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1) Motivation and Engagement
Games feel more like a form of entertainment than a method of learning. Because games include rules, definitive objectives, measurable goals and competition, they deliver an interactive experience that promotes a sense of achievement for all of the participants.

2) Immediate Feedback

Learners benefit from the immediate feedback that takes place during game playing. Instead of having to wait days or even weeks for an assignment or test grade, students get instantaneous results about whether or not they made a good decision

3)Cognitive Growth

Each time children play the same game, they perform cognitive actions such as recalling the rules, keeping track of hazards and remembering how the sequence of play works. Kids utilize their strategic thinking skills, including using logic to make sound decisions and to plan ahead by making predictions about what might happen next.

4)Digital Literacy

Digital literacy is also present in gaming and is an important skill for a lifetime of technology use. The Global Digital Citizen Foundation found that students need to acquire basic skills such as problem solving, developing creativity, analytic thinking and collaboration with others. Other important skills kids must have in the digital age include strong communication skills, ethics and accountability.

5)Skills Development

Educational games allow kids to practice and develop physical skills such as hand-eye coordination. They can also work on spatial skills and fine motor skills. Interactive games help kids to do this in an integrated learning environment.

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Educational Games

While playing games is a great leisure activity that people of all ages can enjoy, games can also be used for learning and educational experiences. Some games have been found to improve cognitive functions like memory and reasoning. Other games have the potential to reverse aging related brain function problems such as short term memory loss.

The decision making processes required to play certain games makes the brain work hard. These cognitive exercises can range from simple decisions to the formulation of complex strategies. Children and adults of all ages can benefit from the mental stimulation that game-based learning provides.

Game Based Learning Explained

Game-based learning is a teaching method that allows learners to explore different parts of games as a form of learning. Games can be designed by teachers and other education specialists in a way that balances academic subjects such as history with the strategies, rules and social aspects of playing a game.

As a side-effect of technological growth, game-based learning often generates negative connotations because of its close association with video games, which inevitably raises questions about its consequences. However, these games are typically designed at different ability levels and with the goal of helping the players to retain the information that they learn and apply it to other problem solving situations. Many of these games are relevant to real life situations and will help children to make informed decisions when doing so matters.

Game-based learning can also be done as a collaboration between learners and educators. This type of game creation enhances the playing experience and can lead to a depth and scope of game that are not available through other types of learning experiences.

Motivation and Engagement

Games feel more like a form of entertainment than a method of learning. Because games include rules, definitive objectives, measurable goals and competition, they deliver an interactive experience that promotes a sense of achievement for all of the participants.

Learners are often motivated by hands-on and active learning opportunities. The students are able to work on accomplishing a goal by choosing specific actions. They experience the consequences of the actions, which is one of the ways that a game-based learning experience is similar to real life.

The engagement between learners keeps them coming back to learn even more. The ongoing practices of decision making, planning and learning in a game environment are easy to translate to everyday situations that children will face as they become older.

Immediate Feedback

Learners benefit from the immediate feedback that takes place during game playing. Instead of having to wait days or even weeks for an assignment or test grade, students get instantaneous results about whether or not they made a good decision. They also get to find out the long-term effects of their decision making. One decision at the beginning of a game could have lasting effects throughout play. The rapid feedback helps kids realize when they made a good decision or a bad one.

Educators are able to get rapid feedback by watching how the children engage and react. While playing a game, children also have the freedom to make mistakes without any major consequences of physical or mental harm. They can experiment in a safe environment while playing games. Any mistakes that are made can be discussed in a group setting afterward. This allows students to reflect on what they did and perhaps change their strategy for the next time.

Cognitive Growth

Each time children play the same game, they perform cognitive actions such as recalling the rules, keeping track of hazards and remembering how the sequence of play works. Kids utilize their strategic thinking skills, including using logic to make sound decisions and to plan ahead by making predictions about what might happen next.

Children also develop strong problem solving skills. They will need to think quickly on the spot without being able to hesitate, which is a skill that will serve them throughout their lives. Learners also learn how to think creatively and plan out their moves a few steps ahead. Educational games can result in higher retention rates compared to book learning.

Digital Literacy

Digital literacy is also present in gaming and is an important skill for a lifetime of technology use. The Global Digital Citizen Foundation found that students need to acquire basic skills such as problem solving, developing creativity, analytic thinking and collaboration with others. Other important skills kids must have in the digital age include strong communication skills, ethics and accountability.

