Reading the varied opinions on social media here has been very interesting. I’m not incredibly active on social media, but I value the importance of an online presence and its impact on building reputation and professional credibility. I work in higher ed and we use social media extensively in our journalism courses, not only as a source for breaking news and leads, but also to train students on how to use it effectively when they’re out working in the field. Social media has become so ubiquitous in our environment that we’ve moved beyond discussing how it can be used in education, and just treat it as another communication and creative tool.
After reading the discussion questions, I find the “in the classroom” aspect of social media use quite interesting since the power of mobile learning is that it can be done mostly anywhere at any time. I question why we often think of social media use in education as something restricted to the classroom. Social media can be an excellent learning resource, but it’s important to think of learning spaces as something beyond the physical constraints of a classroom.
Something I’ve also noticed is that Reddit rarely finds its way into the list of social media platforms and I think it’s an amazing source for learning that is both social and mobile. Overall, good work and thanks for bringing attention to a worthwhile topic, though some additional focus on the mobile aspect of social media could have been beneficial.