11 Quick Ways to Introduce Social Media in The Classroom.

By Imeru Wambui

Social media has changed the way we all interact with each other online. It has given us the ability to discover what's happening in the world in real-time plus so many other multitudes of benefits to your marketing strategy, such as in the classroom it provides a smoother, more direct communication tool between students, teachers, and parents and it’s a great way to market your school and attract more students, build trust and credibility and increase enrollment, so if you’re not on board, you’re missing out!

Let us first understand what is social media exactly

What is Social Media?

Social media simply is an internet-based form of communication that allows its users to have conversations, share information and create web content. There are many forms of social media, including blogs, micro-blogs, wikis, social networking sites, photo-sharing sites, instant messaging, video-sharing sites, podcasts, widgets, virtual worlds, and more.

And we have many types of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and many more. Each social media platform offers many different ways to be used in the classroom.

Social Media in The Classroom

Social media and technology are integral parts of daily life, when used properly, it can be a valuable addition to a business’s communications and marketing strategy because many employees already maintain a social media presence be it in personal or professional capacities, and by integrating the use of these platforms into the classroom is more natural than before, given how acclimated many students are to them already

Let’s explore the different ways you can introduce social media to your classroom today such as

1. Use a Facebook Page to broadcast updates and alerts that parents and students can see.

2. Create a Facebook Page where students follow the class’s Facebook Page, and the teacher can use it to post class updates, share homework assignments and encourage discussion

3. Teachers can create Facebook Groups for each of their classes—both public or private—and stream Facebook Live lectures, post discussion questions, assign homework and make class announcements.

4. Teachers can use Twitter to post reminders for assignment due dates or share inspirational quotes and helpful links to practice quizzes or resources.

5. Teachers can also create discussions and Twitter chats surrounding a specific hashtag that they create

6. Create a class blog for discussions where students can create their own user accounts to make discussion posts or add comments on class prompts.

7. The course syllabus and any assignments, updates, and resources can be shared on a blog as a central location.

8. Assign blog posts as essays having students create their own blogs for essays or short-form writing is another strategy for combining social media and learning

9. Create Alumni groups, groups for different graduating classes or departments, and groups for different extracurriculars.

10. You can keep students engaged during school breaks by posting interesting posts to encourage engagement and discussions

11. Teachers can stream live assignments, go through classwork or help students revise during off school periods on live stream platforms like YouTube or Zoom