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As a teacher it is important to figure out where the line is in terms of social media. Your social media accounts can make you a more inspirational teacher and a better colleague. But they can also make you the focus of a personnel investigation or unemployed. Use them wisely. Here-the dos and don'ts of social media for teachers.

Do stay in contact with your students through the power of texts.

The fact that virtually every student now carries a phone offers a real opportunity for improving their academic performance. Reminders about due dates, answers to questions about homework, and tips sent out the night before a big test are all wonderful ways to use texts to help students. Always do this through some professional third-party app like Remind.

Don't connect directly with students.

This seems, perhaps, too obvious for words. Still, there are always stories of teachers who have gotten themselves in trouble by being too friendly. Never give a kid your personal cell number in order to text each other, no matter how good your intentions are. And do not follow a student's social media account. Refrain from commenting on something a student has posted online unless it is explicitly an academic assignment.

Do follow colleagues you know, respect and like.

Like any job, having some social connections to your peers can really help improve both your work environment and your collaboration with colleagues. Teaching can be an isolating profession as we all disappear into our separate rooms. Knowing when a fellow teacher has cause to celebrate or did something amazing offers the opportunity to become part of that celebration and connect. Social media is great for that.

Don't follow colleagues you don't know, don't respect or don't like.

If they are not someone you know, you are now a troll. And if they are not someone you respect, you are now associated with them anyway. Additionally, if you don't get along, you are going to be tempted to be snarky. Better left alone.

Do show what you are proud of.

I have always had a passion for photography and use my Instagram account (@jeremy.knoll) to share the images I create with the world. Many of my students follow me and it gives them some insight into who I am beyond the classroom. I never post anything personal, controversial or inappropriate. Just beautiful pictures.

Don't share personal pictures or tag other teachers.

No booze. No beach pics. If any of your social media platforms are open to the public, you need to realize that students and parents will be checking them out. Sharing personal information is generally a bad idea. Tagging fellow teachers is a terrible idea. If other teachers want to share something, leave it to them.

Do encourage students to make the most of their social media accounts.

Snapchat is the perfect example. Lots of students use Snapchat as an exercise in being a self-centered and vacuous teenager-all duck lips and pouty faces. Others use it to post pics of things that should remain private. There is another option: Snapchat can be a platform for some really creative storytelling. By using that platform as the foundation for a class assignment, we can show them there is more to social media than selfies.

Don't use social media to tell stories that don't reflect well on you or your profession.

Facebook is a place where too many teachers complain about students, administrators or inexplicably the hours they have to work. In today's environment especially, teachers are dealing with a PR crisis. With public schools under attack from politicians who want to privatize education, the only narrative coming from us should be one of caring for kids, loving our craft and working hard.

Do talk to your students about the ramifications of their social posting.

Actively search for teachable moments when you can bring the concept of responsible social media into your lessons. Sharing articles you find about employers scanning the social media accounts of prospective employees, discussing the permanence of social posts and how they can haunt you are lessons kids need to hear early and often.

Don't post during school hours.

We are all being paid to prepare lessons, teach and grade. We are being paid with our community's tax dollars. It sends a bad message when a parent who is helping to pay our salaries sees that we are spending our time taking selfies, promoting our own fitness blogs, or tweeting about the new Coach bag we just found on sale. Socialize during social hours. Work during work hours.
Do you use social media to connect with your students? Any tips for managing it? Add your comments below.

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The Dos and Don'ts of Social Media for Teachers - WeAreTeachers

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We live in a time of remarkable technological advancements, and remarkable over-sharing. Here, dos and don'ts for managing social media for teachers.

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1. The Empowering Minds program is easy-to-use. We designed it with the busy teacher in mind. In practice, this means we make sure that the lessons require minimal prep. We even check that lessons will work if a teacher doesn't have a printer, projector, etc. Everything is online so that there are no books or props to keep track of.

