http://www.theguardian.com/education/mortarboard/2013/nov/22/universities-twitter-engage-with-students
This article focuses on the social networking site Twitter and if universities should use it to engage with their students. The journalist Maria explains why this approach would be useful as at her university there has been an explosion of social media. For example, in facilities, societies, libraries and even the security have Twitter accounts. Notably, universities are acknowledging this fact and according to research, "75% of students in Europe admit using Twitter all the time" and "42% of under 20-year olds use social media mainly to stay up-to-date".
Furthermore, Andrea Sella professor at UCL stated that, "There's a real need to make sure that students remain engaged"Finding innovative ways to get students interested and connected is a crucial part of what I think teaching is becoming." Thus, this shows that it would be a good approach if universities would use Twitter to engage with their students. Notably, Twitter could use another approach to reach to students which would be to share content and provide information. Thus, students can ask questions, having conversations and joining discussions or debates.
However, a postgraduate student from UCL stated, ""I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable discussing any queries or academic difficulties on social media. It forms a personal record that can be used to define you". Similarly, professor Sella says, "some of my colleague very skeptical" and thus this shows that they would not be happy with using Twitter.
Overall, to some extent, it would be useful for universities to use Twitter to engage with their students as society has now entered a digital age. Thus, most people are now using social media to contact individuals and find out information. However, to a greater extent, I would not be in favor of this approach because it wont be appropriate for students discussing any of their difficulties on social media as it would be personal.
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