Social media for schools – advantages

We have seen the first part of social media for schools here. But does more technology equate to more learning? Do the advantages of social media outweigh the risks? 
For instance, teachers using online tools are empowering students take part in their education in an interactive way but they may also expose them to inappropriate material, sexual predators, bullying, etc.

In my opinion the advantages outnumber the disadvantages however in social media one size does not fit all and each school is truly unique. Before going through the positive aspects I think it is imperative for a school, before embracing social media, to fully research and understand all aspects of social media as well as how to implement it regularly and effectively.

Let’s look at the most important pros:

Better communication and increase interaction: if conducted within a controlled environment, then social media can be a great opportunity for students, teachers and parents to communicate and interact effectively. Let’s take Facebook for example; it is equipped with bulletin boards, instant messaging, email, and the ability to post videos and pictures. Anyone can post information and collaborate within the ‘school community’ in real time.

Share learning material: social media can help sharing class work and materials at any time and giving students the ability to more easily develop positive homework and study habits. Google Docs, for instance, is perfect for this; teachers and students can create, store and share instantly and securely, and collaborate online in real time.
From a school’s perspective this also means the elimination of paper and other hard materials in favor of electronic creation, storage and delivery, as well as creating a greener environment.

Different learning styles: People have different learning styles and different ways of consuming information so whether a learner naturally prefers kinetic, audio or visual learning, the varied types of media and information found on several social media sites can appeal to a wide range of learner styles.

Digital citizenship: telling children to just stay offline is NOT an option therefore they have to learn about how to conduct themselves appropriately online. This of cyber bullying could be a topic on its own but to make it short the straightforward solutions would be:

• Educate; kids must understand what cyber bullying is and why it’s dangerous. It is also necessary for children to understand privacy policies and the transfer of data online.
• Prevent; use filtering software, block inappropriate web sites, know your children’s login information.
• Listen; if a child casually mentions an incidence of cyber bullying, or other disturbing Internet activities, make the time to listen and give him openings to share what he’s thinking and feeling.

Resource availability: there is an endless range of free resources available through social media; from current news feeds or learning a new language, to improving software skills or a video based on a recent news report, Facebook and Twitter's search functions make them a valuable and free set of tools.

Familiar tools: most students are on social networking platforms, and these services are already tools that students are generally comfortable with, in fact, they can probably  show us a thing or two in return.

Feel free to share your views J. Next post will be dedicated to the disadvantages of social media for schools.