What are some educational uses for social media in the K-12 classroom?

Why social media?

Social media becomes a global expansion of the immediate physical classroom space.

Media, in its more primitive form, was a unidirectional means of acquiring information, whether it be news, art, stories, or opinions.  As it has grown to evolve with the internet, the construct of social media champions the omnidirectional sharing of information.  Here, people meet in virtual commonplaces and interact with not only the media that is shared with them, but also the people who have chosen to be a part of this commonplace.

Social media in the classroom

Participating in social media is compelling - often addictive.  Different social media outlets, like in the physical world, champion different ideals and appeal to different people.  This allows for people to choose the scale of community with which they participate, whether it be a global news community such as CNN, or a smaller niche community such as Droid-Life, a community blog centered around Droid branded Android smartphones.

With the virtually limitless possibilities of communities, students could be encouraged to become an active member in a community based on their interests.  This promotes literacy, as writing becomes the main means of communication between the student, the media, and the community members.  This also promotes democratic practice; social media communities are typically founded on rules adapted by the community, and enforced by the members of that community.

Classrooms can also develop a social media community that is limited to its physically participating members.  Sites such as edmodo, ning, weebly allow teachers to create closed virtual classroom communities that students can participate in from school or home.  This can become a place to post classroom news and assignments, as well as allow a forum for students to communicate about various topics, including homework and projects.

Students can also develop their own social media hub, which provides them a forum for their own individual voice.  People can connect with them, comment, and share their posts with people outside of the poster's immediate following.  Sites such as tumblr and blogger allow for mixed-media sharing in a greatly personalized virtual environment.