The world that surrounds us is a dynamic and fast-paced place. With all the information that we are exposed to daily, it is sometimes actually just straightforward hectic, overwhelming and a little bit daunting. Especially as it often seems that we increasingly live our lives digitally rather than in what we still refer to as “the real world”. But as it's not likely that this will change, it is up to us alone to not only embrace this reality but to make it work in our favor.

Statistics suggest that the mankind’s thirst for knowledge is only growing and from that follows the need to align the way we learn with the reality of the modern world. Enters social media!

Platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram need no introduction. At their core, they were all designed as global communities that bring people closer together. Each one of them, especially Facebook, have their fair share of issues from privacy breaches and monitoring of inappropriate content to data trading. Nonetheless, many of them have also become platforms for sharing knowledge and ideas for those keen to connect the world through the notion of positive participation. And in the spirit of this positivism, let’s focus on the latter.

Certainly, you’ve all received links on the social platform of your preference that lead to a funny cat video, perhaps making the day brighter. But I’m also certain that after a while, most of us get slightly annoyed with these types of contents and crave for something else. This is where various online learning communities can become safe as well as inspiring hotbeds, where we can plant an idea or an opinion and watch it grow.

 

Social media has two main benefits as regards learning:

• It fosters the sense of community among students and the ability for students and lecturers/experts to share information with each other.
• Engaging students outside the classroom increases achievement, attendance rates, and graduation rates, plus students find learning much more relevant and meaningful.

Let’s explore some examples of how to use social media for the purpose of learning.

Social media entails a natural collaborative element. Students can criticize and comment on each other’s assignments, work in teams to create content, and easily contact each other and experts.

Many learning institutions use social media platforms to communicate with their students. For example, students can post questions and answers in thematic areas, which means that someone struggling with a certain issue can easily find several peers willing to walk him or her through a problem or even posting a video of the best way to solve it.

When designed, monitored and moderated with the necessary care, social media platforms can evolve into online knowledge hubs that offer us insights into our peers’ work. At the same time, we should keep in mind that if we’re lucky, these communities don’t just surface the opinions of those likeminded but offer us ideas that might largely contradict our standard approaches and way of thinking, and challenge us to stand on our head and take a look at things from a different perspective.

With so many of us willing to engage in online learning platforms, we should leverage from what the digital world has to offer us. All of this, of course, while we make sure that social media is used only as extended support and not as a replacement for physical interaction.

It is my firm belief that in this particular point in history, crucial not only for the countries in our region but the entire world, joining our efforts and sharing our knowledge is not a matter of choice but an obligation. Because this way we can enhance the (positive) outcomes.

With the development of the Line Ministries Portal, the CEF is contributing to the space of online learning communities. It’s a platform where we all have the opportunity to check the latest news from the world of public finances, share relevant articles, post opinions and provide feedback. The portal also enables its members to engage in different thematic areas according to their interest. Join us so we can learn and grow together!