2. We do mindfulness-based SEL. What is that? It means that not only do some of our lessons explicitly teach mindfulness, but we also start every lesson with a short "mindful moment" and when lessons explore other topics, like apologizing, we often rely on mindfulness as part of the skill (e.g. take a deep breath and calm down before you apologize...). It also means that every lesson is directly connected with CASEL's five SEL competencies of self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision making, social awareness, and relationship skills.

3. Our program is accessible for both students and teachers. We don't think SEL or mindfulness should be complicated and our lessons make sure that's what students and teachers think too.

4. Our program is designed for easy school-wide implementation. With the same theme across K-8 and across 9-12 each week, administrators can tie the school's SEL work together and even have older kids work with younger ones.

Here's some additional information about our program if you are interested.

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SEL resources for teachers that your students will love! Our lesson plans include stories, games, role-plays, and discussion prompts.

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Curated for Educators and Families

Support Social-Emotional Well-Being

When children practice social-emotional skills throughout their day, they learn to understand emotions and cope with everyday challenges. Use and share these research-based social-emotional learning (SEL) resources to empower children to thrive at school, at home, and everywhere in between.

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SEL Activities and Resources | Second Step

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Use and share these research-based SEL activities and resources to empower children to thrive at school, at home, and everywhere in between.

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100+ EdTech Tools and Websites for Teachers and Students - Educators Technology

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I’m super excited to share what I consider a treasure trove of EdTech tools and resources for both teachers and students—stuff you can use not just in the classroom, but also for those enriching learning moments outside of it. Over my decade-plus journey in the EdTech blogging sphere, I’ve had the p…

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Canva is a free-to-use online graphic design tool. Use it to create social media posts, presentations, posters, videos, logos and more.

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ClassDojo helps teachers, parents, and students build amazing classroom communities.

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Sometimes, as teachers, our greatest sources of growth and inspiration don't come from within the four walls of our schools.

Social media has become a powerful catalyst for educator support and development. Groups, forums, virtual events, and even hashtags provide spaces for teachers to build relationships with educators and education leaders from all over the world. There is no better place to build one's personal learning network (PLN) than through social media.

In an earlier post - What Is A Personal Learning Network? - we shared a video where Marc-André Lalande defines a PLN as "a way of describing the group of people that you connect with to learn their ideas, their questions, their reflections, and their references. Your PLN is not limited to online interactions, but it is that online, global interactive part that really makes it special. It is personal because you choose who's part of that group; you choose if you want to lurk-just check out what people are saying-or if you share; because you choose when to do so, and how to do so."

A PLN is different from a PLC (professional learning community). PLNs are less formal and self-determined, whereas PLCs are typically defined by structural parameters and some sort of accountability system. PLNs take place across social media platforms and internet communities where communication is open and unlimited, whereas PLCs typically occur within a classroom setting and center on specific goals or targets.

Most of you are familiar with social media platforms like Facebook, Pinterest, and (most recently) TikTok as places where teachers can join groups, share content, and seek support from educators all over the globe. There are many other valuable social networks that serve as useful spaces for teachers to grow, innovate, and lead. We've compiled a list of 20 that are most effective in uniting teachers. Let us know which ones are your favorite, or which, if any, we may have left off our list.

The Best Social Networks For Teachers To Grow Their PLNs

Preface: In January of 2022, we opened a community for teachers that has many social network features (and more to come). Since it just started, it is by no means anywhere close to being among the 'best social media sites for teachers,' but we do hope it can one day be included in that conversation and that you will join us and grow with us. You can find the network here: TeachThought University
BetterLesson
BetterLesson is committed to reimagining professional learning. They offer 1-on-1 coaching, design workshops, learning series, and learning walks for educators, coaches, and administrators in both virtual and in-person settings.

No need to reinvent the wheel - teachers can find, import, and share activities, lesson plans, and full units in this learning object repository.

