Social Media in the Classroom?? YES, Please!!

Social Media the new real medium in classrooms:

So many teachers get away with unplanned lessons every day. A textbook makes it so easy for any teacher to teach a lesson. These days in South-Africa you don’t even need an education to be an educator. The required textbook for that specific grade and subject can ease any given situation the teacher finds him- or herself in.

Nowadays inclusivity and diversity are the two very important dimensions of education. With social media it is possible to connect these two dimensions to the classroom. Social media is the medium with which students interact in today’s world. The average student has got a Facebook profile, Twitter or Instagram account, even the nerd in the class. Without social media a student would not know what is trending and happening in and around the world. Social media has also become the News 24 and Sunday Times for some people. So how can one still ignore it?

Teaching is such an extremely active and social career. It is also very unpredictable. Social media can thus close the gap between the teacher and the learner. A social interaction between the teacher and the learner collaborate as soon as both accept each other on a social network. That interaction will be informal and so engaging. The learner will experience and explore more about the teacher outside the classroom and visa versa. Not only will the relationship between the two parties grow, but the learner shall also start to appreciate the education system more. The leaner will realise the confiding aspect from the teacher’s side and shall therefore also be willing to do more than expected.

Social media can be used by the teacher to verify assignments due dates or simply just to make an announcement. Every school nowadays has a Facebook page. It is actually a very good starting point for any school if their management should allow social media as medium. Social media thus, does not need to be the only medium of teaching. Some schools are still very conservative and one should take that in consideration. So the new, more modern teacher should rather not consider a position at a school like that. A school that is more technological stable should therefore maybe consider social media as the only medium of teaching and appoint the newlyweds. Social media today is no longer a luxury, but rather an asset and resource that any individual can have by the click of a button.

So many people still wants to ignore the fact that social media is expanding, but if it is able to educate people, it cannot be ignored. So step up, get to the table and take a seat, because social media is here to stay ma’am and sir!