Mobile Learning and Social Media-based Learning Tools

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The prevalence and growth of online learning and the technology that has accompanied its rise is both an exciting development and complex task to navigate. Based on the influence of mobile learning and widely used social media platforms, educational design and learning resources are now readily available to all levels and groups of learners. The goal now is to create online spaces and utilize mobile technology to facilitate learning in ways that accommodate and encourage the changing profile of the modern learner.

Studies show that adult learners are more adept at learning from their peers and fellow learners than they are from lecturers and teachers (Arshavskiy, 2021). I’ve always viewed group interaction as a vital component to formal learning practices. It helps when attempting to understand new concepts and information through discussion. I recently experienced this during my ED 6378 Integration of Technology in Curriculum graduate course, where the entire class participated in a single Twitter chat to promote discussion of Instructional Technology using social media and online platforms. The chat included all members of the EIT (Educational Instructional Technology) program at Sul Ross State University as well as instructors and other participants. I felt this was a lively, structured, and informative way to encourage group discussion while also promoting learning using a social platform like Twitter.

It’s no secret that our students spend most of their free time on social media websites (Norman, 2016). The previous statement is taken from the online article 5 Ultimate Tricks of Using Social Media as Learning Tools. The article highlights the use of Twitter, YouTube, Facebook groups, Pinterest, and personal blogs as tools to encourage learning through social platforms. As a graduate student, I’ve used many of these tools in conjunction with my courses to aid my learning process.

Overall, I see mobile learning and social media platforms as yet another optional, yet effective path for instructional designers to implement for learners wanting greater online educational opportunities that use digital resources. For my own research going forward I would like to further explore classroom response systems (CRS’s), as they mostly function through the use of mobile devices to communicate between students and educators. The following link provides a list of CRS’s and overviews of the function of each system:

https://www.edsurge.com/product-reviews/teacher-needs/classroom-response-system

 

Arshavskiy, M. (2018, April 5). Social Media And eLearning: How to Improve Formal Learning with Social Media. eLearning Industry. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://elearningindustry.com/improve-formal-learning-with-social-media-social-media-elearning

 

Norman, S. (2016, March 4). 5 Ultimate Tricks of Using Social Media as Learning Tools. eLearning Industry. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://elearningindustry.com/5-ultimate-tricks-using-social-media-learning-tools

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