Social media is here to stay. Learn how you can implement it in your adult education program to help improve student engagement.
Today we're going to talk about the top four reasons why you should be using social media in your adult education program.
What started as a way for college students to more easily stay in contact with their peers has turned into so much more. Social media now allows individuals and organizations to create, engage, and share content in digital environments through multi-way communication.
First, it’s important to realize that social media is not going away. In the U.S., social networks and blogs reach nearly eighty percent of active Internet users and represent the majority of Americans’ time online. With that being said, we can look at the value social media can bring to your classroom and discuss the reasons why you should be using these networks.
Second, social media can increase student engagement and drive their interaction with teachers and fellow students. Let’s take a look at this graph showing how community college leaders perceive the value of social media to the college and their mission.
As you can see, most leaders believe that social media increases student engagement and strengthens student interaction. Considering many adult educators struggle with student retention and completion, implementing social media into your strategy looks like a great idea!
A third reason social media networking is beneficial is because it can be used to communicate with students, peers and people in your community! Social media is easy to access either by computer or mobile phone, and the low cost and flexibility make it easy to use.
And finally, you can also use social networks to raise public awareness of adult literacy. You can use Facebook and Twitter to post information on your program, announce events, or even share your student successes. Social media can be very effective in fundraising as well.
If you don’t have a social media strategy in place, don’t panic! You can start now. I recommend you set out a timeline over the course of the next 12 months and add one new site every few months as you see fit for your program.
