Social Media in the Classroom
This post was contributed by Tara Miller, who writes about the online teaching degrees. She welcomes your feedback at TaraMillerr00 at yahoo dot com
Many high school teachers have recently opted for keeping their homework assignments and grades online, making full use out of the many social media mediums that have infiltrated their students’ lives. The increase in Twitter usage has additionally opened up a new outlet for teachers to post revisions to homework assignments (given that their students check their site daily), as well as keep in contact during extended breaks.
Social media has led to a new form of communication and thereby a new realm in which to educate students. With the easy accessibility of this advent in technology, teachers and students are able to trade information between each other through a much easier forum, even allowing students to work from home on days where they cannot attend class. This has been seen frequently on college campuses throughout the years, albeit in a different format, but has picked up among high schools around the nation. As a high school teacher, you undoubtedly have learned that your students are Facebooking, Twittering, and MySpacing throughout the day, so why not incorporate learning into it as well? While they may have to create a separate account or “block” you from seeing certain things, your students in your advanced and upper level classes can take advantage of this newfound technology by quizzing themselves on your sites or similar methods.
These types of social networking sites are not the only way in which to apply social media to your teaching methods. Building a blog can additionally be a way in which to reach out to your students beyond the classroom, and provide a way to assist them with homework. Having a blog for every class and subject you teach can be a different and beneficial way to teach a subject in this technological age. Social media has provided this generation within an enhanced way to communicate, thereby knocking down previous barriers or block which made it difficult. Those students who are avid learners and wish to know more about every subject will be the ones who will benefit the most from a classroom blog; it will allow them to either navigate away to other links, or simply figure out your opinion on the particular event. With this method of communication, your class will grow closer together and you will be able to reach out to the entire audience, even hear the input of students who may be shy to speak in front of class. As a teacher, most social media sites have provided you with an exciting new way to enhance your teaching and fully penetrate your students’ minds.
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Many high school teachers have recently opted for keeping their homework assignments and grades online, making full use out of the many social media mediums that have infiltrated their students’ lives. The increase in Twitter usage has additionally opened up a new outlet for teachers to post revisions to homework assignments (given that their students check their site daily), as well as keep in contact during extended breaks.
Social media has led to a new form of communication and thereby a new realm in which to educate students. With the easy accessibility of this advent in technology, teachers and students are able to trade information between each other through a much easier forum, even allowing students to work from home on days where they cannot attend class. This has been seen frequently on college campuses throughout the years, albeit in a different format, but has picked up among high schools around the nation. As a high school teacher, you undoubtedly have learned that your students are Facebooking, Twittering, and MySpacing throughout the day, so why not incorporate learning into it as well? While they may have to create a separate account or “block” you from seeing certain things, your students in your advanced and upper level classes can take advantage of this newfound technology by quizzing themselves on your sites or similar methods.
These types of social networking sites are not the only way in which to apply social media to your teaching methods. Building a blog can additionally be a way in which to reach out to your students beyond the classroom, and provide a way to assist them with homework. Having a blog for every class and subject you teach can be a different and beneficial way to teach a subject in this technological age. Social media has provided this generation within an enhanced way to communicate, thereby knocking down previous barriers or block which made it difficult. Those students who are avid learners and wish to know more about every subject will be the ones who will benefit the most from a classroom blog; it will allow them to either navigate away to other links, or simply figure out your opinion on the particular event. With this method of communication, your class will grow closer together and you will be able to reach out to the entire audience, even hear the input of students who may be shy to speak in front of class. As a teacher, most social media sites have provided you with an exciting new way to enhance your teaching and fully penetrate your students’ minds.
If you want to receive my future posts regularly for FREE, please subscribe in a reader or by e-mail. Follow me on Twitter. For other concerns, Contact Me at anytime.
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I've always been one of the shy ones that never asks questions in a classroom setting, but I use email frequently. I like to be able to research my questions so class time is efficient as possible. Online courses are pretty popular with college-level courses, but for a traditional setting I've seen several create forums for their class and host course documents online. Some teachers keep up with technological advances very well and I only hope it keeps spreading.