11 Ways To Use Social Media For Education
There are many ways to use social media for education. Social media has various uses in education, as well as to support the marketing and promotion of schools and universities.
Because we believe in the power of social media to make almost everything easier (even classroom life), we’ve identified 11 ways to use social media for education.
Benefits Of Social Media In Education
Social media and technology are an integral part of everyday life, and integrating their use into the classroom is more natural than ever, given how much students are accustomed to them.
Each social media platform offers many ways to use it in the classroom, from sharing messages to conducting live lectures and more.
First, social media provides a smoother and more direct communication tool between students, teachers, and parents who can come in and ask or answer questions.
Social media also offers more opportunities for e-learning. As remote work and online courses grow in popularity, teaching students to work remotely is an important lesson, and social media can help with that.
It is important to understand the impact of social media on education before using it, but we strongly believe it will help students advance in technology.
Social Media In The Classroom
First, let’s talk about different ways of using social media directly in the classroom. There are many social media tools for education that students of all ages can benefit from, from elementary school to college.
1. Use the Facebook page to spread updates and alerts
Facebook can be the perfect social media platform to include in the classroom. Instead of guiding teachers and students through a new learning curve with traditional online classroom dashboards, stick with something everyone already knows.
Have students follow the class’ Facebook page and teachers can use it to post class updates, share homework, and stimulate discussion.
Even if the student is not active on Facebook, they can also access this page when logged out. However, note that Facebook pages are public and anyone with a Facebook account can comment on posts.
2. Use Facebook groups to stream live lectures and hold discussions
Teachers can also create Facebook groups for each of their courses—both public and private—and stream lectures live on Facebook, post discussion questions, give homework, and make course announcements. Keep students busy during school holidays or snow days by posting reminders and assignments to avoid having to repeat classes after recess.
It’s important to set professional boundaries when using social media for teaching, so teachers should avoid sending friend requests when creating a Facebook group. Email parents and students with a direct link to the Facebook group for access.
Groups are the perfect “home base” for online courses and can facilitate contact with students.
3. Use Twitter as a message board for classes
Twitter can be a great class discussion forum or message board. Teachers can create one Twitter handle for the class and reuse it every year, or they can create a new handle each school year. The 280-character limit forces students to think critically about concise and effective communication, which is a useful skill to develop.
A teacher can use Twitter to post assignment due date reminders or to share inspirational quotes and helpful links to practice tests or resources.
A teacher can also create discussions and chats on Twitter around certain hashtags they create.
4. Use Instagram for photo essays
In an image-filled classroom, students can use Instagram to present a series of photos or graphics visually appealingly. Instagram allows students to practice digital storytelling in a way that other social media platforms may fail to do.
Students can create a class-specific Instagram account and delete it after completing the course if desired.
5. Create a class blog for discussion
Writing blog posts gives students another opportunity for digital content that they can easily link to the class’s social channels. There are many platforms like WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Blogger, Tumblr, or Medium that teachers can use to create class blogs. Students can create their own user accounts to create discussion posts or add comments to lesson instructions.
The syllabus and all assignments, updates, and resources can also be shared on the blog as a central location.
6. Define the blog post as an essay.
Letting students create their own blogs for essays or brief texts is another strategy for combining social media and learning. Blogging as a semester or year assignment can improve students’ short writing and critical thinking skills. Have students respond to weekly requests and make them as informal and structured as possible. Don’t feel limited to just one English or writing class; It can transfer this use of social media in education to all subjects.
7. Create a Pinterest board for class
Teachers can create Pinterest boards for each of their courses and save Pins relevant to the lesson.
Pinterest is a great social media platform that teachers can use to prepare and organize resources, lesson plans, and worksheets for their classes, all in one place. Create boards by class or subject and create sub-topic boards for weekly modules or all worksheets.
Pinterest can also be useful for students to create digital bibliographies for research projects, articles, or group work. Students can pin a website, book, or video on a topic to the board and refer to it when it’s time to write.
Social Media For Educational Marketing
Just as there are many ways to use social media in the classroom, there are many uses of social media in educational marketing. Social media marketing can help you if you want to reach a larger audience for your school or university.
8. Add social media links to your school website
Make it easy for parents and students to find your school’s social media profiles by adding links to the main site navigation or creating a social media directory that brings them together in one place.
Many parents and prospective students will visit the school’s website first if they are interested, and it offers more ways to follow the school, creating a different perspective on campus life.
9. Share school events and photos
If you want to attract new students and parents to your school, share photos and events around campus to show what they can expect.
Highlighting extracurricular events and activities can help your school stand out from the crowd. While school and university websites tend to follow a similar pattern, social media allows you to be more unique and casual.
10. Create a Facebook interest group
Many people also want to engage with their school after school–especially college graduates. Creating a Facebook group for current students and alumni can increase school engagement and morale.
Alumni groups, groups for different classes or majors, and groups for various extracurricular activities allow students to get involved and meet other people who share similar interests.
Groups can be closed or confidential, meaning that they can only be viewed by invitation or with the approval of the group admin, or they can be opened so that prospective students can review the types of conversations and events in the group before they decide to join.
11. Create a social media crisis strategy
How will you communicate with the entire campus in an emergency? Whether it’s a fire, tornado, or another campus emergency, determine how your school will integrate social media into its crisis communications plan. Inform parents and students of the current situation by sharing information about the crisis and the involvement of the authorities.
Many colleges have automatic news notifications, but using social media will keep more people connected and informed.
Start Using Social Media For Education
Ready to try these tips for using social media in education? There are many uses of social media in the classroom and in educational marketing, and it’s time to embrace them!