Skills Development

Educational games allow kids to practice and develop physical skills such as hand-eye coordination. They can also work on spatial skills and fine motor skills. Interactive games help kids to do this in an integrated learning environment.

Game-based learning allows kids to develop cognitive, social and physical skills simultaneously. This learning enhances essential life skills like cooperation and teamwork. The knowledge and skills acquired through game-based learning are retained longer than information from other learning methods.

Be sure to check out our articles on various educational games you can include in your classroom!

Image by Jan Kosmowski from Pixabay
About the Author: Joe Peters is a freelance writer and an ultimate tech enthusiast from Baltimore. When he is not working his magic as a marketing consultant, this incurable tech junkie enjoys reading about latest apps and gadgets or binge-watching his favorite TV shows. Feel free to reach him on

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While playing games is a great leisure activity that people of all ages can enjoy, games can also be used for learning and educational experiences. Some games have been found to improve cognitive functions like memory and reasoning. Other games have the potential to reverse aging related brain function problems such as short term memory loss.

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1)Physical Strain

It's easy for children to feel addicted to computer and online games, and they will sit in a certain spot for hours on end playing them. This long-term use can result in neck aches, back aches, repetitive strain injuries, eyestrain, headaches, fatigue and mood swings. To avoid these physical symptoms, encourage children to take breaks from the game. Allow them to play the educational game for 30 minutes to an hour, but make sure they stay active as well, by playing outside or on a school sports team.

2)Mental Effects

Educational games can affect children mentally. For instance, children may want to play until they win or advance in the game. According to studies done at Newman University College in Birmingham, England, this determination can cause low self-esteem or aggressive behavior, especially if children keep losing at the game. Additionally, because these games can become so addicting, overuse can cause social isolation and poor social skills. It’s important for your child to interact with the world around him and spend time with his friends and family.

3)Wasted Time

Educational games can also be a major time-waster, taking away from time that your child could spend studying, being active or participating in social events. Enforce rules with your child about gaming. Let him know that he needs to finish his homework or studying before playing any games, including educational games. Set time limits for playing educational games, to prevent him from wasting time.

4)Negative Behaviors

If a game requires children to “shoot” at objects or people, it may encourage violence. Your child may want to copy some of these behaviors with friends or family members. Before giving your child an educational game, investigate its content. If something within the game is objectionable, you can either prevent your child from playing it, or talk about the game beforehand. Let your child know that it’s only fantasy, and that she shouldn’t demonstrate these acts in real life.

5)Negative Behaviors

If a game requires children to “shoot” at objects or people, it may encourage violence. Your child may want to copy some of these behaviors with friends or family members. Before giving your child an educational game, investigate its content. If something within the game is objectionable, you can either prevent your child from playing it, or talk about the game beforehand. Let your child know that it’s only fantasy, and that she shouldn’t demonstrate these acts in real life.

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by Chanel AdamsUpdated September 22, 2017

playing video games image by Lisa Turay from Fotolia.com

Educational games played using the Internet, computer or television can help children learn about spelling, math, reading and other subjects. They may also increase students' interest in school. But even though they're helpful, educational games can have disadvantages, affecting students both mentally and physically. It's best to use educational games as a supplement. Reduce time spent playing these games by having children study or play outside.

Physical Strain

It's easy for children to feel addicted to computer and online games, and they will sit in a certain spot for hours on end playing them. This long-term use can result in neck aches, back aches, repetitive strain injuries, eyestrain, headaches, fatigue and mood swings. To avoid these physical symptoms, encourage children to take breaks from the game. Allow them to play the educational game for 30 minutes to an hour, but make sure they stay active as well, by playing outside or on a school sports team.

Mental Effects

Educational games can affect children mentally. For instance, children may want to play until they win or advance in the game. According to studies done at Newman University College in Birmingham, England, this determination can cause low self-esteem or aggressive behavior, especially if children keep losing at the game. Additionally, because these games can become so addicting, overuse can cause social isolation and poor social skills. It's important for your child to interact with the world around him and spend time with his friends and family.

Wasted Time

Educational games can also be a major time-waster, taking away from time that your child could spend studying, being active or participating in social events. Enforce rules with your child about gaming. Let him know that he needs to finish his homework or studying before playing any games, including educational games. Set time limits for playing educational games, to prevent him from wasting time.

