New Vulgar Acropolis: Social Media in the Classroom

 

The idea of bringing social media into the classroom is interesting. On the one hand, if in a physical synchronous setting, social media would not be too useful as discussions can be done in person. In a synchronous and/or remote setting, this would be more interesting. Social media can be used to expand classroom discussions and fodder practice opportunities. In my experience with the literature on pedagogy, communities of practice that focus on social constructivism are optimal for learning. Especially nuanced and skill-heavy endeavors. 

I had a teacher in my freshman year use social media to our advantage. It was a philosophy class that met three times per week for 45 minutes. However, I remember spending hours per day engaged on the blog. We would have lengthy discussions. People would suggest videos and articles. We had some grievous wars between the liberals and conservatives (under different banners). It surely made the class memorable and helped me recall, apply, analyze, and synthesize information much better. I will never forget it.