November 1, 2022

Social media has users of all ages but not every user is aware of its benefits and the value it can provide to any business. Students on social media are busy with mindless consumption of whatever content it offers. Meanwhile, teachers and parents are too scared of its daunting effects and hence try to stay away from it. This is where teaching social media in schools come into the spotlight. Very few, if any, schools are trying to teach productive use of social media to their students to develop essential marketing skills and nurture their intellectual passions. But as an educator or a teacher, one often asks themselves if teaching social media in schools can help their students. The social media forum provides updates on everything in real time. By watching this content, students can develop expertise in their field of study and stay connected with the most recent market trends. Implementing and Teaching Social Media in Schools Social media has a broad landscape and it cannot provide any productive usage unless you learn to navigate through it properly. The academic skills you acquire during your years of learning must also have some practicality attached to them. Yes, you have a social media presence and optimized digital accounts. But do you know how social media scheduling works? Can you curate and monitor content and its reach?  Are there tools to help you out with this? The gist here is that teaching the use of social media alone is not enough. Its practical implementation is equally necessary. Building A Strong Online Community One can extract numerous benefits at a higher level through social media networking. One way of networking involves learning management systems like Blackboard or Moodle. The other way is through teachers, who need to positively adopt and implement new ways of teaching and build an online community of classrooms for discussions. It will enhance their overall ability to open up and share their opinions. We have compiled some tips that would give you an idea of what teaching social media in schools should look like and which tools you can implement. How to Make Social Media a Part of Teaching Experience Let’s have a look at some easy ways educators can implement in their social media curriculum to boost the academic experience of students and help them explore its productive usage. Updating Students through Facebook Groups Facebook is the most suitable social platform for the incorporation of social media teaching. First and foremost, it’s easy to use and almost everyone knows how to navigate around it. You can start by developing a classroom group or page which will be centred on relevant activities. Whatever updates and class announcements need to be notified, can be done through these groups.  Furthermore, you can conduct informative sessions through the feature of ‘Live’ sessions. Or the students can host various discussions on their own based on their general topics of interest. However, one thing to keep into account is respecting and maintaining educational and professional boundaries. Utilizing Twitter Just like Facebook, Twitter can also be a productive tool to learn in schools. One can easily connect Twitter with a social media scheduling tool and keep all their socials organized. Twitter discussion boards have limited characters which can be of great help in developing a student’s critical thinking skills. They will learn how to communicate effectively with conciseness and deliver their point effectively. Also, Twitter hosts most of the corporate giants, educational discussion groups, and podcasts. So, it is an interesting platform to explore for graduate students. The proper use of hashtags must also be taught. Class Discussion Blogs No doubt writing social media blogs can horn one’s writing skills. Through wordy social media post captions, students can learn how to deliver well with brevity. But the best way to utilize these skills is through website blogging. Teach students the use of blogging platforms like WordPress, Tumblr, Wix, Blogger, SquareSpace, Medium, etc. students must learn the use of these platforms and then create their user accounts to write blogs on topics of their choice and interest. As a teacher, you can also assign blog posts as assignments or weekly essays. It is a great strategy for improving students’ critical thinking and short-form writing. This prompt of teaching social media in schools should not be limited to writing or English classes. Rather it can be applied to all fields of education. Social Media Marketing Social media marketing refers to selling and promoting your products and services on various social media platforms. Teaching social media marketing can be highly rewarding for students, especially those at the graduate level. It is a common observation that students who wish to start a company in near future lack the essential social media knowledge and skills. Amongst them, one of the most important aspects is social media marketing. Teaching social media in schools will allow students to learn SEO skills, how to create brand awareness on digital forums, and how small social media business incentives can allow them to generate increased revenue. The level of opportunities students get out of it will depend on what you offer in your social media curriculum in schools. Because social media offers a powerful platform with a large reach. And even a modest budget can help some like-minded students to launch and market their products.  However, an important point to bear in mind is that successful marketing requires social media management tools and skills. So, the use of such tools should also be taught. Alumni Groups By creating interest-based alumni groups, the freshmen will get to learn more from the practical experiences of their seniors.  Most of the university alumni love to stay connected to their schools. Through such groups, you can arrange various discussion sessions and activities. It will allow students with common interests to have productive interactions. Teaching Productive Use of Instagram Instagram is more of a visually appealing platform. Most students today are already aware of how one can make