Negative Behaviors

If a game requires children to "shoot" at objects or people, it may encourage violence. Your child may want to copy some of these behaviors with friends or family members. Before giving your child an educational game, investigate its content. If something within the game is objectionable, you can either prevent your child from playing it, or talk about the game beforehand. Let your child know that it's only fantasy, and that she shouldn't demonstrate these acts in real life.

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The Disadvantages of Using Games As a Learning Tool

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by Chanel AdamsUpdated September 22, 2017 playing video games image by Lisa Turay from Fotolia.com Educational games played using the Internet, computer or television can help children learn about spelling, math, reading and other subjects. They may also increase students' interest in school.

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1.Students learn through the process of playing the game. By playing a game, students may be able to understand a new concept or idea, take on a different perspective, or experiment with different options or variables.
2.Games provide a context for engaging practice. As a world languages teacher, I know students need a lot of practice to internalize important vocabulary and structures. However, for the practice to be meaningful, students must be engaged (and let’s be honest, countless workbook pages or textbook exercises are not always highly engaging!). Through lively games of charades, tounge twister, or others, my students willingly use the vocabulary and structures, repeatedly gaining much-needed practice.

3.Through games, students can learn a variety of important skills. There are countless skills that students can develop through game playing such as critical thinking skills, creativity, teamwork, and good sportsmanship

4.While playing games, students develop a variety of connections with the content and can form positive memories of learning.A positive emotional connection can facilitate learning. Furthermore, many games feature a variety of different stimuli; some students might remember the vocabulary words from acting them out, others remember reading the clues, and other students remember hearing classmates call out answers. Games can provide a variety of sensory experiences for students.

5.Games grab students’ attention and actively engage them. I find that because students really enjoy playing games, it is a good way to focus their attention and actively immerse them in Spanish. This can be especially useful in a wide variety of ways. For example, after a fire drill students sometimes have trouble settling down and returning to class. A game allows students to quickly engage and transition back to the content we were working on. After hours of state-mandated standardized tests, I find my students are often tired of sitting and full of energy; an energetic game with lots of movement may be just what they need.

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Thanks to its partnership with publisher Eye on Education, Education World is pleased to present this blog post by Rebekah Stathakis, author of A Good Start:147 Warm-Up Activities for Spanish Class.
I have always enjoyed playing games. My family regularly plays board games when we get together, I play games with my own children almost every day, and (not surprisingly) I have used a wide variety of games* as instructional tools in my classroom. I have never had a student ask "Why are we playing games?" Instead, students usually ask, "Can we play this again soon?"

Some people may wonder, "Why play games in a class?" I think it is important to articulate the value of game playing for myself, my students, colleagues, parents and others. Over the years, I have come up with my own list of the top five reasons I believe game playing is a powerful instructional tool.
*(By "game," I am referring to learning through play, active engagement and fun).

1. Students learn through the process of playing the game. By playing a game, students may be able to understand a new concept or idea, take on a different perspective, or experiment with different options or variables. For example, in my beginning Spanish classes, I often played a card game the first week of school. The students were in groups of 4-5. Each person read through the directions to the card game; then, the game was played in complete silence. After the first round, one student from each group (typically the "winner") moved to a different group. We typically played three or four rounds.

What my students did not initially know is that each group had received a different set of rules. When a student moved to a new group, he often felt confused and was unsure as to why the other people were playing differently (students usually say "they were playing wrong"). We used this as a starting point to discuss the experience of moving to a new country. Having moved from Spain to Venezuela to the United States, I shared my own experiences of learning new cultural rules and, at times, feeling like others were "playing wrong."

Then, we played the game again, but I allowed all the students to talk. Through discussions, students explained the rules to "newcomers," and the game ran more smoothly (and students reported feeling much more satisfied). At this point, at least someone said, "I get it. You are trying to show us this is why we need to learn another language. So we can all explain the rules to each other."

2. Games provide a context for engaging practice. As a world languages teacher, I know students need a lot of practice to internalize important vocabulary and structures. However, for the practice to be meaningful, students must be engaged (and let's be honest, countless workbook pages or textbook exercises are not always highly engaging!). Through lively games of charades, $25,000 pyramid, or others, my students willingly use the vocabulary and structures, repeatedly gaining much-needed practice.

