Learning Through Social Media

As good designers, we are constantly looking for ways to improve our skills, enhance our knowledge base, and learn about something new. Today, more than ever before, social media has become a conduit for learning and teaching online. The benefits of teaching through social media platforms like LinkedIn, Youtube, and Instagram are many and include the ability to review and make edits of recorded lessons, reach a wider audience than you would in a traditional setting, and obtain reviews that could potentially help your business gain more customers. As a learner, you are able to become more aware of educational content that may be useful to you, view reviews and ratings for the content to help you make the best decision when it comes to choosing who you will learn from, and benefit from flexible learning due to the 24/7 availability of accessing the content. Not to mention, a lot of educational content is free to the user like a lot of what you might find on Youtube due to the payment methods and policies they have in place with the person who posts the content.

When you attend an accredited university, you know as a student that you can trust that the information you are receiving in class from your instructors is correct and current, but how do we as social media consumers know if the information shared on social media is accurate? What if it’s a scam? As we all probably should know, just because there is a post that claims something or shares a lovely quote by someone, we can’t always be certain that what we are seeing is valid. On the same note, it has become more and more of a taboo to share or like posts that include misinformation, so before we share – we check. The same thing goes for educational material on social media; we must check out the source and if possible check reviews from other users to see if we can validate the content and the individual teaching it. If you don’t do your due diligence this way, you may fall victim to a scam resulting in your personal data being hacked, money fraud, and many other unfortunate consequences.

There is no doubt that in the 21st century, social media is a prevalent force enabling users to express their thoughts, voice their opinions, and connect to each other anytime and from anywhere. The appeal of social media as a learning platform is in large part due to the ability to participate by viewing, creating, and sharing content and the knowledge it offers. Learners are also able to share their attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions, and cultivates a user-centered environment that is social, personalized, and interactive. As an educator, and yes if you’re teaching how to do something online then you to are an educator, it’s important to recognize that successful learning outcomes depend on the goals and objectives that drive the design of instructional strategies and the selection of social media platforms. Not every platform may be best suited to learn from just the same as not every platform may be the best choice to share particular educational content. I have linked some of the best tools for sharing content and what type of content is below. This list will help you whether you are seeking something new to learn or a way to share your knowledge and skills.

Social Platforms and Learning Content List

Facebook Page: use for broadcasting updates and alerts. Familiar alternative to having users download and learn how to use another messaging platform like Slack. Instructors can use it to post class updates, share assignments and encourage discussion.

Facebook Group: use to stream live lectures and host discussions. Instructors can also post discussions, assign homework and make class announcements here.

Twitter: use as a message board or discussion board. The 280-character limit makes students/users think critically about communicating concisely and effectively which is another beneficial skill. Teachers can also create discussions and Twitter chats surrounding a specific hashtag that they create.

Instagram: use to present a series of photos or graphics in a visually appealing way. Instagram allows students to practice digital storytelling in ways that other social media platforms do not. As a learner, you can create a class-specific account and then delete them after the course has been completed if you choose.

Blogs: create a class blog for discussions. There are many different platforms available such as WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Blogger, and more. Learners can create their own user accounts to make discussion posts or add comments on class prompts. Blog posts as essays or short-form writing is another strategy for combining social media and learning. Learners can respond to weekly prompts making it as informal and loosely structured as possible as well as this method can be transferred across all subjects.

Pinterest: create a class-specific Pinterest board where you as the instructor can save pins that are relevant to the lessons you are teaching. It’s a great platform to help instructors prepare and organize resources, lesson plans, and worksheets in one place. For learners, it’s useful to curate a digital bibliography for research projects, papers, or group assignments. Learners can pin websites, books, or videos to a board on a single topic and refer back to it when it’s time to write.

Youtube: used to teach and to learn by sharing content and viewing that content. Instructors can share their structured videos of their content, gain followers and ratings as well as answer questions or give feedback to viewers. Learners can access the content by searching for a specific topic, viewing the top content creators for that subject, interacting with other learners and the teacher, subscribe to the instructor to stay up-to-date on their latest content uploads, as well as access it at any time from anywhere.

LinkedIn: similar to YouTube, LinkedIn allows for the ability for professionals to share their wealth of knowledge for free or at a price. Learners can again have unlimited access to the content and know that it comes from a reputable source. Learners can follow the instructor, message them directly, and even connect with other learners.

Final Thoughts

Social media for learning allows learners to gain a sense of community and belongingness. It also is the fastest way to contact people or share crucial information. As an instructor, it can help you make your approach more student-centered. Social media is easily accessible and most modern-day learners have a digital presence already making them highly familiar with the ins and outs of social media platforms.

So, embracing social media and incorporating its features into the teaching and learning processes can have a positive impact on learners. Instructors can provide video lectures, and quizzes, tag learners, and have them participate in group discussions. In this way, learners will not only gain knowledge in an interesting and engaging way but will also get the flexibility to learn from wherever they want and whenever they want.