Social media in academia

Are today’s students tweeting their way to better grades? More than nine out of 10 teenagers hold at least one social media account; Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr, Vine, Twitter and Facebook rule the lives of most middle and high school students. And while much attention has been paid to the negative effects of social media, including cyber bullying, there could be a positive upside, too.

From elementary school to college, social media is empowering students, parents and teachers to share information in new ways and build a new sense of community. And students are using social media to do more than just share tips to ace the next exam: They’re turning to Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat to share success stories for student-loan payoffs, find summer internships and collaborate on projects with students across the country.

Are classrooms next?
Given the above statistics, schools don’t need to convince students of the value of social media; they've already been won over. Today’s teens are already collaborating and connecting with other teens outside school via social media; and now, some educators are pushing to make this collaboration happen inside school walls, too.

On the most practical level, integrating social media into day-to-day learning makes sense. Why not talk to teens in the online world where they already spend most of their time inhabiting?

Walk down the hall of any school, and today’s teens are fully absorbed in their smartphones, checking their Instagram feeds, sharing photos and sending Snapchat messages. How can teachers reach this world?

Learning management systems like Blackboard and Moodle have been involved in online learning for more than a decade. Now, public and private schools alike are taking the first steps to embrace social media in the classroom.

A book report follows a standard format; so, an online discussion about books is an opportunity to break this format by setting up students to listen and respond to other people’s opinions, with textual evidence.

Building a stronger school community
Social media integration doesn’t have to stop with teens and teachers; increasingly, administrators are finding new, creative ways to integrate social media into their schools. Today’s parents of younger students are often social media natives; some even had Facebook in college when it first debuted. They use LinkedIn to find jobs. And they may even have a parody account on Twitter about parenting. It’s only natural that principals and school administrators are using social media to share school news and building community.