Everywhere you go these days, you notice teens on cell phones. It has become common-place, and the way the world operates is rapidly changing. Both in and out of school, students are socializing more online. According to an annual report released by the Pew Internet and American Life project, 95 percent of teenagers are active online, and nearly three out of four children ages 12 to 17 access the Internet via mobile devices, making virtual connections much more integral to most students ' daily lives (Smith, 2015). The rapid development of information and social media has forced us to change the way we educate our students. Social media can be used in a variety of ways in enhance teaching and the educational world in general. Social media
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By encouraging engagement with social media, students develop connections with peers, establish a virtual community of learners and ultimately increase their overall learning. Students who use information technology for academics also have a higher likelihood of contributing and participating in active, academic collaboration with other students (Nelson Laird and Kuh, 2005). This collaboration indicates that as engagement with technology increases, engagement with academics also increases, promoting a deeper connection between the students, educators, and course content (Mehdinezhad, 2011). Social media has been implemented in academic settings to motivate students to participate, share, and learn with other collaborators. Students already use technology regularly in both their academic and personal lives. However, students seem to enjoy using social media more than other course related technologies because they are already familiar with the features and settings. The goal of educators is to strive to combine the social and academics in a meaningful …show more content…
Learners need to develop skills to share knowledge and to learn with others, both in face-to-face situations and through technology use, which includes social media. Social media serves as a tool to help develop learning communities by encouraging collaboration and communication. As a result, social media supports collaborative learning, which in turn can help to strengthen the creative learning process. Collaborative learning increases student interactions and connections with course content. Social media provides an opportunity for students to expand their learning environment since only a portion of student learning actually occurs within the confines of a classroom. It is the responsibility of educators to find ways to incorporate current social media into their classrooms. Educators can use social media to develop creativity in their students by encouraging them to explore the content in new ways. For example, social media provides students with options for creating projects such as blogs, YouTube, and podcasts, wikis, Vokis, videos and more. Students can also use social media to research content material in order to develop new knowledge. By allowing the needs of creative learners to be met through a social learning environment, students are better able to balance their individualism with the need for contact with others, allowing new ideas to
By encouraging engagement with social media, students develop connections with peers, establish a virtual community of learners and ultimately increase their overall learning. Students who use information technology for academics also have a higher likelihood of contributing and participating in active, academic collaboration with other students (Nelson Laird and Kuh, 2005). This collaboration indicates that as engagement with technology increases, engagement with academics also increases, promoting a deeper connection between the students, educators, and course content (Mehdinezhad, 2011). Social media has been implemented in academic settings to motivate students to participate, share, and learn with other collaborators. Students already use technology regularly in both their academic and personal lives. However, students seem to enjoy using social media more than other course related technologies because they are already familiar with the features and settings. The goal of educators is to strive to combine the social and academics in a meaningful …show more content…
Learners need to develop skills to share knowledge and to learn with others, both in face-to-face situations and through technology use, which includes social media. Social media serves as a tool to help develop learning communities by encouraging collaboration and communication. As a result, social media supports collaborative learning, which in turn can help to strengthen the creative learning process. Collaborative learning increases student interactions and connections with course content. Social media provides an opportunity for students to expand their learning environment since only a portion of student learning actually occurs within the confines of a classroom. It is the responsibility of educators to find ways to incorporate current social media into their classrooms. Educators can use social media to develop creativity in their students by encouraging them to explore the content in new ways. For example, social media provides students with options for creating projects such as blogs, YouTube, and podcasts, wikis, Vokis, videos and more. Students can also use social media to research content material in order to develop new knowledge. By allowing the needs of creative learners to be met through a social learning environment, students are better able to balance their individualism with the need for contact with others, allowing new ideas to