Dynamic Conversations: Using social media in learning and teaching
From our first edition of Dynamic Conversations: Learning Communities, Dr Mohamed Saeudy CMBE explores how social media can be used as an effective tool in learning and teaching.
This conversation aims to consider how social media could be used to support academic practices during and beyond the Covid-19 conditions. It aims to explore some practical approaches to using Social Media in a satisfying and sustainable way. I am looking forward to exploring future opportunities for using social media beyond the covid-19 conditions to support the student experience.
My opinion on the dynamic conversation topic:
The power of using social media during and beyond the Covid-19 pandemic became a topical debate. One of the most contemporary topics in the HE sector is to understand the implications of Covid-19 pandemic for people’s everyday lives.
This pandemic created new normal realities for the decision-making of educators, students, customers, managers, shareholders, lenders, suppliers, and employees.
A growing range of issues have a bearing on this new world, including human wellbeing, remote learning, value for education, online teaching and increased expectations on HE institutions with regard to student satisfaction, staff wellbeing, and creating effective online communications.
In order to address these challenges, many universities are increasingly turning to offer short courses and online blended learning degrees. These degrees intended to help academics and students to get more involved with many social media platforms to build up effective online capabilities and conduct their institutional communications.
The justification or rationale for this opinion
In response to the growing recognition that universities must respond to the Covid-19 conditions, a number of social media platforms have been used over the last year to guide and manage student learning at a different level.
These include using social media platforms in teaching and learning and supporting student engagement. There are several benefits that could be achieved from using social media in teaching and learning such as exploring the leading edge and contemporary topics and enhancing the digital pedagogy. Whereas, there are some challenges about the risks and toxic side of using social media. Furthermore, the General Data Protection Regulations presented another valid level of challenges that should be considered to control social media communications.
The key questions for debate:
- What are the main social media platforms that could be used in teaching and learning in HE? And how do you use them?
- What benefits can academics find in using social media in teaching and learning?
- What are the main roles of using social media in supporting Education for Sustainable Development?
- How can you integrate social media into your curriculum design and planning?
- What are the main limitations and challenges of using social media in teaching and learning?
- How social media could help us to build up online capabilities and competencies during the Covid 19 pandemic?
Recommended links:
A quick guide to managing organisational social media accounts
https://markcarrigan.net/2018/05/01/a-quick-guide-to-managing-institutional-social-media-accounts/
Call for Participants – Digital Inequality in Education: Pasts, Presents and Futures
How has the pandemic changed internet use in the UK?
References
Balakrishnan, V., 2016. Key determinants for intention to use social media for learning in higher education institutions. Universal Access in the Information Society, Volume 16, pp. 289-301.
Crawford, J. et al., 2020. COVID-19: 20 countries’ higher education intra-period digital pedagogy responses. Journal of Applied Learning and Teaching, 3(1).
Manca, S., 2020. Snapping, pinning, liking, or texting: Investigating social media in higher education beyond Facebook. Internet and Higher Education, , Volume 44.
Niu, L., 2019. Using Facebook for academic purposes: Current literature and directions for future research. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 56(8), pp. 1384-1406.
Purvis, A. J., Rodger, H. M. & Beckingham, S., 2020. Experiences and perspectives of social media in learning and teaching in higher education. International Journal of Educational Research Open, Volume 1.
To read more submissions from the first edition of our Dynamic Conversations series and join the conversation, please click here.
