The Pros and Cons of Using Social Media in Classrooms

The use of social media in schools and colleges has long since been disputed.

Some schools and colleges don’t even allow the use of mobile phones in classrooms. Then, there are the ones who allow them in classes but don’t have provisions for their use in the curriculum.

Using social media in classrooms isn’t actually a bad thing. They come with their very own pros and cons. We’ll discuss a few of them in thorough details in this article.

Using social media in classrooms: The Pros

• Social media can increase collaboration between students

Social media provides students with an easy way to collaborate with one another on social assignments and projects.

They can even take the matter outside classrooms and communicate conveniently between them as per requirement.

• Social media in classrooms can encourage participation

Every class has its fair share of introverts. Most of them are too shy to participate directly in class activities.

Social media accessibility can come in as a blessing in such circumstances. It can help to build up confidence in students and help them participate more in class. A small step like that can go a long way
indeed.

• Social media aids in quicker share of resources

Important resource shares such as sharing of educational documents and links become as easy as a piece of cake now through the aid of social media.

A simple post on Facebook or a simple tweet on Twitter is more than capable of doing the job for you. Even private shares are easy on social media. Things like the messenger chat option on Facebook and the Twitter DM (Direct Message) are enough for the job.

• Social media can help students breeze through their homework assignments

Stuck on a problem? No problem! Social media can help you out.

The same thing is applicable in the case of home assignments. If students are stuck on certain topics, they can quickly place their question on social media inside their designated classroom group. The doubt can be cleared by the teacher either on the same platform itself, or it can be cleared in the classroom by the very next day.

Convenience you wanted; convenience you’ll get.

• Social media can keep teachers, students as well as parents under the same roof

Social media provides teachers with a platform to post everything about classroom activities, school events and even homework assignments under a single roof.

This is also very useful for teachers and parents to monitor the child’s progress. A simple step like that can provide a whole lot of benefits in the long run.

Using social media in classrooms: The Cons

• Social media can act as a form of distraction in classes

Let’s be honest at this very point here. Social media is definitely not just about studies and education in general. It is a vast field and includes a whole lot of genres ranging from entertainment to sports.

So there is every chance for the kid to get distracted by it. Hence, proper monitoring needs to be done if social media is really allowed inside classes.

• Taking unfair advantage of social media access in classrooms

Students may very easily take unfair advantage of social media access in classes. For example,

They can use the power of social media for personal interactions in classes which they should not especially during the time of their lessons. This problem can be curbed only through proper monitoring. Are you up for it?

• Posting inappropriate content on social media

This is one of the main reasons for which social media is banned in several classrooms.

There’s every chance of a pupil to involve himself/herself in mischievous behavior and post something inappropriate (such as anything pornographic in nature or slang language) that may derogate the
interests of the school from the educational point of view.

This is a con that’s unavoidable. Proper monitoring and strict discipline are the only things that can bring this under check.

So what do you think? Should schools use social media in classrooms? You need to weigh the pros with the cons and then make your decision accordingly. We would be glad to hear from you.