Learning through Social Media (FaceBook)

Throughout this fall semester I plan to have almost all my blogs focus on using social media to teach. With that being said I have decided to briefly asses some of the benefits and drawbacks of Facebook for learning. We all know that Facebook is an extremely popular social media site where people from all over the world can talk, post pictures, post videos, discuss issues, join causes and just chat with friends. However what most people don't realize is how useful Facebook can be for teaching. Facebook can be used to easily connect with students, given the fact most people have one. Once connected instructors can post questions and request that students collaborate together virtually to answer them. This simple request fosters conversation and interest in the topic even after students have left the formal learning environment. Facebook also has a plethora of apps developed for it which can benefit the learner. An example of one such features is Google Docs, which allows for students and instructors to share, collaborate and comment on course documents in an electronic format. These things are just a small number of the ways an instructor could use Facebook for learning. As stated above I will continue to discuss social media and learning throughout this semester so keep in tune for next weeks post.