The important role of social media in higher education

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When it comes to social media and education, some parents and teachers view these platforms as distractions that negatively influence students. But in today’s increasingly digital world, social media plays a meaningful role in higher education every day. When used the right way, social media can enhance a student’s learning journey, also making it much easier for pupils and educators to connect.

Research has shown how beneficial social media can be in terms of learning. Through these various platforms, teachers can connect with students and incorporate social media into their lessons, making them more interesting, relatable and engaging.Social sites are a great tool when it comes to interacting with students since it’s something they are so familiar with, using these sites frequently throughout daily life. For students taking distance learning courses or for lectures with large class sizes, teachers can make themselves more accessible to students via social media. They can hold ‘virtual office hours’ through Skype or get them to use Facebook, Twitter or WhatsApp to raise questions they didn’t get the chance to in class.


1. A way to communicate with students
In a university setting, social media can be incredibly useful when it comes to reaching out and engaging with students. It’s a less formal way for professors to communicate, showing students a more personal side while improving the teacher-student relationship. A study that analysed the use of social networks as a communication tool between teachers found that that they primarily communicate through social networks for academic reasons.

Results of the study led researchers to conclude that teachers should use social networks as communication tools for purely academic-related issues, such as addressing aspects related to class organization and coursework. Teacher-student interaction in the social media sphere should be kept strictly professional. The study also uncovered that teachers found Facebook and WhatsApp to be the most effective social media tools due to the popularity and versatility of Facebook, and the easy-to-use communicative abilities of WhatsApp.

Professors should also be careful about what they post and how much they wish to share with their students via social media platforms, as their online profile content could affect their credibility as an education professional. They are advised to keep their profiles primarily for academic purposes or to keep their personal profiles private, creating a separate public profile for connecting with students or sharing academic-related content.

For students taking distance learning courses or for lectures with large class sizes, teachers can make themselves more accessible to students via social media. They can hold ‘virtual office hours’ through Skype or get them to use Facebook, Twitter or WhatsApp to raise questions they didn’t get the chance to in class.
 
2. Connecting students
Professors and educators can and should encourage their students to better communicate with one another for group projects, either by using Whatsapp groups or Google Hangouts. Personally, I found social media helpful when I was a student back in 2009. I was struggling in a Psychology Statistics class, and felt a bit lost in a sea of around 300 students.

A fellow classmate introduced me to a Facebook group for the particular course, which had members from my current class and previous students who had taken the course before. Students posted questions regarding assignments, exams and coursework, while other students commented with answers and suggestions. In a university setting, social media is a valuable tool in terms of keeping staff members engaged and informed.




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