The increasing demand of digital marketing has made institutes use the social media platforms into their education system. The spike in the usage of these platforms has let educational institutes reach out to a bigger level of audience than before. This new development allows institutes to make use of social media in various ways such as academic support, coursework access and important educational announcements and information. Furthermore, it helps in shaping the way education works.
Also, the opportunities offered by social media can help students as well as teachers to stimulate their core knowledge for various topics. The mechanisms and tools provided by social media can help the educators and learners achieve immense knowledge. The teachers are able to organise different discussions and tasks that can help students out, particularly the ones who are too shy to respond in person. This helps teachers to stay connected with students even off-campus. By enhancing a communication platform between instructors and students, social media has rendered its services and expertise in shaping collaborations, skills, technological literacy and classroom culture into a positive learning environment.
Moreover, with abundance of analytics and data available on social media, students can also work on their career pathways and can garner more information than provided by any educational institute. This will help them engage in learning groups and establish crucial connections with employers from different fields of work. There are always useful and productive strategies available to support students and teachers.
As an educator, it is the constructive place to reach out to parents or guardians about the students’ performance. It is easier to share the academic reports or any other concerns with them, without having them to travel. It is a common way of interacting with colleagues or other professionals through social networking. This helps them render their expertise and, affiliate themselves with a support group of skilled educators.
Facebook has obtained over a billion users since its inception. It has a potential of supporting and facilitating learning in the classroom, as well as in home tutoring. Several experts have regarded Facebook as a productive tool that can foster education. There are ways in which several educators have utilised its services to promote education.
Facebook has a feature to create groups and pages that are related to a specific subject. For instance, there are support groups for women, writers, content creators or doctors that are all inclusive. All such groups come together to communicate and support each other. There is no limit as to how many people can join, and surprisingly, people who are not Facebook users can join too.
Some teachers have created their Facebook groups, without having to “friend” students, to foster collaboration amongst their students. These groups have enabled thousands of students and non-students to learn new skills and ideas that can improve their capabilities. For example, there are groups like ‘The Cornet Stone for Educators’ and ‘Educators Network’, where professional instructors come together to share relevant information, links and resources that can be used in classrooms.
Similarly, some groups have relevantly curated their educational materials and resources to help out students with their assignments and class projects. Professional teachers and experts are always readily available to assist people with their queries and scepticism.
In addition to this, teachers who conduct K-8 and K-12 classes, have groups too, where they post their class-related assignments, peer-reviewed projects and other resources that can benefit students in the long-run. They create polls, share photos and files, conduct surveys to engage with their limited community. Facebook groups have therefore evolved the idea of classrooms.
Additionally, there are Facebook pages too, which are public and visible to all Facebook users. They are often affiliated with academic institutions, which are quintessentially used for important announcements, events and updates. Many teachers have created their public pages, where they give an insight into their course outlines, coursework and criterion. Some have also given their personal description to have a personalised and an open classroom experience with students.
Facebook has an option of going on a live video and connect with people, while being at it. Once the live session gets over, people can save it for later purposes.
Studies have shown how a number of teachers have used the live feature to conduct extra classes. They share the peripheral information about coursework via live session and students have the advantage of asking questions right away. However, students who have missed any lecture can follow up from the moment. Teachers even post the important tips in the comment section, which saves them both, time and effort.
Many lectures have been conducted via live videos and has helped students substantially because cheapest online essay help stated that live and online lectures are more engaging. The students are in their relaxed and comfortable place and they do not shy away from participating or discussing course materials. Some home-based tutors have made money through Facebook, as their professional pages charge for access to events with Live Videos on Facebook, which are anything from online educational resources to classes to professional conferences.
Following this, Facebook has also introduced Messenger Rooms, which serve as a real-time video. These rooms are more like classrooms or chat rooms, where anyone can be invited.
Unlike live videos, they have a chat room where people can type in too. As a result, teachers build these rooms and invite their students for a video chat. Teachers have been using this to collaborate with students and to make discussions happen. Online presentations and viva tests are conducted through these rooms too. Students can work in mixed groups in which some members are comfortable with sharing. The students who are not comfortable should be able to contribute to the learning without being required to post anything, and can mute their video chats.
Facebook has helped teachers to incorporate contemporary student culture into the classroom. By being online with Facebook, teachers become more aware of the current pop culture references to which their students are exposed. This awareness can be used to incorporate current events and culture as examples to help students connect with the course materials. This is a passive strategy that may make a small positive difference in the way that instructors are perceived by their students.
Teachers are also able to place abstract concepts in a real life context, hence, this deepens student’s comprehension of complexed concepts.
The best way in which teachers have utilised Facebook is by using their connections to bring up experts to meet their students virtually. Students have been able to converse with authors, influencers, CEOs or people who are important. Such ideas encourage students and they tend to participate in class actively.
In addition, use of Facebook seems to extend beyond a mere social pastime, to serve as a professional network. This may make the use of Facebook even more beneficial in education, allowing connections between current and former students, and potentially developing mentoring or employment opportunities.
