content" (Abe & Jordan, 2013).

-"While one may argue that students have historically found ways to become distracted in the classroom, students’ fixation on social media proves to be a more powerful distraction than most" (Abe and Jordan, 2013).

-"Twitter is a great learning platform for students and educators of all ages. It helps educators interact with students, parents and other teachers to enhance learning outcomes. It also enables educators to develop professionally through collaboration with other educators and administrators from around the world"(EdTechReview).

-Students must be able to navigate through their world.  Keeping social media out of the classroom is shielding them from the types of communication that they will use in the future.

Photo Credit: /http://www.theintentionallife.com/social-media-modesty/


References/If you want to read more:

Abe, P. & Jordan, N. A. (2013). Integrating social media into the classroom curriculum. About Campus. 18 (1), 16-20.

http://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/insights/578-tips-for-teachers-to-use-twitter-in-elementary-classrooms