The recent years have seen rapid increase in the number of social media platforms. At first, the concern for most teachers was that the social media platforms were nothing but distractions to the education system. According to them, the sites caused the students not to focus on their studies or even get exposed to vices. That line of thinking, however, has changed swiftly, and teachers are focusing on the positive instead of the negative impact of social media. Many teachers are incorporating social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and many others in their line of work. Consequently, they are enjoying the positive impact of social media.
Some Positive Impact of Social Media on Teachers
First and foremost, the impact of social media becomes real when it gets to class preparation. Every teacher must prepare adequately for their lesson before they present it to a classroom. The groundwork usually involves carrying out enough research on the topic or subject at hand. Traditionally, the teacher had to sift through hard paperback books and journals to get the notes ready. However, thanks to Wikipedia, educational forums and other similar social media platforms the teacher can easily get recent, and accurate information for their lesson.
After the teachers have the notes ready, they need to deliver them to the students. Aiding delivery of lecture notes and lessons is another area in which the positive impact of social media becomes visible. Teachers could use podcasts, webinars, tutorials and educational videos from various social media platforms to deliver their lessons to the students. The social sites make it possible and practical for the teacher to teach a class conveniently even if it is doing so remotely.
A third positive impact of social media sites is that they conveniently help the teacher and students’ interaction. For instance, the lecturer can upload lectures and assignments on a relevant platform and the students on their part, could download the notes or do the assignments and send them back to the teacher for review and evaluation. Besides, if the student has a pressing question he or she could raise it up using the same platform.
Many teachers and scholars tend to write and get their literature work published, in books, journals or even newsletters. Traditionally, getting such works published was not a walk in the park. The platforms that were available were few and costly. If one decided to get a book published, more than 60% of the proceeds from the book sales went to the publisher. Due to the impact of social media, however, that has changed. A teacher can now start his or her blog almost at no cost at all and get his or her work published. The published work could form part of the teacher’s contribution to the school library.
Last but not least impact of social media on teachers becomes visible when it is time for admitting students into the school. Most learning institutions delegate the role of reviewing the student’s application essays to the board constituting of teachers. The prospecting students send the application essays using online portals on those particular school’s websites. In case, the application process requires that the students sit an exam, the same social platform provides the means of doing so.
In conclusion, it is safe to state that the impact of social media on teachers, is indeed huge and something that every teacher needs to consider taking up.
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