With over 85,000 members representing 200+ countries, Classroom 2.0 is a network for teachers to participate in webinars, topic-specific forum discussions, virtual conferences, and book clubs.

Webinars, certificates, and professional learning - oh, my! EdWeb is a social networking platform that offers new resources and more on a monthly basis.
Facebook
There are countless Facebook groups that educators can join in order to connect with other teachers, share resources, and spark innovation. Consider the Global Educator Collective, Cult of Pedagogy, and TeachThought (naturally!)
Flipped Learning Global Initiative
This global coalition of educators, teachers, professional development facilitators, and other experts from 49 countries is dedicated to expanding flipped learning. They host a community of members and offer professional development courses for a range of flipped learning topics.
Freshman Transition Network
The Freshman Transition Network is specifically dedicated to helping rising 8th graders transition into high school. They offer curriculum, blog posts, discussion forums, book recommendations, and more.

Peruse posts and stories from teachers all over the planet - from classroom management strategies to lesson plan ideas and wall posters, Instagram is great for connecting with educators and finding ready-to-use resources.

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) offers flexible online courses for teachers of all levels to develop their digital competencies related to pedagogy.

Connect with like-minded teachers, stay up-to-date with current trends and hot topics in education, and look for education-related job postings on this professional networking site.

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is one of the best resources for ELA teachers and any educators who teach literacy. NCTE collaborates with its own members to offer journals, publications, resources, strategies, and an annual convention.

With Pinterest, it's easy to swandive down the rabbithole of any teaching topic imaginable. Create your own Pinterest boards related to back-to-school activities, lesson plans, rubrics, classroom decorations, and share your own resources, as well.

This free community is committed to guiding teachers toward success in the classroom. Users can search through a library of topics, conversations, and problems solved by a community of expert teachers.

Whatever you're looking for, you can find at Teachers Network! Their resources include leadership institutes, how-to articles, teaching videos, lesson plans, curriculum units, and grant opportunities.

At Teaching Channel, educators can subscribe to videos and professional development courses in topics like culturally responsive teaching, differentiation, classroom culture, digging into data, and attention techniques.

The Current provides a forum for teachers to share stories, resources, and reflections. This site is powered by the National Writing Project, a nationwide network of teachers working to improve the teaching of writing in American schools.
The Educator Collaborative
The Educator Collaborative is a K-12 literacy think tank and educational consulting group striving to help teachers improve their effectiveness. They provide on-site literacy PD services, as well as a variety of remote learning supports, blogs, and literacy resources.

TikTok has taken over teaching! There are thousands of teachers sharing ideas, activities, questions, resources, and comic relief on this app - save your favorite videos and contribute your own!
Twitter
One of the best social media platforms for teachers - Twitter lets users search for any topic by #hashtag. Whether you're searching for #SELresources, books for #reluctantreaders, or #differentiationstrategies, Twitter has you covered with the most recent, up-to-date contributions from teachers and education organizations all over the world.

There are tons of useful YouTube video channels for teachers to watch, comment on, and share. Some of our favorites include Ted ED, Crash Course, and Khan Academy.

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The 20 Best Social Networks For Teachers

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Some of the best social networks for teachers include Facebook, TikTok, ISTE, NCTE, the Educator Collaborative, and more!

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New York State Council of Educational Associations - Home

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Technology Solutions That Drive Education

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Education today is more than lessons and classrooms. Today's teachers and families expect learning experiences that prepare students for a digital future, powered by innovative educational technology. Staying relevant means keeping pace with a tech landscape that's evolving more rapidly than ever.

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Education today is more than lessons and classrooms. Today's teachers and families expect learning experiences that prepare students for a digital future, powered by innovative educational technology. Staying relevant means keeping pace with a tech landscape that's evolving more rapidly than ever.

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NYSED General Information: (518) 474-3852

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The last few years have witnessed a dramatic change in the learning model. The way students are being taught today is very different from the teaching methods that were adopted a few decades back. Technology has brought about various changes in the way education is delivered and received.