3. Through games, students can learn a variety of important skills. There are countless skills that students can develop through game playing such as critical thinking skills, creativity, teamwork, and good sportsmanship. For example, with my Spanish students, circumlocution is a very important skill. By playing word guessing games, I have seen my students' ability to use circumlocution improve dramatically. I love to watch my students' creativity during game sessions (we have used Play-doh, drawing, acting and many other activities in our games).

One of my first years as a teacher, a student commented that he loved the verb game we were playing (a variation of "Yahtzee"). I told him I was glad he liked it, but that it wasn't my invention-it was based on a game he might have played at home. He then told me that he had never played games at home and I was the only adult who had ever sat down to play a game with him. At times, I am surprised that students don't logically think through how to play "Guess Who?" Then, I remind myself that this 14-year-old had never played a game with an adult before he came to my class! I see this as an opportunity to teach a wide range of life skills that don't necessarily show up in my curriculum's scope and sequence.

4. While playing games, students develop a variety of connections with the content and can form positive memories of learning. Some of my favorite classroom memories are from game times. I will never forget watching Miguel jump around the classroom to help his peers guess the word "Mono" (monkey). Fortunately, the students won't forget it either (and they all got "mono" right on their assessments). The fun, silly or interesting moments tend to stand out in students' memories, and they latch on to the vocabulary/structures we are studying. A positive emotional connection can facilitate learning. Furthermore, many games feature a variety of different stimuli; some students might remember the vocabulary words from acting them out, others remember reading the clues, and other students remember hearing classmates call out answers. Games can provide a variety of sensory experiences for students.

5. Games grab students' attention and actively engage them. I find that because students really enjoy playing games, it is a good way tofocus their attention and actively immerse them in Spanish. This can be especially useful in a wide variety of ways. For example, after a fire drill students sometimes have trouble settling down and returning to class. A game allows students to quickly engage and transition back to the content we were working on. After hours of state-mandated standardized tests, I find my students are often tired of sitting and full of energy; an energetic game with lots of movement may be just what they need.

Education World®
Copyright © 2013 Education World

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Why Use Games in Your Classroom? | Education World

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Thanks to its partnership with publisher Eye on Education, Education World is pleased to present this blog post by Rebekah Stathakis, author of A Good Start:147 Warm-Up Activities for Spanish Class . I have always enjoyed playing games.

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1. Have a concrete plan in mind

This sounds obvious, but it’s true. Are your students going to play every day or only on certain days? Before or after lectures? For how long? At home or in the classroom? How you administer the game is certainly up to you, but we’ve found that students are often so eager to play classroom video games that they end up asking for extra home assignments involving these games. In that case, we recommend you get students’ parents on board and make sure they’re aware that these games are being used as an essential component of their children’s coursework.

2. Decide on the right format

With the availability of smartphones and handheld devices, digital games are very popular among children and teens; these are an obvious choice for classroom games if your school has a computer lab or in-class devices.

If digital games won’t work, you can use other kinds of in-class activities to get students out of their seats and eager to participate, like group labs, in-class presentations, Jeopardy-style assessments, and more.

3. Assess effectiveness, gather feedback, and iterate

At the end of the day, you need to make sure the games you implement are actually helping students master the content and make progress in your classroom.

Moreover, even though you’re the sole authority in your classroom, students should have some say in how they learn. If you find that some students are struggling with the format you’ve chosen, you should seek feedback from everyone to ensure that your games are working well. For example, if difficulty doesn’t scale well and some students are consistently underperforming, you can split your class into tiered groups, where each tier receives challenges and activities that match its level of proficiency.

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Imagine you're sitting in a classroom and all the teacher does is stand in front of the smart board, project his or her notes, and read them verbatim. Like most people, you're likely to be bored out of your mind.

But classroom education doesn't have to be mind numbing! Using game-based learning in the classroom helps engage students by directly involving them in the learning process. The result? Improved retention of material, increased student engagement, and an overall enjoyable learning environment.

Let's take a look at how to successfully use gamification in the classroom.

What are the advantages of using games in the classroom?

1. Improved recall and retention

Attitude plays an important role in how well students are able to recall the material they learn. If all you do is ask students to read 40 pages a week from a dusty bio textbook, review PowerPoint slides, or study flashcards, they're going to quickly forget everything they "learn" - and try to move on from the trauma of memorizing the steps in the DNA replication process.

Classroom games (especially video games) encourage creative thinking and problem-solving. Ultimately, they help students recall information better, especially if they're visual learners who like to see the concepts they learn come to life.

