Pam Holden

not a good idea to use this as your only tool

Dominic Versace

Hi John,

Many of my students have experienced a similar problem. Due to the personalized nature of popular social networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), users' news feeds are saturated with unrelated distracting content from their friends and other followed pages. For some students, it's simply too much to expect them to retain their focus amidst this barrage of irrelevant, albeit entertaining content. To truly maximize the educational potential of these networks, I believe that their personal and professional social network interactions should be separated. However, it may be unrealistic to expect students to create independent professional profiles for their professional interactions when it's likely that once the class is over, they will abandon the newly created profiles and continue using their old ones.

The only solution I would suggest is to use networks typically reserved for professional interactions (LinkedIn for example). This way, students wouldn't be forced to juggle personal and professional interactions in the same online context.

Breezy Houston

As an online instructor, I really think that having social media enbedded within the course is very much needed. I would encourage social media to be used/viewed when it comes to certain homework or class projects. There are a lot of current events that are going on and for some individuals having access to social media is a big help.

John Genua

Hi Leroy,

One of the problems with social media use is the element of distraction on the platforms. We've seen Facebook and Twitter become overrun with commercially targeted posts,links, galleries, and other forms of "click bait". As a result some users have become frustrated and have cut the cord. If we seek to expand social media into the classroom, we must choose reliable platforms that avoid anonymity and offer an experience that is beneficial and productive to learning objectives.