From self-learning to flipped classroom approach, we have seen technology make a considerable impact on the learning and teaching methodologies.

With numerous benefits to offer, digital learning has become an important part of the education system. Information and communication technology (ICT) brings in multiple benefits for digital learning and student-centric engagement. The ICT trends in education shaped the schools and universities to implement the latest in education technology in order to improve the teaching and learning process.

Top 10 Trends in Education Technology -

1. Collaborative Learning

The innovative trends in educational technology have made it possible for everyone to stay connected. The impact of the current trends of ICT in the field of education has paved multiple options. We connect, discuss and enact upon situations collaboratively. This collaborative approach has gained importance in the learning process as well. In a classroom learning model, teachers encourage collaboration by assigning group activities and tasks.

When students team up together to work on a project or solve a problem, it builds their collaborative skills. Working together improves their understanding and increases engagement.

Although eLearning is quite popular, it includes collaboration with features to share and discuss. In a traditional teaching model, a teacher enters a classroom, speaks for about 30 minutes, and leaves when the bell rings. But today, technology has bridged the gap between teachers and students.

You would find teachers and students interacting with each other more often. Teachers are far more accessible now and act as mentors to help students in their overall development. This collaborative learning approach helps students to interact with their peers and build their interpersonal skills.

2. Learning Outside the Classroom Environment

Various technology trends in education keep changing the digital world. Mobile-based devices have taken learning outside of the classroom. With mLearning and eLearning growing in popularity, students can learn at their own pace and time. This trend is expected to keep up as it is a convenient method of delivering as well as receiving the education. Designing mobile-first responsive content helps students to go through their courses anytime and anywhere.

Internet connection is no longer an issue with offline reading capabilities. eBooks can be embedded with many features to enhance the learning experience. Complete with annotation tools, bookmarks, hyperlinks, dictionary, search feature, an eBook makes learning more flexible. Most of the educational institutes today have adopted mobile learning into their learning ecosystems, benefiting students and teachers alike.

Who would have ever thought that social media would one day be accepted as part of the learning process? The technological trends in teaching and learning are rapidly changing every day. With kids as young as eleven having social media profiles on various platforms, you can't really expect to keep them away from social media for too long. So, teachers found a way to utilize this trend and turn it into a powerful tool for enhancing the learning process.

Educational institutes have started using social media as a communication tool, where students can interact with their peers and faculty members. Usually, students share videos and images with their friends and followers. But with social features embedded in their eBooks, they can share study materials, opinions, projects etc.

They can comment on someone else's post or share links to other websites, all the while building peer networks and enhancing the online learning experience. Teachers allow the use of social media as part of the learning model because it helps students to stay interested in their course and increases engagement. Social media is here to stay and incorporating it into learning modules will build a culture of collaboration and sharing, leading to an improved learning experience.

4. Interactivity in Classroom

Bringing technology into the classroom has made classrooms lively and interactive. With eBooks, the course content can be embedded with videos, augmented reality, audio files etc. Unlike a printed book, eBook allows for more interaction to take place in the classroom. The flipped classroom model has allowed students to do all the learning at home and all the practical work at school.

All these new technologies have brought about a change in the way that classes used to function traditionally. Teachers can now assist and guide students with their homework in class.

They can have discussions and activities in classrooms, creating an interactive environment where students are completely involved in the learning process. Creating interaction and engagement has become a priority for many schools and universities. This style of learning has seen a growth in recent years for its ability to keep students engaged in the classrooms. Here's a list of the 10 best ebook creators
Related: How to Create an Interactive eBook

5. Data Management & Analytics

Managing data has become ever so convenient and important with the advent of technology in the education system. Teachers can now have complete analytics of a student's performance, such as the number of tests attempted, chapters completed etc.

Homework and assignments can be assigned to the entire class at once and teachers can evaluate the results online. This kind of automation in classroom activities has enabled teachers to focus more on their course modules and offer in-depth guidance.