Let's say you're teaching a history class and have assigned your students a chapter from a textbook on the forms of government ( yawn). Reading and note-taking are certainly important skills for students to practice, but those alone won't guarantee they'll remember everything come exam day (or even beyond your class).

A better approach? Combine readings and traditional lecturing with interactive classroom role-playing to help cement the material. For example, you could split your students up into different groups of governments (democracy, monarchy, dictatorship, etc.) and present them with a relevant social issue. Then, ask them to draw from their readings to create a short enactment of how their type of government would respond to that issue. Students could even debate the merits and drawbacks of each type of government. This kind of memorable and engaging experience will stick with students well beyond your class.

2. Development of problem-solving skills

Good games help us develop essential problem-solving skills. For children and teens, this is an especially important skill to learn early on, as it'll serve them well into adulthood.

Maybe you're teaching geometry. You could certainly show static images of shapes and calculations on your smart board, but let's face it: that's boring. As an alternative, you could incorporate real-world problem solving or labs into your classroom by giving students actual physical objects to interact with. You'd still teach the same topics, but with more emphasis on practicality

Regardless of what you're teaching, the key is to get students thinking and answering questions, not just reading and memorizing. There are tons of ways you can make your class's material relevant to the real world. Get creative!

3. Instant feedback

How do you measure whether students understood their readings or your lectures? You could quiz them the old-fashioned way, but some students are so intimidated by quizzes or outright bored with this traditional approach that they end up underperforming on these assessments. Classroom games not only improve student engagement but also give you instant, valuable feedback on how well students are really doing - because fun games open up even the shyest of students and get everyone involved.

How to choose the right games for your classroom

If you're teaching students about the wonders of cartoonish architectural warfare, perhaps Fortnite may be relevant in your classroom. But otherwise, not so much.

Obviously, the games you choose to include in your lessons need to align with your teaching goals. Generally, you should consider the following characteristics of effective classroom games:

Ease of use. Students shouldn't have to sift through manuals and YouTube tutorials to figure out what you're trying to get them to do. Effective classroom games are simple and to the point. At the same time, they need to be sufficiently challenging so class time isn't wasted on trivial activities.

Engagement. If it's a new class and you don't know your students too well, consider distributing a survey at the beginning of a unit to determine what type of activity your students would like to do. With a platform like Classcraft, for example, you can immerse students in a colorful and engaging RPG world written by none other than you. Whatever game you settle on needs to actually be enjoyable for most (if not all) students. Otherwise, what's the point?

Customization. What kid doesn't want to play as a Warlock rocking elder robes and spells while also learning about the structure and function of DNA? The best classroom games allow students to learn the material while giving them the creative freedom to express themselves in their own unique ways.

Purpose. Engaging classroom games also have meaningful and tangible goals for students to complete. In other words, you don't want to give your students games just for the sake of entertaining them - the games you settle on should combine fun with deliberate and well-designed lesson plans.

For classrooms specifically, you may want to consider some combination of educational video games, role-playing group activities, or exploratory labs to engage students in the material they're learning.

How to successfully implement classroom games

So, you've picked an appropriate and engaging classroom game, and your students are bubbling with anticipation. Now, you need to actually put your game to use in the classroom. Follow these steps to ensure success!

1. Have a concrete plan in mind

This sounds obvious, but it's true. Are your students going to play every day or only on certain days? Before or after lectures? For how long? At home or in the classroom? How you administer the game is certainly up to you, but we've found that students are often so eager to play classroom video games that they end up asking for extra home assignments involving these games (yes, you read that correctly - students asking for more homework). In that case, we recommend you get students' parents on board and make sure they're aware that these games are being used as an essential component of their children's coursework.

2. Decide on the right format

With the availability of smartphones and handheld devices, digital games are very popular among children and teens; these are an obvious choice for classroom games if your school has a computer lab or in-class devices.

If digital games won't work, you can use other kinds of in-class activities to get students out of their seats and eager to participate, like group labs, in-class presentations, Jeopardy-style assessments, and more. To that end, consider if you'd like your students to work independently or collaboratively. Most students are vocal and active in group work, and this allows them to develop their social and interpersonal skills. But not every size fits all - other students do prefer independent work. And in some classes, group work simply doesn't make sense.

Bottom line? Make sure the format you decide on works for you and your students and is easy to implement.

