1. Social media in education Advantages and disadvantages EDA – 590 Workshop: Teaching and learning at a distance Don Quick. Ph.D.• Brandon Alconcel• Ernesto Luna• William Wiesse July, 2012
2. AdvantagesMany have pointed to the educational benefits of these media (also calledWeb 2.0). And all agree that with the right guidance, the advantagesoutweigh the disadvantages (Connolly, 2011).1. Social media tools and networking sites encourage students to interact with each other, share ideas and to express their creativity.2. Social media helps to establish enduring relationships with real people. A few examples are: • Facebook can help students overcome isolation that otherwise might lead them to leave school. • Twitter can provide shy students with information about events that facilitates face-to-face encounters with other students. Such personal interactions can create and sustain a sense of belonging.
3. Advantages3. These relationships created over social media can be fostered on the community level too.4. “The Internet and social media train our brains to skim and scan” (Connelly, 2011). Due too the big amount of information available on social media sites, students learn to discern easily between what is useful for them and what is not.5. Because is easy to use and accessible from virtually everywhere and at any time, social media improves communication among students and teachers.6. Social media helps preparing students for successful employment. Students entering the workforce can use social networking sites like LinkedIn to network and find employment.
4. Disadvantages1. Being connected and search for information on Facebook, Google, and other web services simultaneously, seize and fragment our attention. Although students can develop “scanning and skimming” skills, they could also get used to not paying enough attention to what is important.2. They can