Learning Through Social Media

Synonyms

Collaboration; Social learning; Social network learning

Definition

Social media is a set of Internet-based technologies designed to be used by three or more people. It is rarer than it sounds. Most interaction supported by technology is narrowcast (one to one), often with a telephone call or an e-mail message; niche-cast (one to small groups), for instance using e-mail distribution lists or small-circulation newsletters; or broadcast (one to many), as in large-scale online magazines or a radio show.

Learning through social media is what it sounds like – learning with and from others using social media. Learning socially has been around for a long time and naturally occurs at conferences, in groups, and among old friends in a café as easily as it does in classroom exercises or among colleagues online who have never met in person. We experience it when we go down the hall to ask a question and when we post that same question on Twitter anticipating that someone will respond.

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