Who run the world? Teachers! Sorry, Beyoncé.

I had a friend in high school, her name is Susan Langley and she was the only one in my entire friendship circle (we were thirteen girls in our “clique”) who did not have a phone. I remember whenever we would tease her on the fact that she’s still living in the 19th century, she would say “It’s okay, one day I will have a phone with only one button”. I found this hilarious, because I mean a phone with only one button? That could never be possible, could it? In 2008 I certainly did not think so. Now, 8 years later, Susan Langley has an Apple i-Phone with only one button.

This, to me, just emphasises how fast technology and the world around us is changing. How we have to be prepared for the possibilities of tomorrow, today. Children are so in-tune with technology that almost every high school student I know has one or more social media account(s). Social media is becoming more and more relevant in our lives. People these days lose their jobs because of only one tweet.

I know in my high school, Business Studies and Accounting were considered to be the “boring” subjects. This is because these subjects are taught in a very serious manner. There is no time to play games or chit-chat on social media. The teacher would teach the learning material, children ask questions, they get tested, we all go home and repeat.

But this does not seem fun or even stimulating at all. Maybe incorporating social media in my curriculum studies will not be such a bad idea? Educators can communicate with the learners and have learners give feedback on the class. Learners can engage with one another when they are stuck with a problem after class and the educator is not there to provide help. I mean, in high school you don’t just email the teacher whenever you have an enquiry. You actually have to wait till the next day to ask. By then you haven’t completed your homework, because you got stuck and now you fell behind.

Students will be able to partake in different platforms where they get to watch videos of how other schools are explaining the same concepts. Learners can find different ways to solve questions or learn new concepts. Parents/guardians can also partake in these very same platforms to keep track of what their children are learning in class. Educators can also give individual feedback to learners on their assignments or tests.

Vicki Davis says “Social media does not need to be a distraction from learning outcomes”. It can be used as a resource to enhance learning and the experience children have in the classroom. I used to hate social media. I thought it was annoying. But it is here to stay and has become part of our daily lives. Learners already use it every day to gather information on anything they want to know at any given time, so let us allow learners to use it for a more enriching classroom experience.

It is never too early (or too late?) to incorporate digital pedagogy and social media into our teaching. Social media will give every child a voice, if they are willing to engage.