Jaci Fitzgerald

Professor Vicki Stalbird

ENG 1201

20 March 2019

Fitzgerald 1

The Effects of Social Media and the Students Education

Using a cellphone in school is something that is forbidden. Even in the lunchroom,

where no learning is going on. Teachers look at technology usage as something that is

only distracting to students, and something that could not possibly be teaching the student

anything. Many times in my personal experience in high school, students have gotten

detentions and suspensions for having a cellphone out in class. No matter if they were

checking their grades or using the phone as a calculator, phones are assumed to be only a

distraction. And why is this? Students should be able to use cell phones and social media

in classrooms, because it will create a more interesting learning environment and allow

students to expand their minds about what they are learning in the classroom.

The use of technology is fairly new. The first cell phone was created in the 1970’s,

but that cell phone did not have safari search or anything close to the types of cell phones

we carry around today. Today cell phones are like mini computers, they can look up

information in less than a second. You can talk to your friends with a touch of a button or

just by saying “Hey Siri”. And you can look up the latest news. All of this is just on one

little screen. So, why is it that all of this great technology is forbidden to use in the

classroom?
Jaci Fitzgerald

Professor Vicki Stalbird

ENG 1201

20 March 2019

Fitzgerald 1

In Lori Wade’s article, “How Social Media is Reshaping Today’s Education

System”, she shows how social media use in the classroom can help a student have more

fun and a better understanding about the topics they are learning about. She writes about

how many teachers are incorporating Twitter into their classrooms. Teachers can make a

Twitter hashtag where students will post about the topic that they are learning about that

day. This creates an interactive way of learning that uses social media to do so. The

incorporation of social media and the use of technology and classrooms can help students

use social media in a non-distracting way. Also, the students will be able to see what their

classmates views are on the topic to even better their understanding of the topic further.

Social media does not have to be used as an assignment based experience in the

classroom. Institutions, like colleges, can also use social media to information their

students about things going on around the campus. In the article, “The Role of Social

Media in Education”, Dlamini talks about how many colleges have Instagram and Twitter

pages to get information out to their students in a quick and efficient way. This way of

using social media, spreads information to the students. Whether it is an education video

or about a social activity that is going on, the students are able to be “in the loop” with

whatever that college wants them to know.

Jaci Fitzgerald

Professor Vicki Stalbird

ENG 1201

20 March 2019

Fitzgerald 1

Now, think about if your teachers used social media in this way. If they reminded

you of an assignment that is due or about an upcoming test. Wouldn’t you feel that you

had a better understanding of what was going on in the classroom. Teachers could even

use social media to post helpful videos on topics that they are teaching in the classrooms.

Not only would it keep the student from forgetting about their assignments, but it would

most likely deepen the understanding of the topics that are being studied in the

classroom.

In the article, “Mobile computing devices in higher education: Student

perspectives on learning with cellphones, smartphones, & social media”, Gikas and Grant

focus on how many educators are incorporating social media into their classrooms.

Teachers best interest is making sure the student has a good understanding of the

information that is taught in the classroom. Also, students can benefit from the

accessibility of the information if the teachers were to put their lessons up online. In this

article, students gave their own viewpoints on the use of social media in classrooms.

Their views were that using social media creates a better way of educating them. Students

are already on social media everyday, so why not be on it for an educational purpose?
Jaci Fitzgerald

Professor Vicki Stalbird

ENG 1201

20 March 2019

Fitzgerald 1

Many classes are being taught online these days. You can even get a college

degree online. Technology for the use of education seems to be a great way to get

educated with a busy schedule. Many people are using technology to further their

education. Yes, you cannot get a medical degree online, because you would not like
Jaci Fitzgerald

Professor Vicki Stalbird

ENG 1201

20 March 2019

Fitzgerald 1

someone to operate on you when they have never done a surgery on an actual human. But

technology has opened the doors to more efficiency in furthering an education.

In the article, “How Social Media Can and Should Impact Higher Education”,

Blankenship uses his own experiences to show the value that technology brings to

education. He was supposed to talk to a class one day, but the administration would not

pay traveling costs for him to get there. He then Skyped with the class, and they were

able to see him and he was able to see them. He spoke with the class almost like he was

there with them in person. Although he could not physically interact with the class, he

was still able to educate the students on the topic that he wanted to. This technology

could be used in full in the future. No one would have to go to class, and cost of housing

at colleges could go down or not even have to be there at all.

New technology like this, could save people a large amount of money when it

comes to a college education. Professors could communicate to students via Skype and

have assignments posted through an online classroom. This type of social media usage

would be able to allow students to not be in the debt that they face after college. It is a

known fact that many college educated people struggle with student loans after they are

done with college. Some college educated people are in so much debt after college that
Jaci Fitzgerald

Professor Vicki Stalbird

ENG 1201

20 March 2019

Fitzgerald 1

they struggle to support themselves for awhile after graduation, even when they are

working a full-time job.

