INCREASING ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN REVOLUTIONIZING EDUCATION

Science has revolutionized the world beyond any imagination. From the invention of electricity the changes the mankind has gone through is enormous. The rapid growth of internet and social media has revolutionized the way the world works.

Social media has greatly changed the way the world communicates. The greatest impact of internet and social media is in the field of education. Social media has become a tool in spreading the latest methods of education to the farthest corners of the earth.

Once there was a time when schools/colleges banned their students from joining social networking sites to prevent them from wasting their time online. But in a span of 6 years the whole scenario has been turned upside down. Now every school/college is using social media as tool in helping students study. Many faculty members are using social media sites in their classroom to make students understand concepts easily and also it used has a medium of communication.

The introductions of Facebook’s group, Microsoft’s skype and Google’s hangout have completely revolutionized the education sector. Facebook’s group allows the members of a group share videos, links, word documents etc. These features can be used by students to share their subject oriented materials. Google’s hangout and Microsoft’s skype have truly changed the way conferences are held. Now thanks to these tools any one can engage in video conference for free from one corner of the world to another. These tools help students from the remote corners of the world to engage with other teachers and students in the well developed and gain knowledge. Thanks to social media distance is no longer a hindrance in education.

Thanks to the development of internet and its global availability many social learning platform like COURSEEPLUS, EDMODO, TIDWIT etc. offer various features to make learning easy. COURSEEPLUS offers many features such as groups, forums, quizzes, discussion board, hundreds of free online courses and live conferences. They also provide cloud platform schools and colleges to turn the institutions into a CLOUD CAMPUS, so students can access them from anywhere at any time.

The 21^st century has one through tremendous change due to the development of internet. It is high time schools and colleges use the social media to develop the skills of the students rather than preventing them from using it.

How to engage students using Courseeplus

The success of an online course depends greatly on how actively the students and teachers interact in the CLOUD CAMPUS. COURSEEPLUS offers various features that allow teachers and student to interact in a constructive way and also has many Gamification mechanics that motivates the students and keeps them engaged.


Post homework

The instructor can post homework as an update to the students. The students can view the update about the homework in the newsfeed.

Post dates for tests and revisions

The instructor can post updates about the schedule of tests and review exams.

Send assignments

The students can know about their academic assignments from going through their newsfeed or their teacher’s update.

Practice comments

In a globalized scenario communication is of utmost importance. Teachers can make students to develop their grammatical skills by engaging in blog or forum commenting.

Share interesting videos

To increase the student’s engagement to the course, share related videos to the students by uploading the video link while updating status.

Share ppts to help students study 

Share course related power point presentations to students which they can access any time.

Teacher-student communication

The teachers and students can engage in useful conversation which will make the learning even more interesting.

Share interesting sites

Share course related sites with interesting facts so the students can develop their general knowledge about the subject.

Create Groups

Create various groups related to the course and make the students engage in information sharing.

Create Forums

Forums can be used to engage students in constructive debates and getting feedback and reviews about various topics.

COURSEEPLUS FOR ENGINEERING COLLEGES AND BSCHOOLS

COURSEEPLUS offers certain features that are very useful for engineering colleges and Bschools. Once the students graduate from engineering college and Bschools they should be ready to face the world. In order to do so they need actual real life lessons rather than some age old theory and syllabus.

It offers hundreds of free video courses that allow students of engineering colleges and Bschools to gain knowledge about the latest technology and methodology in their fields. It provides platform to develop their reasoning and communication skills.

The discussion board and forum allows them to interact with not only each other but peers from all over the globe. They can learn about the actual real world practices and skills that will greatly help them in their career. It has a job board that is constantly updated about all the job opportunities in all the sectors.

COURSEEPLUS FOR SCHOOLS

COURSEEPLUS provides lots of gamified learning methods that are very useful for school students. Schools have a very hard time to motivate students to study. COURSEEPLUS offers courses in a gamified way such that it motivates students to study eagerly.

For every step they complete the student unlocks a badge which motivates them to study further. There many gamified courses that help students to be innovative and creative and helps them gain knowledge faster. the Gamification mechanics involved in the courses make the students to engage in studies with full motivation.

GAMIFICATION OF EDUCATION FOR BETTER STUDENT MOTIVATION

The challenges faced by schools and colleges are many, among which student motivation is the biggest crisis. Without proper motivation from students the institutions can’t improve student performance. The institutions are brainstorming new methods to engage students with high motivation.Gone are the days when A for apple, B for ball, in the era of internet it’s A for android, B for Bluetooth. 
Now everything is being centralized around computer technology. So institutions are forced to use latest methodology to motivate students. Gamification is one of the latest methodologies being used to motivate students.

Gamification is nothing but using gaming mechanism in the process of learning. There are various gaming mechanisms that can be incorporated with the classroom. The main Gamification mechanisms used are progress mechanics, social interactions, collaborative approach to problem solving etc.

The gamified approach of learning helps the students in many ways. Not only it gets students motivated but also enhances their analytical thinking, develops their creativity and helps achieve their goal. It helps them think in a whole new way and it makes learning a enjoyable process.

Social learning platforms such as COURSEEPLUS offer’s various Gamification mechanisms from sign up to sign out which makes learning a fun thing to do. For every step the student finishes, points are rewarded and later, on the successful completion of the course, badges and certificates are provided. All these, motivate students to achieve more and makes them collaborate with others.

In the era of internet, everything revolves around social media. It is high time institutions use new methods of teaching to improve student performance. Social learning platforms, cloud campus, Gamification etc help institutions motivate students at the same time make learning an enjoyable thing to do.