3. Assess effectiveness, gather feedback, and iterate

At the end of the day, you need to make sure the games you implement are actually helping students master the content and make progress in your classroom. With educational digital games, it's especially easy if your students have their own accounts and a built-in means of measuring progress and participation, like XP (Experience Points) earned. These metrics usually correlate well to the amount of effort students put into practicing the concepts they learn in class.

Moreover, even though you're the sole authority in your classroom, students should have some say in how they learn. If you find that some students are struggling with the format you've chosen, you should seek feedback from everyone to ensure that your games are working well. For example, if difficulty doesn't scale well and some students are consistently underperforming, you can split your class into tiered groups, where each tier receives challenges and activities that match its level of proficiency.

What educational game sites are good for the classroom?

There are plenty of platforms out there that you can use with your students. Of course, since this is a Classcraft blog, I'd like to briefly mention how things work with us. Essentially, we help instructors develop engaging, story-driven lesson plans and improve student behavior and performance.

You get the same level of control over your classroom as you would with a normal learning management system - but the actual process of developing and delivering the content is more fun for both you and your students. Check out our section on Classcraft for teachers if you're interested in learning more.

Gamification is the future

Nearly everyone is playing games outside the classroom - why not play them in the classroom, too? After all, the paramount goal of education is to remind students that learning is a fun and worthwhile endeavor. With classroom games, your students gain valuable computer literacy and social skills, retain more of the content you teach them, and come to class excited to learn.
Photo credit: Bru-nO / Unsplash.com ; Iakov Filimonov / Shutterstock.com

Aleksandr is a freelance editor and writer pursuing a Bachelor of Science in computer science at the University of Florida. His passion for programming and writing extends well beyond the classroom.

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How To Use Game-Based Learning in The Classroom - Classcraft Blog

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Imagine you're sitting in a classroom and all the teacher does is stand in front of the smart board, project his or her notes, and read them verbatim. Like most people, you're likely to be bored out of your mind. But classroom education doesn't have to be mind numbing!

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Social media is the collective of online communications channels dedicated to community-based input, interaction, content-sharing and collaboration. Websites and applications dedicated to forums, microblogging, social networking, social bookmarking, social curation, and wikis are among the different types of social media

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Social media is the collective of online communications channels dedicated to community-based input, interaction, content-sharing and collaboration. Websites and applications dedicated to forums, microblogging, social networking, social bookmarking, social curation, and wikis are among the different types of social media

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What is social media?

Social media is a collective term for websites and applications that focus on communication, community-based input, interaction, content-sharing and collaboration.

People use social media to stay in touch and interact with friends, family and various communities. Businesses use social applications to market and promote their products and track customer concerns.

Business-to-consumer websites include social components, such as comment fields for users. Various tools help businesses track, measure and analyze the attention the company gets from social media, including brand perception and customer insight.

Social media has enormous traction globally. Mobile applications make these platforms easily accessible. Some popular examples of general social media platforms include Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

What are the business applications of social media?

In business, social media is used to market products, promote brands, connect to customers and foster new business. As a communication platform, social media promotes customer feedback and makes it easy for customers to share their experiences with a company. Businesses can respond quickly to positive and negative feedback, address customer problems and maintain or rebuild customer confidence.

Social media is also used for crowdsourcing. That's the practice of using social network ing to gather knowledge, goods or services. Companies use crowdsourcing to get ideas from employees, customers and the general public for improving products or developing future products or services.

What some popular social media platforms provide and their target enterprise uses

Examples of business to business ( B2B) applications include the following:

Social media analytics. This is the practice of gathering and analyzing data from blogs and social media websites to assist in making business decisions. The most common use of social media analytics is to do customer sentiment analysis.

Social media marketing (SMM). This application increases a company's brand exposure and customer reach. The goal is to create compelling content that social media users will share with their social networks. A key components of SMM is social media optimization (SMO). Like search engine optimization, SMO is a strategy for drawing new visitors to a website. Social media links and share buttons are added to content and activities are promoted via status updates, tweets and blogs.

Social customer relationship marketing. Social CRM is a powerful business tool. For example, a Facebook page lets people who like a company's brand to like the business's page. This, in turn, creates ways to communicate, market and network. Social media sites give users the option to follow conversations about a product or brand to get real-time market data and feedback.

Recruiting. Social recruiting has become a key part of employee recruitment strategies. It is a fast way to reach a lot of potential candidates, both active job seekers and people who were not thinking about a job change until they say the recruitment post.

