Help or Hindrance? CN Dodges Concerns Surrounding Higher Ed Technology

A recent article in Inside Higher Ed displayed results of a report conducted by Babson Survey Research Group and Pearson Learning Solutions that found 40 percent of teachers use social media as a teaching tool, a seven percent increase from 2012. Educators are becoming better at choosing sites that would best enhance their course topics in engaging ways. Blogs and wikis still supersede sites such as Twitter and Facebook, but these sites are still prevalent in classrooms. LinkedIn, for example, has become a very popular platform for professional purposes and helping students connect with potential employers. Twitter also is great for building a set of followers and following people who share common interests with students, giving them a gateway to worldwide networking and innovation in brief tweets.

An issue with the use of technology that over half of the teachers who responded to the report agreed on was that technology caused higher stress levels, increased amounts of work, and a distraction to their overall course layout. So how does CN avoid these concerns while still maintaining a degree of privacy and a medium for effective learning?

The Guardian (Google Images)

CN members will tell you that CN’s convenience makes it a simple tool to access no matter where you are. Its creation of the mobile app makes it even easier for students to connect to courses using the network, even when they aren’t in class. This concept is one that many professors long to acquire: the accessibility and integration of course concepts outside of the classroom. The simplicity of creating an account in three basic steps and functions that allow for permission or a four-digit pin number before being able to join a course makes learning exclusive, private, and safe for all learners. LMS features in a social environment are proving to be more of an enhancement to course experiences rather than a distraction based on professors’ experiences that are currently using the network. And the work load is totally up to the instructor as to how they want to design their course.

CN is very free-form and flexible and its combination of the major social media websites currently making their way into classrooms makes it an all-in-one package and an excellent academic social learning tool to compliment current teaching methods.

Do you foresee CN helping or hindering your course topics?

You decide!