In the article, “How Social Media is Reshaping Today’s Education System”,

Hughes brings up how social media can help students connect with each other. Yes,

students do talk to each other outside of the classroom, but not usually about school

related topics. Hughes tells that students can use social media to talk about a group

project and/or something that they are unsure about. Most of the time, students working

on a group project will have to meet up somewhere or go to a classmates house to finish

the assignment. Students can use social media to talk to each other about the project they

are working on, so they do not have to waste time transporting to a different location to

work on their project.

Technology today is incredible, most cell phones can FaceTime with multiple

people on the same line. This type of technology usage is a great and efficient way for

students to interact and further each others knowledge on the subject they are studying.

Now think if classrooms were not a thing, students could still be in a classroom like

setting via the internet. Multiple people FaceTiming or being online all at the same time

would cut many money-related things into a fraction of the number.

Jaci Fitzgerald

Professor Vicki Stalbird

ENG 1201

20 March 2019

Fitzgerald 1

In the article, “Interview with Dr. Jonathan B. Singer on Social Media in Social

Work Education”, Tooley writes about the thoughts that Dr. Singers has on social media

incorporated with education. Even grown-ups can use social media as a form of

networking. Many people can talk on a social media page about ideas they have for a

specific topic. Also, they can get to know one another before they meet in person.

Students should learning about networking sites before they have to use them in

the real-world. Many professional people use some-sort of social media to network with

people who are in the same field of work that they are. Networking for people, such as

salesmen, is how they make their money. The better at networking they are, the more

successful they will be. Isn’t the whole idea of education based off of being successful?

So, students should have the opportunity to learn about the social media’s they will

possibly using the rest of their lives.

In MacKay’s article, “Business Schools Respond to Demand for Use of Social

Media”, she writes about how the use of social media in one’s personal life is

significantly different from the use of social media in one’s professional life. This article

talks about how business schools around the world have to take a social media course.

Whether this course is about advertising a product or how to network properly, many
Jaci Fitzgerald

Professor Vicki Stalbird

ENG 1201

20 March 2019

Fitzgerald 1

business schools find it important that students are well-educated about the use of social

media in a professional way. Most students do not know whether something is

professional or unprofessional, and this might be the major problem of why social media

is looked down upon at schools.

There are many people all over the world who make money off of having a social

media page. Whether it is advertising a certain brand or themselves, people have a

full-time job that is on social media. In schools, students should be learning how they can

obtain one of these job through the use of professional social media.

In conclusion, social media is looked down upon in schools. Many educators have

been trying to incorporate more social media usage into their classrooms to create an

atmosphere that is no longer boring and one that is interactively teaching the student.

Many teachers have found ways that make education no longer feel like a chore. And

have changed the way some students view their own social media accounts.
Jaci Fitzgerald

Professor Vicki Stalbird

ENG 1201

20 March 2019

Fitzgerald 1

Works Cited

Dlamini, Khanyie. “The Role of Social Media in Education” ​London College of

International Business Studies,

https://www.lcibs.co.uk/the-role-of-social-media-in-education/​. Accessed 20

March, 2019.

Wade, Lori. “How Social Media is Reshaping Today’s Education System.” ​Georgetown

University.

http://csic.georgetown.edu/magazine/social-media-reshaping-todays-education-sys

tem/​. Accessed 20 March, 2019.

Gikas, Joanne. Grant, Michael M. “Mobile computing devices in higher education:

Student perspectives on learning with cellphones, smartphones & social media”

Elsevier, 1​ 4 June,

2013.​https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/38919269/gikas_grant_

mobile_devices.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expire

s=1552769035&Signature=YgVOjbn3oblPxbMuCOnAB62NDHI%3D&response-
Jaci Fitzgerald

Professor Vicki Stalbird

ENG 1201

20 March 2019

Fitzgerald 1

content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DMobile_Computing_Devices_in

_Higher_Educa.pdf​ . Accessed 20 March, 2019.

Hughes, Brain. “How Social Media is Reshaping Today’s Education System”

Entrepreneur, ​1 April, 2016. ​https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/273044​.

Accessed 20 March, 2019.

Blankenship, Mark. “How Social Media Can and Should Impact Higher Education”.

Hispanic Outlook Magazine, 2​ 9 November 2010, p. 12.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/34649945/nov29-howsocial.p

df?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1552758136&S

ignature=4HFRtkjJNJqFRq6NPX5k0UlCmaY%3D&response-content-disposition

=inline%3B%20filename%3DDISTANCE_LEARNING_TECHNOLOGY_How_

Social.pdf

Tooley, Aaron. “Interview with Dr. Jonathan B. Singer on Social Media in Social Work

Education”. ​Online MSW Programs,

https://www.onlinemswprograms.com/in-focus/interview-with-dr-jonathan-singer.

html​, Accessed 20 March, 2019.

Jaci Fitzgerald

Professor Vicki Stalbird

ENG 1201

20 March 2019

Fitzgerald 1

MacKay, Fiona. “Business Schools Respond to Demand for Use of Social Media.” ​The

New York Times, 3​ 0 March, 2010,

https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/31/education/31iht-riedmba.html​. Accessed 20

March, 2019.

Gardner, Lynn. ​Book & Phone Book. 6​ December, 2010, Flickr.