Social Media in Instruction
Guidelines
Social media has evolved through time across the world. It is being used by more and more people daily, constantly gaining popularity. Social media is no longer being used strictly for personal interactions, it is being incorporated in many widely known subjects, such as instructional activities. Implementing social media in instructional activities can be a little tricky, it requires many guidelines. Below are some of the guidelines to follow in making social media more efficient and effective in instruction.
Introduce preclass activities.
Social media tools provides preclass activities. These activities include questionnaires and prereading. For example, a facilitator can use a YouTube to introduce learning objectives. Social media also allows participants to introduce themselves through sites like LinkedIn.
Assign social media-based projects.
Incorporating social media-based projects provides quality sharing from a distance. Instructional facilitators can ask virtual learning classes to create a presentation as a group on Prezi on a topic. Participants should be given time to browse the internet during training and be allowed to use the platform of their choice.
Incorporate post-training exercises.
After concluding formal training, social media should be used to keep the learning alive. It will allow participants to share resources, stories, and their personal experiences. They can collect, filter, and organize resources through social media.
Leverage each participant's network.
Encourage learning narration during formal scenarios.
Reference:
Steer, D. (2012). Improve Formal Learning With Social Media. T+D, 66(12), 31-33.
Social media marketing. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.socialmediasmarketing.com/