Analytics has become an important part of any online learning model as it enables the measurement of a child's engagement and academic performance. According to the data available, teachers can develop action plans to improve students' performance.

In case the data reveals a collective issue or a troubling pattern with an individual student's performance, it can be highlighted, and appropriate measures can be taken. The remote monitoring of student activities enables teachers to offer personalized training if required. All these factors have contributed to making data management and data analytics an important part of education.
Related: 5 Ways to Use Learning Analytics in K-12 Education

6. Immersive Learning with AR and VR

With the introduction of augmented reality and virtual reality into the education system, the classroom learning experience has undergone a tremendous change. Learning has become much more immersive than traditional methods. Unlike plain images and hands-on experiments in the lab, students can now view enhanced versions of the image and objects on their mobile devices. The augmented and virtual reality trends in education technology are making learning a compelling experience.

While augmented reality provides an enhanced view of a real image, virtual reality gives a false perception of reality around them. Both these techniques have taken digital learning to new dimensions. AR and VR are increasingly being used to explain complex concepts. From atoms to planets, and from Egypt to the Colosseum, students can explore and learn so much more.
Related: How Augmented Reality Can Transform the Classroom? Click on the image below to view an infographic about the Future of Education with Augmented Reality

7. Gamification in Education

The latest trends in educational technology have been gaining popularity for the simple reason that it increases student engagement. We have seen gamification being used in classrooms in different forms such as leaderboards, reward points, badges, stickers etc. Of all the trends in education technology, gamification is the one trend which guarantees an increase in participation, engagement, and competition.

Students become actively involved in the classroom activities to increase their scores and leaderboard rankings. And the need to lead the scoreboards result in improved performance and better retention.

Gamification incentivizes students to learn and practice, improving the overall learning process. So, teachers use gamification as a means to increase engagement, boost motivation and create an interactive classroom environment.

Either ways, it is helpful in increasing students' morale and encourages them to perform better every time. We can see this trend being utilized further, in more innovative ways to enhance the learning model.

8. Online Data and Cybersecurity

The need for data security is at an all-time high. While cloud storage has become the norm these days, it could prove disastrous at times. People and institutions prefer cloud storage because it is a shared environment and it makes accessing data easy for everyone. With that being said, there have been a lot of instances in the past where online data has been hacked for ransom.

Cyber threats have been a cause of worry for many institutions- educational and otherwise. Student information like name, email address, date of birth and phone numbers cannot be compromised. Test results and assignments are also stored on the cloud by many. Education institutes are implementing the best data security measures to protect their online data and their students' interests.

While we are at the topic of cybercrimes, we must also address cyberbullying. In 2017, 14.5% of students in the U.S. reported that they were bullied electronically. Cyberbullying could lead to dangerous outcomes, and hence schools and universities are taking appropriate precautionary measures to prevent online bullying. Cybersecurity, therefore, is one trend which holds a lot of importance in these times.

9. Personalized Learning

Personalized learning is an approach to education that tailors teaching and learning to individual students' needs and preferences. In 2023, personalized learning could become even more prevalent thanks to advances in artificial intelligence and data analytics. Teachers and educational technology platforms may use AI algorithms to analyze student data and provide personalized recommendations on content, pacing, and learning strategies.

10. Global Online Learning Communities

Online platforms are connecting students and educators from around the world. This global perspective fosters cultural understanding and collaboration. It also opens up opportunities for diverse learning experiences and cross-cultural projects.

Conclusion

It was only a matter of time before the education sector was taken over by technology. Although the acceptance rate was low in the beginning, it gradually gained momentum. Teaching and learning methods have undergone a significant change due to all the trends in education technology. Every year, new trends emerge to provide something new to the learners.

They say change is constant, similarly, innovations in the field of technology are also constant. And certain innovations can be implemented in the education system for improving their learning and development process. The result of these innovations become a trend which then leads to better teaching and learning techniques.

