Social Media and Education

Lots of educators wonder if social media and education are compatible. There is a place for social media in today’s educational endeavors, but whether you are for or against have your social media and education intertwined, likely depends on your perspective.

If you are an elementary or middle school teacher, then it’s likely that you do not want anything to do with social media in the classroom. You guys have enough to deal with without having your students trying to Facebook, Instagram, tweet or the other hundreds of social media networks out there to deal with when you are trying to instruct students.

Social Media in Higher Education

Of course, if you are higher education, then you probably have a different view of how social media is useful in education. Many colleges are learning that one of the most effective methods of reaching potential students. According to Noel-Levitz 2015 E-expectations report, Youtube, Facebook, and Snapchat are the three top used applications for seniors and juniors headed to college in the Fall. These numbers were a lot different from the 2014 e-expectations study. SnapChat rose 16 percent in usage, and Pinterest increased by 8 percent. Google + and Facebook took a modest downturn, but they are still major players, and something college needs to pay attention to still. Even though Facebook took a dive two-thirds of the students still use it, so there is a marketing place for Facebook advertising in your marketing.

65% of the seniors and 44 percent of the seniors reported looking at an institution’s Facebook page before making a decision on whether to attend a particular college. The main areas they are looking for is to get a feel for the student life and activities of the college or university. This makes it critical to have a social media prescience you regularly promote for your educational institution.  Having the students engage with your content right from the beginning can not only convince them to attend your school, but it could also help with retaining the students down the road.

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