Good evening friends, I’m here again with another interesting and educating post, I am just throwing more enlightenment on social media and all you have to do is read, digest, comment on it and feel free to ask Questions thanks.

USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AS AN EDUCATION TOOLS

Social media are already creating opportunities for peer learning, discussion, debate, large-scale feedback, information sharing and innovation in educational environments. It helps students at different levels to learn crucial communication and critical thinking skills as well as augments their learning with extra-curricular information from peers within and outside their network. Teachers could use social network in technologies to assist in teaching and engaging student through the use of technologies that they are most familiar with, thus, bridging the gap between students” home, social environment and there learning environment. If it’s utilize properly, social median can facilitate distance and extra-curricular learning, thus, enabling student to learn outside of the classroom in and engaged way, if provided in a standardized version on a national level, this can help students who do not have access to adequate schooling to supplement their studies with high quality tools. The internet and the social media create many opportunities for education, but may not sufficiently assist student who live in the environment where they cannot access the internet or social media platforms, for instance, in some developing countries of the world where the poor are mist burden by inadequacy in the education system. In other for social media to reach it potential in affecting change and feeling such educational needs for those who need solution most, barriers created by the digital divide have to be tackled and the internet must be made more accessible for the census of population who cannot afford it (Salem & alshaer, 2013). To maximize social media potential in educational environment, the prerequisites include reform in curricula, technical infrastructure, educational institution and nation policies.

Human beings are embodiment of diverse needs such as educational, social and “special needs”. Social media are such platforms to meet with intellectual, social relationship and internalization. Nowadays, student would almost look like a half-baked entities having graduated from tertiary institutions without a good knowledge of socialization via social media therefore, Arab Social Media Report (2013) enumerate the under listed needs that could complement student educational need via the use of social media as thus,

EDUCATIONAL SPECIAL NEEDS AND SOCIAL: Social media is seen to address several of the more standard issues and problems facing schooling and education in the developing countries today. It is worth noting that social media is perceived to be useful tool for addressing educational issues that arise from special needs and irregular situations. The usage of social networking technologies could help integrate students with disabilities in the classroom and allow them to be more expressive, interactive and importantly feel as peers in educational systems.

SOCIAL MEDIA AS AN EQUALIZER: Social media has an inherent ability to bridge informational silos and create information flows between segments in society that do not necessarily have informational channels connecting them in real life. Social media was seen as an equalizer across gender and demographic groups that would normally not be in such agreement with non-social media related issues. However, this ‘equalizing’ effect is yet to be fully established profile of a social media user.
SOME ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Advantages

  • Social media networking site spread information faster than any other media.
  • Law enforcement uses social networking site to catch and prosecute criminal.
  • Social media site allows people to improve their relationship and make new friends.
  • Social media site help employers find employees and job-seekers to find job
  • Social media helps business men and women to advertise their business.
  • Social media facilitate political charge.
  • Social media networking site increases voter participation.

Disadvantages

  • Spread of unreliable and false information social networking sites lack privacy and expose users to government and corporate instruction.
  • Social media networking site harm employee’s productivity.
  • Social networking site can encourage cheating in student’s assignment.
  • Unauthorized sharing on social networking site can lead to copyright infringement, loss intellectual property and loss of income.
  • It can make users vulnerable to security attack such as identity theft, hacking and virus.
  • Lead to isolation and addiction: the youth spends considerable time on social networking sites at the detriment of other necessary things such as their studies, they even use it to the extent of obsession. They have made use of social media their top priority and continue to need more usage in order to feel satisfied [Onasanya et al. 2013].  
  • The internet has an in despicable power to influence, connect and mobilize youths: Some youths have lost their control over social media usage and begun having problems with their functionality in social, vocational, and personal circles as the internet has taken over total control of their lives [Onasanya et al.2013].

REFRENCE

  • Obi, N. C. Bulus L. D. Adamu G. M. &Sala’at, A. B. [2012]. The need for safety
  • Arab Social Media Report [2013]. Transforming education in the Arab World: Breaking barriers in the age of social m learning [5th. Ed.]. Retrieved from http://www.ArabSocialMediaReport.com
  • Mourtada, R.,Salem, F. &Alshaer, S. [2013] Transforming education in the Arab World: Breaking barriers in the age of social learning [5th. ed.]. Arab Social Media Report.
  • Osborne, N. [2012]. Using social media in education, part 1: Opportunities, risk and policy. IBM developer Works
  • Osborne, N. [2012]. Using social media in education, part 2: Tools, support, and technical issues. IBM developer Works.
  • Onasanya S. A, Yahya S. O., Akingbemisilu A. A. & Ayelaagbe S. O. [2013]. Online social networking and the Academic Achievement of University Students: The experience of selected Nigerian Universities. Journal of Information and Knowledge Management,3 [5], 109-116.

Social media in Education sector

Hi guys, it’s been so hard for me creating a blog when others find it easy but now that I have been able to, then it is a must I post something for you all to learn from which is why I chose this topic so sit back, relax and enjoy the post as you read……..

SOCIAL MEDIA IN EDUCATION SECTOR

Education sector has been a core area where social media have become largely institutionalized with an established critical mass of users and it is one of the breakthroughs in ICT in the 21st century which was the discovery and emergence of the new media which have fascinated the creation of different platforms like [Facebook, twitter, WeChat, Instagram etc.] for social interaction.

What is social media? Social media are highly accessible, scalable methods of online communication and social interaction which allows the use of application, creation and exchange of user-generated context for social networking. Social media are interactive and web based media. They belong to a new genre of media that allows users to express themselves, interact with friends and share personal information with greater freedom as well as publish their views on issues on the world wide web [Okoro& Nwafor, 2013]. The potentials of the social media are seamless and boundless in terms of interactions, interrelationships and information sharing & exchanges [Adaja& Ayodele, 2013].

We say media are all means by which information can be disseminated by a sender to a receiver within the same or different location. But when these media are used for the purpose of teaching and learning, they become INSTRUMENTAL MEDIA. It encompasses all the materials and physical means on instructor might use to implement instruction and facilitate students’ achievement of instructional objectives. It includes interactive video conferencing, presentation packages, overhead transparencies and slides etc.

FUNCTIONS OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS IN EDUCATION

There are two categories of tools which are the primarily ones intended for social networking such as Facebook, twitter and those ones that are designed for sharing USER GENERATED CONTENT i.e. blog, YouTube, Flickr. Indeed, educators and library professionals were quick to see the value of blogs as they appeared, partly as a mechanism to bypass complex or slow institutional website-updating processes. They are also a way to reach out, to share news and reflections with colleagues and students both within and beyond institutional walls. It also gives educators and institutions a real opportunity for connecting creative enjoyable social activities, particularly group work. Social media also provides opportunities to support students with their independent research where easy- to- access but infrequent support is required.

Cavazza [2017] provided a wonderful blog, giving details of the emerging landscape of social media. This social media landscape spells out what exactly is happening in the field of social media which is an easy-to-read-graphic that is understandable by people of all levels of tech-savvy, or lack of thereof.  Truly as they say : A picture really is worth thousand of words.

REFERENCE

  • Adegbija, M.V. and Fakomogbon, M.A [2012]. Instructional media in teaching and learning: A Nigerian perspective.
  • Adaja T. A & Ayodele, F. A [2013]. Nigerian youths and social media: Harnessing the potentials for academic excellence. Singaporean Journal of Business Economics and Management Studiesm1{6}, 56-66.
  • Cavazza F. {2017} social media landscape. Retrieved 15th June 2017 from http;//fredcavazza.net/social-media-landscape-2017/.