About 8 out of 10 teenagers hold at least one social media account; Instagram, Snap-chat, Twitter, Facebook etc. This plays a role in the lives of most primary and secondary school students. And while much attention has been paid to the negative effects of social media, including cyber bullying, there could be a positive side, too. Given the above statistics, schools don’t need to convince students of the value of social media, they’ve already been won over.
Today’s teens are already collaborating and connecting with other teens outside school via social media; and now, some educators are pushing to make this collaboration happen inside school walls, too.
One of the major importance of social media in schools is:
- Building a stronger school community: Social media integration doesn’t have to stop with teens and teachers; increasingly, administrators are finding new, creative ways to integrate social media into their schools. Today’s parents of younger students are often social media natives; some even had Facebook in college when it first debuted. They use LinkedIn to find jobs. And they may even have a parody account on Twitter about parenting. It’s only natural that principals and school administrators are using social media to share school news and building community.
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- Sharing Information: Families are busy, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want and need information from the school. Just as we are looking for ways to incorporate technology into our classrooms, in order to engage students, our communication with families deserves to be engaging and easy to use, as well.
Recommended: Smart Communication: Using The Right Tools For Parent Engagement
- Parent Engagement: When there are a lot of children in a school, it is nearly impossible to know all of the families. When a family tags the school in a post, re-tweets a message or responds to the principal or teacher through email, we are getting the opportunity to engage with that family in a way that would not be possible with a paper newsletter. Experts have encouraged school owners to utilize technology for parent communication, to help families quickly receive much-needed information. Everyone wins when the school and the families are connected.
Recommended: How to Keep Parents Engaged in School Activities From stronger parent-teacher relationships to creative assignment challenges, social media is poised to power a new education revolution.
We would like to know what you think about the importance of social media in schools. Feel free to comment below. Read Our Guide to Social Media for Schools