To know more, write to us at KITABOO@hurix.com.
Related:

DISCOVER HOW AN INTERACTIVE EBOOK PUBLISHING & DELIVERY PLATFORM CAN HELP YOU

Kitaboo is a cloud-based content platform to create-publish & distribute interactive mobile-ready ebooks.

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10 Trends in Education Technology That Will Have A Major Impact

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Discover the latest trends in education technology that are poised to revolutionize the way we teach and learn. In this blog post, we explore the top trends that will have a major impact on education in 2023, including personalized learning, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, and more.

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With remote learning and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), social media is an integral part of education more than ever. There are many different ways to use social media for education inside and outside the classroom.

Because we believe in the power of social media to make nearly anything easier, we will share 15 ways to use social media for education, based on insights shared with us from top institutions.

Benefits of social media in education

Here are our top three benefits of using social media in education:

Benefit 1: Extends learning opportunities

Social media unleashes more learning opportunities. Online classes and remote jobs are the new norm, so teaching students to work from a distance becomes a necessity for digital literacy and preparing them for their careers. Social media platforms support educators in various ways from sharing announcements to holding live lectures.

Benefit 2: Create connections with students and alumni

Social provides a way for institutions to quickly and directly communicate with students, faculty, staff and alumni, fostering connections across various audiences. Social content can attract prospective students, keep parents informed, grow alumni networks, promote on-campus events and more.

Focusing on nurturing community and publishing engaging content can also help increase enrollment. According to our Higher Education Social Media Benchmarks for 2023 report, 41% of school officials can directly attribute increased enrollment to social strategy.

For example, Keele University said their campus photos on Instagram help students solidify their college decision. One student came to the university because she saw their posts on Facebook and it helped confirm her decision, later becoming a digital ambassador for the school.

Benefit 3: Build brand identity

Social supports and amplifies university branding. University marketing teams use social media to maintain a positive brand reputation for their institutions. With the right strategy, colleges and universities can attract more students, increase endowments, promote events or initiatives and improve alumni relations.

Social media in the classroom

From preschool to college, there are so many methods for using social media in the classroom to communicate and educate. Here are seven ways to use social media in the classroom across platforms:

1. Use posts to broadcast updates and alerts

Instructors and colleges can meet students where they are by incorporating social media platforms they're likely already familiar with like Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter).

Have students follow a class Facebook Page or join a Facebook Group to view posts about course updates, homework assignments and tests. Universities can have publicly accessible pages dedicated to specific schools or departments that students can see even if they aren't active on Facebook.

When using social media for education, it's important to maintain a professional boundary. Email students a direct link to the Facebook Group for access and avoid sending friend requests. Groups are the perfect "home base," especially for online courses because it makes it easy to connect with students. Similarly, instructors and departments can use Posts on X to keep students informed.

2. Use live streaming for lectures and discussions

Instructors can use Facebook Groups, Instagram Live, YouTube Live or LinkedIn Live to stream lectures and facilitate more accessible learning. If a student can't come to the lecture hall, they can join online or review later. Adding live captions helps students who may be deaf or hard of hearing, non-native speakers, or learn visually. And platforms like Instagram and YouTube allow live streams to be recorded, providing students with review material for midterms and finals season.

Recorded live streams also widen the institution's reach and authority by making lectures available to scholars and professors from other colleges, states or countries.

3. Use X for class updates and more

X is a great option for providing quick updates and reminders to students. Teachers can create a single handle per class and reuse it every year, or they can create a new handle each school year. Use X threads to share resources like practice quizzes, interesting perspectives or thought-provoking quotes to foster critical thinking. Hashtags can mark specific discussions or chats with guest speakers.

4. Create a class blog for discussions and cross-channel learning

Blogs are another great outlet for incorporating social media in the classroom. Students can link to the class blog on other social channels. For example, a student might share a photo from their visual essay on LinkedIn to attract the attention of recruiters for job or internships. Using blogs as a semester-long assignment can improve students' short-form writing and critical thinking.

