Katie Shepherd: Social media can be valuable in the classroom

A classroom alight with the blue glow of students’ computer screens projecting Facebook and Twitter is now an expected sight in UCLA lecture halls.

But the presence of social media in the classroom shouldn’t be a mere implication of distraction.

As social media becomes an ubiquitous force in modern life, some UCLA professors are working to incorporate new technology into their classes.

Students and professors should continue to expand this technological shift in education by turning media platforms into powerful academic tools.

Social media offers a free new educational resource for students, and students can put in the effort to make it work for them. Students should take the next step and capitalize on the framework provided by professors through sites like Twitter to advance and supplement their education.

Professors have introduced new platforms such as Twitter hashtags for classes and community blogs for discussion posts and class projects. Other tools, like Spotify and Facebook, are being utilized to expand the learning experience.

The variety of social media offers many new advantages to students.

Social media allows students and professors to communicate in a new way both in and out of the classroom. New methods of discussion create a space for interests to be explored beyond the limitations of a classroom and a course syllabus. Facebook, for example, can facilitate the creation of study groups online for students who otherwise would not be in contact.

Jerome Camal, a visiting assistant professor in the UCLA Department of Musicology, has incorporated Twitter and Spotify into his course Music History 5: The History of Rock and Roll by creating a feed for his class.

In Camal’s case, communication via social media even encouraged more in-person interaction.

“Having opened a new line of communication with students has inspired more communication in general,” Camal said. “More students come to office hours, more students ask questions in class, more students post in online discussion boards.”

Camal is not alone in his incorporation of Twitter.

Jon Christensen, an adjunct assistant professor in the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and the department of history at UCLA, has also created a Twitter hashtag for his current class, Environment 150: Environmental Journalism, Scientific Communications and New Media.

Christensen noted similar growth in communication. However, he hopes that increased conversation is taking place between students instead of between instructor and students.

Though these new tools offer many advantages, it is important for students to remember that social media is not a replacement for in-class discussion and interaction.

Robert Watson, a professor in the UCLA English department, said he thinks social media will never take the place of face-to-face interaction because it lacks the subtle social cues that can have significant impact on student responses and engagement.

Still, a happy medium can be found between new technologies and old teaching methods. But such interaction would not be difficult to achieve given that students belong to a generation of people inseparable from their handheld devices.

While social media is certainly not a replacement for in-class discussion and engagement, it is a valuable enhancement to a traditional education.

And it shouldn’t be relegated to courses that deal with social or new media. Instead, professors of more traditional courses such as biology or history can take it upon themselves to expand into the new media realm.

If students are willing to put forth the effort to make social media a real part of their education, it can offer access to exciting viewpoints and create communities of learning that exist beyond the classroom.

Email Shepherd at [email protected]. Send general comments to [email protected] or tweet us @DBOpinion.