Alex Barrett Source 1

Why are teachers integrating social media into their curriculum?

Abe, Paige, and Nickolas A. Jordan. "Integrating Social Media Into The Classroom Curriculum." About Campus 18.1 (2013): 16-20. ERIC. Web. 1 Mar. 2015.


This article talks about why most teachers are beginning to integrate social media into their classroom. Since social media is becoming more and more popular with the millennial generation,  many educators want to use it in their curriculum. It provides teachers with a new way of teaching and engaging their class. In a 2011 study, nearly two-thirds of all teaching faculty have used social media in their classrooms and about thirty percent have posted material for students to view outside of class. Since today's students are tech-savvy, teachers must keep up with the times. Even though it is easy for students to get distracted through social media in class, some teachers have integrated Twitter and Facebook in the sessions for class participation. It provides an opportunity for students who are not comfortable talking in front of a hundred plus students an opportunity to participate. Many students have agreed that the use of social media in their lectures did help engage their participation and learning. Another reason why many teachers are using it is if students or even faculty are not able to attend the class or lecture. They can post videos or even a lecture and share it with all their students. Social media can serve as a cost-efficient tool for educators to use, as well as an effective tool to deliver the classroom material to students. 

This source makes be think that social media is an overall good thing to have in classrooms. It's relatively easy to do and most of the students are very proficient in it. It can engage students and help with comprehending the material. What I want to is where is the line between personal and educational social media. Students post and tweet things all the time, sometimes inappropriate. Will teachers always be monitoring students' accounts and where does it cross the line? I agree that students' participation will increase and they will become actively engaged in the classroom. I also agree that it can reshape how teachers deliver material to students. However, I disagree that students will always pay attention because social media is often a distraction for many students as well. Yes, this source did lead me to answer the research question for this blog post. Teacher's are integrating social media into their classrooms because students today are very technological-savvy and it is a very efficient way to deliver information to students. 

Will this increase cyber bullying and will students be able to pay attention to lectures? Can it really be an effective way to teach? The right questions to be asking are the ones that help answer why social media is becoming more prevalent in today's classroom. This is important because it will help with answering the bigger question of if social media is an appropriate platform for teaching. My research will go towards looking for disadvantages of social media and how effective it can be in a class. I know why teachers are using social media and this will help with knowing the advantages of social media in education.