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Pros and Cons of Using Social Media Tools in Schools

Good Essays

Social media has transformed the world. No longer is communication the same. This is evident in the social media by businesses and individuals alike. Businesses build communities, and raise awareness, through the use of social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Education system has also adopted social media tools in the classroom and is now playing a significant role in many schools and universities. However, proper planning has to take place to ensure that these tools are managed effectively in the classroom. With this, students can benefit immensely from the use of these tools in the classroom. However, even with proper management, the relevant authorities need to understand that this requires a high level of maintenance and …show more content…

CONS
Lack of knowledge
The use of social media tools in the classroom must be managed by someone. This person needs to understand the impact of social media usage on the school whether positive or negative.
Lack of features
Students need to be engaged so features need to be included that facilitates a one-on-one connection. This will give the students a sense of feeling that the school is taking them into consideration.
More than a presence
Using social media tools in the classroom takes a lot of planning and requires daily maintenance and monitoring. There should also be interactions with the students on a continuous basis. The school’s social media site can form the opinion of prospective, current and past students, (Bennett, 2012).
According to (Lederer, 2012), several cons of the use of social media tools in the classroom includes being a distraction, used as vehicle for cyber-bullying and it discourages face-to-face communication.
Distraction
Many educators are of the view that social media tools can distract students’ attention from what is being done in the class and hence disrupt the teaching-learning process. For example if Facebook is included in the lesson plan for a language class, where students are able to communicate with students in a different lesson can prove beneficial. However, there are students who would consider it an opportunity to goof off in class and the onus will be on the teacher to ensure that the students stay on task.
Cyber

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