Why is social media so exciting?
Social Media is an opportunity and it pulls apart barriers for many people. Using social media we can interact with people who have similar interests, we are able to communicate with our favorite celebrities, and we are able to see what our favorite companies are up to. Social Media has not only become the new word of mouth, but a direct connection to the things and people that we love and are interested in.
What’s another great opportunity that can be found through social media? Education! For anyone who is interested in furthering their career, this post is for you. Most of us have 40 plus hours of work per week. After we squeeze in our daily dose of exercise and spend our quality time with family and friends, there isn’t much time left to spend improving our education. I believe that social media can help by giving us faster and easier access to tools for learning.
5 Ways to Further Your Education Without Feeling Overwhelmed
- Khan Academy: The Khan Academy isn’t technically social media, but it’s a great resource and you’re able to interact with them, and other users, through their social media pages. You can also search Facebook groups for the Khan Academy and you’ll find a ton of different groups that you might be interested in joining.
- Webinars: Webinars are amazing! People everywhere are starting to use them. My favorite part of attending a webinar is using Twitter as a note taking device and adding the webinar hashtag to each note/tweet. When you do this and follow along with the hashtag, you’re able to see what others are taking from the webinar and if you feel like you could learn something more from them, or you just want to be their friend and stay connected, you can follow them and start talking to them about your mutual interest. Another plus is that the people who are doing the webinar are usually tweeting along with you, so you have a huge opportunity to ask them a direct question.
- Learning learning with Duolingo: this interactive language learning platform allows you to easily learn languages. With Duolingo, you can connect with Facebook and connect with your friends that are also using this platform. You can send them messages and see their rankings, as well as yours. If you’re in a place where you’re unable to use your mic or listen to the words, you can set it so that you’re only using your keyboard and touchpad.
- Online Book Clubs: Book clubs are really fun, but getting to them and preparing for them can be a little bit more difficult. With Online Book Club, you can read your favorite books, post questions and respond to questions without having to drive all the way across town and there won’t be any clean-up from having the club come to your house. It’s more than that though, there are random questions like “Which author would you like to grab a beer with?” and “What’s your favorite word today?” to add a little more fun to your day.
- YouTube: From DIY’s to trying to understand why the Fibonacci code is visually set up the way it is, YouTube is a go-to resource for answers from the experts as well as an opportunity for experts to answer video questions.
Pearson did a study in 2013 that reviews how social media can and is being used for education. It’s an easy read and they are really excited about how this can continue to grow, so it makes it a fun read as well. Remember that this goes both ways: you want to learn and the experts want to teach. If you’re an expert at something, you have a huge opportunity to help people who have a passion to learn, but don’t have the time or money to go to school. If you are someone who wants to learn something, don’t be afraid to ask questions and make connections. You never know where these opportunities could take you.
What are some of your favorite social platforms for learning and why?