Don't feel limited to just an English or writing class; this use of social media in education can be transferred across all subjects. There are also several platforms professors can use to create class blogs, such as Tumblr, Medium or WordPress. The course syllabus, updates and resources can be shared on the blog as well.

5. Use Instagram for digital storytelling

Have students practice storytelling on Instagram by creating class-specific accounts where they can present photos or graphics (and delete them once the course is over, if they so choose). This can work especially well in visual-heavy classes: Have photojournalism students post essays or challenge the social media marketing class to create a faux-brand campaign.

6. Create a class-specific Pinterest board

Educators can use Pinterest to prepare and organize resources, lesson plans and worksheets for their classes in one place. They can also set up Pinterest boards for each of their classes and save pins that are relevant to lessons.

Create boards according to class or subject, and create sub-topic boards for weekly units, projects or worksheets. Pinterest can also be useful for students to curate a digital bibliography for research projects, papers or group assignments. Students can pin websites, books or videos to a board on a single topic and refer back to it when it's time to write an essay or thesis.

7. Prep for post-graduation and create alumni relationships

LinkedIn can help current students develop networking skills, craft their personal brand and connect with alumni. Flexing these career muscles could help them earn internships, gain mentors and secure job offers before they walk across the stage on graduation day.

Institutions can use LinkedIn for university colleges as well. For example, a business school may have several private LinkedIn Groups for regional alumni chapters to connect them with students and faculty for internships, fundraising, volunteer opportunities and events.

Encouraging students to post relevant articles, projects and research, internship experiences and other academic accomplishments helps the university develop social proof on the platform. This is also an excellent example of the importance of incorporating advocacy into your social strategy.

Social media for education marketing

Just as there were many ways to use social media in the classroom, there are also many uses for social media in education marketing. Social media marketing can help if you're looking to reach a larger audience for your college or university. Let's dive into how social media can empower education marketing.

8. Leverage TikTok creators and influencers for user-generated content

Although many public universities have banned TikTok from campus Wi-fi, some educators and institutions embrace the app to educate and connect with students. Student and teacher influencers can provide user-generated content that satisfies a prospective student's desire to see authentic content from their peers and future professors.

For example, Chapman University professor @itsmattprince went viral after challenging his class to earn 1 million likes on a TikTok video in exchange for canceling their final:

Fun, yet real-world applications like this illustrate the power of social influence-plus who doesn't love a canceled final?

9. Include social media links on your school website

In the Higher Education Social Media Benchmarks for 2023 report, we found that 68% of high school students use social channels to research schools. Many parents and prospective students will check a school's website first if they're interested, and offering even more ways to follow the school creates a different insight into campus life.

Make it easy for parents and students to find your school's social media profiles by adding links to the website's main navigation or creating a social media directory that houses them all in one place.

10. Give a glimpse into student life through photo and video

If you want to attract new students and parents to your school, share photos of campus events to showcase what they could expect. Use short-form video like Reels, TikTok or YouTube Shorts to help prospective students envision themselves attending college there.

Highlighting events, sports, extracurriculars and the beauty of campus can make your school stand out from the rest. While school and university websites tend to follow the same mold, social media allows you to be more unique and casual like this Barbenheimer-inspired post from the University of Georgia:

11. Create alumni community groups

Many alumni want to remain involved with their alma mater after graduation. Creating a dedicated community via Facebook Groups or LinkedIn Groups can increase engagement.

For example, the University of Newcastle has over 148,000 alumni. Their team features current students, staff and alumni to amplify the career opportunities that manifest from being part of their community.

Alumni groups, groups for different graduating classes or departments, and groups for different extracurriculars and organizations allow former and current students to engage and meet others with common interests. Take a look at our alumni engagement best practices guide to learn more ways to keep the school spirit flowing.