Enterprise social networking. Businesses also use enterprise social networking to connect people who share similar interests or activities. These applications include internal intranets and collaboration tools, such as Yammer, Slack and Microsoft Teams, that give employees access to information and communication capabilities. Externally, public social media platforms let organizations stay close to customers and make it easy to conduct market research.

What social media platforms that large businesses are using

What are the benefits of social media?

Social media provides several benefits, including the following:

User visibility. Social platforms let people easily communicate and exchange ideas or content.

Business and product marketing. These platforms enable businesses to quickly publicize their products and services to a broad audience. Businesses can also use social media to maintain a following and test new markets. In some cases, the content created on social media is the product.

Audience building. Social media helps entrepreneurs and artists build an audience for their work. In some cases, social media has eliminated the need for a distributor, because anyone can upload their content and transact business online. For example, an amateur musician can post a song on Facebook, get instant visibility among their network of friends, who in turn share it on their networks.

What are the challenges of social media?

Social media can also pose challenges to individual users, in the following ways:

Mental health issues. Overuse of social apps can result in burnout, social media addiction and other issues.

Polarization. Individuals can end up in filter bubbles. They create the illusion of open discourse when the user is actually sequestered in an algorithmically generated online community.

Disinformation. Polarized environments foster the spread of disinformation where the perpetrator's intent is to deceive others with false information.

Businesses face similar and unique social media challenges.

Offensive posts. Conversations on intranets and enterprise collaboration tools can veer off into non-work-related subjects. When that happens, there is potential for co-workers to disagree or be offended. Controlling such conversations and filtering for offensive content can be difficult.

Security and retention. Traditional data security and retention policies may not work with the features available in collaboration tools. This can raise security risks and compliance issues that companies must deal with.

Productivity concerns. Social interaction, whether online or in person, is distracting and can affect employees' productivity.

What are enterprise social media best practices?

It is important for companies to have a social media strategy and establish social media goals. These help to build trust, educate their target audience and create brand awareness. They also enable real people to find and learn about a business.

Here are some social media social media best practices for companies to follow:

Establish social media policies that set expectations for appropriate employee social behavior. These policies should also ensure social media posts do not expose the company to legal problems or public embarrassment. Guidelines should include directives for when an employee must identify them self as a company representative and rules for what type of information can be shared.

Focus on platforms geared to B2B marketing, such as Twitter and LinkedIn.

Put in place an engaging, customer-centric strategy in social media campaigns. An example would be to use Twitter to field questions from customers.

Include rich media, such as pictures and video, in content to make it more compelling and appealing to users.

Use social media analytics tools to measure user engagement with content and to keep on top of trends.

Use a conversational voice in posts that comes across as professional but not rigid.

Shorten long form content to make it social friendly. Lists and audio and video snippets are examples.

Embrace employees and customers talking positively about the organization and repost that content.

Check in on analytics and management tools frequently, if not on a daily basis, as well as the social media accounts.

What are the different types of social media?

The four main categories of social platforms are these:

1. Social networks. People use these networks to connect with one another and share information, thoughts and ideas. The focus of these networks is usually on the user. User profiles help participants identify other users with common interests or concerns. Facebook and LinkedIn are good examples.

2. Media-sharing networks. These networks focus is on content. For example, on YouTube, interaction is around videos that users create. Other media-sharing networks are TikTok and Instagram. Streaming platforms like Twitch are considered a subset of this category.

3. Community-based networks. The focus of this type of social network is in-depth discussion, much like a blog forum. Users leave prompts for discussion that spiral into detailed comment threads. Communities often form around select topics. Reddit is an example of a community-based network.

4. Review board networks. With these networks, the focus is on a review, usually of a product or service. For example, on Yelp, users can write reviews on restaurants and endorse each other's reviews to boost visibility.

What are examples of social media?

Here are some examples of popular web-based social media platforms:

Facebook is a free social networking website where registered users create profiles, upload photos and video, send messages and keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues.

LinkedIn is a social networking site designed for the business community. Registered members can create networks of people they know and trust professionally.

Pinterest is a social curation website for sharing and categorizing images found online. The main focus of Pinterest is visual, though it does call for brief descriptions of images. Clicking on an image will take a user to the original source. For example, clicking on a picture of a pair of shoes might redirect a user to a purchasing site; an image of blueberry pancakes might redirect to the recipe.

