Social Media in the Classroom
Research has shown that students who are engaged in social networks have better grades, future plans, and higher graduation. Rather than asking students to put their phones away during class, we encourage you to incorporate social media into your classroom. Why?
- It’s where your student are.
- It keeps them interested and engaged.
- It offers help for shy students.
- It teaches students how to use social media professionally.
But how can social be incorporated into the classroom effectively? There are many ways!
- Create groups for classroom discussion
- Use Pages for ongoing class projects
- Encourage your students to collaborate with one another via Facebook
- Use a #hashtag for your class
- Create lists of useful accounts for students to follow
- Offer extra credit to students who live Tweet lectures/events
- Encourage students to follow official accounts of experts in your field
- Create boards with topics for research
- Use accounts as visual portfolios
- Utilize group boards for group projects
- House mixed media on class discussion topics
- Host a guest lecture
- Have scheduled times for group discussions
- Host one-on-one tutoring/office hours
- Build virtual resumes together
- Encourage students to find groups for professional associations
- Connect with alumni in your field to create mentorships
- Assignment Reminders
- Deadlines
- Extra Credit
- Quizzes
Protecting Students Online
WKU offers best practices for faculty/staff interacting with students online in pages 29-30 of the Communication and Branding Manual. We hope that you will strive to make the WKU experience online a fun, inviting one.
WKU has a zero tolerance policy on all forms of harassment. Any inappropriate activity, bullying, or harassment by WKU students, faculty, or staff representatives must be reported to the WKU Campus Police and/or the Office of Student Conduct. Remember, if you see something, say something!
Contact Us
If you’d like more information on incorporating digital media in your classroom or are interested in having a Creative Web Services team member guest lecture your course, please email webservices@wku.edu.
Some of the links on this page may require additional software to view.