Social Media, and Use of Social Media in Education

In 20th century, technology became much more important then anything else. Technology determines lifestyles, cultures, and also education of societies. It changed norms and modified the way that people communicate. Today , some traditional tools of communication disappeared or converged into another new tool. For example, newspapers are not only print any more. Moreover, people mostly read it via internet. Actually, internet is a completely integrated media. It includes television channels, radios, and websites of newspapers and magazines. The Internet can provide and collect all the communication in one hand. 

However, there is something that we get by in 21th century : Social Media. It is unique and only used via internet. Wikipedia says that social media refers to the means of interactions among people in which they create, share, and exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. People are not only receivers any more, they are also users. They don't passively receive messages which is produced by sources such as media barons, governments, advertisers or associations. Receivers give feedback to source and that makes them a source, too. They have a reciprocal relationship and direct each other. 

Every single person can use social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, websites of blogs, Pinterest,  Flickr, Foursquare, Google+, Linkedln, Myspace, etc. Most known and used social media websites are Facebook and Twitter. Twitter is kind of a micro blog website, in which people share anything they want, interact with another people and write down what they feel or think. Also, lots of companies or official associations and opinion leaders use these social media tools. This technology and incredible network turn the world into a village : The Global Village.

Education should be adapted to changes in the world. Technology takes an important part of these changes. Unless educators accept that innovations and reforms are important, they will be behind the time. The youth is very interested about social media. It can attract their attention to the lectures if it can be used affectively. It is up to the lecturers, who should be experts of media literacy. They should know what they can do with social media and should teach how to use it properly. 

People should always be well-educated in subjects they teach other people. That is the key of success. Without this, it would all be useless.

A New Page

My second day in Berlin introduced me to a new page of my life. Actually it is a real page : a blog. I am familiar to social media and  new media tools. But I can not say that I am an opinion leader. The question is: Why am I taking this course?

As a student of American Culture and Literature, I have an opportunity to take part in language teaching in the future. That's why education should be one of my interest. But I never choose the classical ways to do something. I move with times and it can be said that I am open to change. We experience new media now and it has many undiscovered features. New media and its literacy attracts my attention. That's why I found this course suitable for my expectations from summer school. Because this was the first time I took charge of my own course schedule. Suspension students mostly don't have opportunities to take the lectures which are fit for their interests. Anyway, I want to use the knowledge I'll gain from these three weeks in my education life, and maybe in my professional life in the future. New areas, like social media, make education more effective.

Of course, the time schedule and the location of the campus were almost the main reasons for me to select this course but I can say that I am taking it willingly.

I hope you are not bored in this one minute,
Newbie