Dive Brief:
- Some students are embracing the social media app Snapchat as a new means of storytelling, using the medium to enhance visual narrative and social skills.
- A high school journalism class at Junction City High School in Kansas is using the app to tell stories as an extension of its school paper, and other students are creating how-to tutorials using photos and captions. Educators say it's only natural to let students share their knowledge in formats they already use in their daily lives, according to District Administration.
- The Snapchat lessons also teach students to be more conscientious of what they post, including media that might be hurtful or bullying to others.
Dive Insight:
Research has shown that when students are interested in what they're learning, they do better. Interest can also help overcome academic and other disabilities that might otherwise impede learning. By changing lessons to suit outside interests, such as incorporating popular social media use, teachers are working off a theory that students will be more engaged and more capable of applying lessons learned in their daily lives.
Social media can also be a powerful way to impart digital citizenship lessons. Districts have already created lessons and acceptable use policies in collaboration with students when using platforms such as Twitter, for example, which can be used to foster class discussions, teach digital etiquette and interact with others around the world. These lessons also offer students valuable social media marketing skills. As recently as last year, digital marketing remained an in-demand skill set by companies looking to hire.