Reddit is a social news website and forum where site members curate and promote stories. The site is composed of hundreds of sub-communities called subreddits. Each subreddit has a specific topic, such as technology, politics or music. Reddit site members, also known as "redditors," submit content that members vote on. The goal is to elevate well-regarded stories to the top of the site's main thread page.

Twitter is a free microblogging service for registered members to broadcast short posts called tweets. Twitter members can broadcast tweets and follow other active users' tweets using several platforms and devices.

Wikipedia is a free, open content encyclopedia created through a collaborative community. Anyone registered on Wikipedia can create an article for publication; registration is not required to edit articles.

The takeaway

Social media is everywhere. Individuals and businesses of all sizes and types use it. It's a critical resource for engaging with customers, getting customer feedback and expanding company visibility.

An effective social strategy can enhance an organization's reputation and build trust and awareness among a growing network of connections. While some are more tailored to B2B promotion, no platforms are off limits.

Continue Reading About social media

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Social media is a collective term for websites and applications that focus on communication, community-based input, interaction, content-sharing and collaboration. People use social media to stay in touch and interact with friends, family and various communities. Businesses use social applications to market and promote their products and track customer concerns.

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Here are some prominent examples of social media:

Facebook is a popular free social networking website that allows registered users to create profiles, upload photos and video, send messages and keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues.

Twitter is a free microblogging service that allows registered members to broadcast short posts called tweets. Twitter members can broadcast tweets and follow other users' tweets by using multiple platforms and devices.

Google+ (pronounced Google plus) was Google's social networking project, designed to replicate the way people interact offline more closely than is the case in other social networking services. This website is no longer offered to new users and plans to shut down remaining accounts in 2019.

Wikipedia is a free, open content online encyclopedia created through the collaborative effort of a community of users known as Wikipedians. Anyone registered on the site can create an article for publication; however, registration is not required to edit articles. Wikipedia was founded in January of 2001.

LinkedIn is a social networking site designed specifically for the business community. The goal of the site is to allow registered members to establish and document networks of people they know and trust professionally.

Reddit is a social news website and forum where stories are socially curated and promoted by site members. The site is composed of hundreds of sub-communities, known as "subreddits." Each subreddit has a specific topic such as technology, politics or music. Reddit site members, also known as, "redditors," submit content which is then voted upon by other members. The goal is to send well-regarded stories to the top of the site's main thread page.

Pinterest is a social curation website for sharing and categorizing images found online. Pinterest requires brief descriptions but the main focus of the site is visual. Clicking on an image will take you to the original source. For example, clicking on a picture of a pair of shoes might redirect users to a purchasing site and an image of blueberry pancakes might redirect to the recipe

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•Educational Tool
•Enhance Student Engagement
•Improve Communication Among Students and Teachers
•Preparing Students for Successful Employment

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Dominican University’s School of Education

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Pros and Cons of Social Media in the Classroom -- Campus Technology

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While some educators embrace social media as an effective learning tool, others argue that it’s disruptive and ultimately hinders learning and instruction. Social media is already on campus--but does it belong in the classroom?

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Student distraction can become issue

Lack of control for inappropriate content

Relying on Social Media for all contact

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The use of social media in education provides students with the ability to get more useful information, to connect with learning groups and other educational systems that make education convenient. Social network tools afford students and institutions with multiple opportunities to improve learning methods.

•Connecting with experts on topics via social media
•Institutions communicate with students via YouTube and Facebook
•It helps in Research process
•Learners can build social credibility

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1)Use a Facebook Page to broadcast updates and alerts.

2)Use a Facebook Group to stream live lectures and host discussions.

3)Use Twitter as a class message board.

4)Use Instagram for photo essays.

5)Make a class blog for discussion

6)Assign blog post as essay

7)Make a class specific Pinterest board

8)Share school events and photo

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A game is a type of play where participants follow defined rules. (Houghton et al., 2013) discusses educational games as the utilization of games to support teaching and learning. Games can be used as a support tool to complement traditional teaching methods to improve the learning experience of the learners while also teaching other skills such as following rules, adaptation, problem solving, interaction, critical thinking skills, creativity, teamwork, and good sportsmanship.  Learning should not feel dull and it should not only mean rote memorization where students learn and grasp concepts through repetition or cramming. Teachers can take advantage of the energy and innovative thinking that is provided by using technology in learning to improve student performance.