12. Incorporate a social media crisis strategy

How would you communicate to the entire campus during an emergency? Whether it's a fire, tornado or other immediate campus emergency, a social media crisis plan can help institutions proactively prepare. Keep parents and students updated on the situation by sharing information about the crisis and if authorities are involved. Many campuses have automated messaging alerts set up, but using social also enables people to be updated in real time.

Institutions can use social listening, which involves analyzing conversations and trends related to your brand, to aid with public relations crisis management plans. Seneca College leveraged Sprout's capabilities a few years ago when 12,000 staff members went on strike. Using Brand Keywords and the Smart Inbox, the social media team was able to sort through and respond to a deluge of inbound feedback from concerned students.

13. Use chatbots to support students outside of office hours

In our higher education social media playbook, we talk about the importance of social customer service. Using automated replies or chatbots can help the student body get their questions answered immediately, or at least guide them to a solution faster.

Keele University used chatbots via Sprout's Bot Builder to respond immediately to common questions about courses and bursary information. In the five months after using chatbots, nearly 500 conversations addressed a variety of topics from housing applications to international student services.

14. Iterate social strategy to create student-centric content

Using social media for education allows educators and marketers to meet students where they are by connecting on channels they use everyday. Social creates an opportunity for institutions to be more even more student-centric. But to keep students engaged, institutions will need to produce content that caters to the wants and needs of their audience(s).

If you want to manage your institution's social channels successfully, you'll need to iterate and improve your strategy by reviewing the top and lowest performing content.

Dartmouth College uses Sprout's Sent Messages report to determine content performance and iterate their overall social strategy as needed. After reviewing which posts performed well, they schedule new posts with similar content to inform their content calendar.

15. Manage your communities all under one roof

Social media empowers universities to bring their various audiences together. Many institutions have an extensive community of prospective and current students, faculty, staff and alumni, but this causes a common pain point: decentralization.

Since colleges and universities have multiple social media accounts, it can be difficult to manage them all seamlessly. However, using a social media management software centralizes multiple networks in one place, so overseeing various accounts becomes more manageable and scalable.

Texas A&M University, one of the largest public universities in the nation, uses social media to connect with these various communities. The university has hundreds of departments, 16 colleges and 19 NCAA sports, so using a social media management tool is essential. Their social team uses Sprout's publishing suite to discuss strategy, collaborate on content creation and provide feedback to interns all on one platform. In just six months, between August 2020 and January 2021, Texas A&M earned over 131 million impressions and 8.3 million content engagements across X, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

A tool like Sprout Social can help make social media management a breeze, regardless of whether you're a solo marketer or a full marketing department. Multiple users can use the Sprout platform to create content with consistent messaging and schedule posts across networks at the best time using our ViralPost® feature.

And the Post Performance report takes the guesswork out of identifying what content resonates because teams can pinpoint top posts and view engagement across channels.

Sprout enables you to monitor and manage multiple accounts across different networks, which is ideal for educational institutions. Each department or teacher at your school might have their own separate social media accounts for specific information, and a social media management tool can help you ensure the right posts are going out on each of these accounts.

And if there is news or content relevant to multiple departments, Sprout enables users to share the same content across multiple profiles with a single click.

Start using social media for education

Using social media for education goes beyond the classroom because it helps educators shape a modern holistic learning experience, build community and establish academic authority.

Take some of these ideas for a test drive, and sign up for a free Sprout Social trial to help you manage it all.

Jamia Kenan

Jamia Kenan is a Content Specialist for Sprout Social based in Atlanta, GA. When she's not writing, you'll find her talking about the Internet from the latest TikTok trends to NFTs and the metaverse. She also enjoys trying new restaurants, hiking and watching movies.

Read all articles by Jamia Kenan

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15 ways to use social media for education

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There are many different ways to use social media for education, so we've identified 15 ways to use it, inside and outside the classroom.

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