Food For Thought: Can Social Media be a Potential 'Learning Tool' for Universities?

Abstract

Teaching tools are crucial for an effective learning for students. Since the birth of the concept of teaching and learning, the methods and tools involved in teaching have evolved gradually according to the need to the time. From the lecturing to written documents and now to the use of indigenous technologies like videos and smart boards, tools have been evolved along with the society and need of the audience. Today's world is surrounded by technology. Libraries have been replaced from Google, everything is in a reach of the tip of one's finger. Social media has reduced the distances between people in a literal term and at a global scale. Students/Lecturers are using social media as part of their daily routine and keeping this in mind, a question is being raised in this paper, can social media be used as one of the learning tools in today's education sector and what possible learning outcomes be achieved through its use? This paper tries to answer the question raised which could act as a ‘food for thought’ for lecturers/educators to consider, as a part of their curriculum design to create a more interactive, engaging and personalized tutor-centric learning environment.