Social media is becoming a desired skill among students and employers. Integrating social media into the college classroom can help teach these skills.
Social Media
As social media continues to grow in use and popularity, students and employers are beginning to find new ways to reach people using these low-cost yet highly effective tools.
While potential employers may be using these tools as a means of promotion, advertising, or publicity, students may be using various social media as a way to keep in touch with friends, find celebrity gossip, or keep up with their favorite sports team.
There are different ways in which college instructors can integrate social media into the classroom, whether it is through blogging or other means. Being an essay writer free, I know that regardless of how social media is used in the classroom, it is always important to remind students of social media and social networking safety.
Using Twitter in the College Classroom
Twitter is growing in popularity, especially among companies and individuals in their twenties and thirties. Since Twitter is a relatively easy social media device, it can be especially useful in the classroom, especially for students who are studying journalism, mass communications, and television or radio broadcasting.
Instead of using a traditional current events component in courses, have students create a Twitter account and follow an account created specifically for that course. From there, have students take turns posting current or breaking events in that field to the Twitter feed. Not only does this familiarize students with the basics of Twitter, such as hashtags, but it also reinforces concise writing.
For colleges that have courses that work with student media outlets, integrate the two and have students practice promoting media through Twitter.
Students will not only gain experience in creating hashtags, following trending topics as potential news sources, and using social media, but it will also help teach headline writing and concise reporting.
Using Facebook in the College Classroom
Facebook, which was originally meant for college students, can be useful in the classroom to show students the impact social media has had on the way people view others.
For those who are studying business or human resources, Facebook can become a teaching tool in how to check the backgrounds of potential new employees.
Professors can randomly select students from that school’s network as potential new hires and have students evaluate them based solely on their online presence. Since Facebook is used by so many people, one person’s ill representation on a social networking site can cause a company serious trouble.
For those who are teaching social work or criminal justice, instructors can show students that simply looking at a person’s Facebook page can be helpful in gauging someone’s home climate or things that potential suspects may be trying to hide. Since Facebook is an online tool, it is sometimes perceived that what happens online, stays online, which is not always the case.
Facebook, along with the professional networking site LinkedIn, can also be used as a way to teach resume writing. Since a person’s professional life, as well as opportunities for awards and graduate school, can be decided on the basis of a Facebook check, instructors in all areas of academic study can teach students how to use these tools to build a strong, professional online identity without sacrificing the fun.
Social media, in its various forms, is becoming an increasingly popular tool that is being used by many different industries. By integrating social media into the college classroom, students can engage in classroom curricula in a new way and also learn various skills that can become beneficial in the workplace.
