A Social Approach to Education

Higher education is no stranger to new ideas, and social media is quickly becoming a primary way for students to keep up with the realm of academia. Most universities now have at least one Twitter account to help engage and communicate with their publics.

Temple University is at the forefront of this social media movement and even has an entire class dedicated to social media. This semester, however, I have encountered something even more exciting: one of my classes has a Twitter account.

Yes, my Special Topics in Urban Politics has a Twitter account to keep students abreast of local political news. This is a great way to engage students outside of the classroom, keeping students informed of relevant events and continuing the in-class conversation on social media.

This social approach to education should be more widely adapted. I urge my classmates and professors to embrace the idea that classroom learning can and should spill over onto social media.

Do any of your classes have social media accounts? Do you think they should?