A social media post can take on a life of its own, and once it is out here, it is pretty much impossible to take back.
Even though there is some risk, the benefits can outweigh those risks; you just need the proper social media plan and strategy for how it will be used. Sites such as Facebook and Twitter can be useful in the classroom. There are some items to be concerned with, and it is important to think about what the rules you are going to have with social media. This is no different than rules you may set up for your teenager. The University of Minnesota has put together a really good list of the items to think about here. Higher Education is usually very slow to move in new directions, and Social Media is no different, if the faculty and administrators do not understand it, then they are slow to adopt.
In the area of social media, this not only impedes taking advantage of these educational applications, but it also puts the educational institutions at a disadvantage when it comes to recruitment. Since most educators need something scientific before deciding, you may want to read this study on the effectiveness of social media as a communication tool before continuing. Live/Met Social Media Application – advantages of using social media for studentsThere are a lot of various apps for social media that are attractive to students. You may have heard that Snapchat recently launched an IPO which made its cofounders $500 million dollars each in a single day. This is one of the reasons educators are reluctant to incorporate social media into their education curriculum. This does make sense while Snapchat is the hot social media app for teenagers today there may be another one tomorrow.
For example, a new social media app named Live.Me is gaining traction in the United States. Many teenagers and young adults are turning to this app because of its ability to stream live video and also provide a social aspect where you can share video streams with your friends and make new friends. I have seen at least 30 of my young Facebook friends using this app to stream live video over the past week.
