Social media today represent a limitless flow of information and open up new possibilities, which are limited only by one’s own desire, for education within the framework of any specialization.
Based on the interpenetration of various technologies and systems for the production, processing, transmission, distribution of information, conditions are being created for a qualitatively new stage in the development of information and communication infrastructure and the information environment as a whole, which gradually becomes dominant in the development of human society.
The Internet now basically gives students opportunities that they could not even dream of before, so now, a student having difficulties with writing papers can click on the “write my essay” button and get work done by one of the professionals. Speaking specifically about the impact of social media on the education system, its influence is visible in a number of aspects.
Social Media as a Means of Communication
Before, about 10 years ago, students could communicate with teachers only in an educational institution, while social networks changed everything. Social networks have functionality that allows teachers and students to quickly exchange information, discuss important issues and make reminders, create joint educational content.
Using social networks in training, students and teachers master new means and methods of communication with other people around the world, remember and understand each other’s interests, and learn to effectively search for and analyze information.
In addition, the possibility of interaction between students and teachers on the network at a convenient time ensures the continuity of the educational process and the possibility of detailed planning of educational and research work to write papers for students (tasks and consultations every day).
It allows students who miss classroom lessons to take part in them online. The teacher has the opportunity to conduct classroom lectures in an interactive mode.
Social Media Makes Access to Information Easier
One of the most important specific values that affect the education system is the informational unity of human civilization. Expert networks are emerging in which you can ask a question on any problem of interest. Reliance on the integrated knowledge of experts belongs to the type of modern innovation and represents a special form of a community of scientists. Developing, expert networks provide new opportunities for people to make decisions.
Social Media as a Source of Special Education
Another specific value is the development of information accessibility. Most clearly, information accessibility in the education system can be considered in terms of accessibility to people with special needs.
Now, thanks to the creation of various adaptive software and hardware solutions, there are almost unlimited educational opportunities for people with disabilities.
For blind and visually impaired people, these are screen access programs, various methods of enlarging the screen, and speech synthesis. For hearing-impaired people, these are programs for translating speech into text. Such technologies are developing rapidly and have already reached a fairly high level.
They allow any interested person to live normally and receive education anywhere in the world, communicate almost freely with people, having health problems.
Individualization of the Educational Process
The essence of the new stage of education informatization is the individualization of the educational process. Its feature is not only that informatization will rely on new achievements in the field of information and communication technologies.
In the coming decade, new information technologies will make it possible in practice to use fundamentally new pedagogical technologies that previously could not occupy a worthy place in mass education due to the complexity of their implementation.
Modern education finds itself in the world of intellectual technologies, which significantly affects the nature of the organization of education and its content.
Social Media as a Means of Direct Management of the Learning Process
The main task of the teacher is to find and place theoretical materials in the most entertaining form of perception (presentations, videos, game applications, audio recordings), as well as layout exercises on fixing and (or) repeating the topic and monitor the assimilation of knowledge (checking data for solving tasks, tests, and online polls).
Moreover, social networks allow you to share published information and store it. Obviously, using this property, we can begin to create a kind of “piggy bank” of knowledge, and proposals for additional interesting materials should mainly come from students. This creative activity promotes the development of internal motivation for learning, stimulates the activation of cognitive activity and innovative thinking.
Sum up
More and more researchers in the field of education consider the use of social networks to improve the quality of education a promising area. In their opinion, these technologies have serious pedagogical potential, which should be understood by the professional community and put into practice. Currently, the mechanism of social networks is successfully used in business, in politics, in the field of entertainment, leading to the formation of sustainable network communities. Already, we may see the impact of social media on education, and no doubt it will become more and more obvious over time.