Students LIKE social media education, are Universities ready for it? Andreea VISAN, Bogdan LOGOFATU, Dumitru Dan BURDESCU andreea.visan@credis.ro, logofatu@credis.ro, dburdescu@yahoo.com

AGENDA Preamble Social media and nowadays digital technologies Google Plus- plus potential for Universities Can Facebook be used as an educational tool? Our experience in using social media in education Social media in the classroom- a challenge Video tutorials and Blogger Tips in using social media for teachers Conclusion

1. PREAMBLE The Department for Distance Learning, University of Bucharest, Romania started the activity 15 years ago and the main focus was on designing, implementing and development of the distance learning system of education within University of Bucharest. One particular aspect of the Department for Distance Learning activity, during these 15 years, was the continuous adaptation to new technologies in order to support the specific distance learning. This paper is aiming to present the experience of the Department for Distance Learning, University of Bucharest, Romania, in promoting social media in education.

2. Social media and nowadays digital technologies The higher education institutions needs to take into account students habits, to meet students in the environment they are currently living Social media is where students live, it’s part of their digital footprint, it’s where they want their teacher to be and to be able to learn. Ad-hoc surveys, performed by the authors, revealed the following facts: ALL students have electronic equipment (terminals) with Internet connection; ALL students declare they spend many hours per week on social networks (Facebook, Google Plus, YouTube etc.).

Google Plus- plus potential for Universities Google Plus allows you to collaborate through Circles, to develop relations with other colleagues and teachers  with targeted photo-sharing, updates, and messaging and it also offers support within Hangouts for blended learning A recent survey revealed that ALL students of Department for Distance Learning have a Google Plus Account and that they would prefer to get there information through their community on Google Plus.

Can Facebook be used as an educational tool? In January 2014 there were more than 7 million Romanian accounts on Facebook, almost double from January 2013. So, by looking at this number, why shouldn’t University use Facebook as an educational tool?

Our experience in using social media in education This image offers a new vision on how we can teach the alphabet. The image made the authors to think not only at the impact of social media on students but also at the impact on early education. With this new generation of digital natives the teachers have to take into consideration the entire course of education, from kindergarten to college

Video tutorials An Ad-hoc surveys revealed that video tutorials NEXT to college classes can provide a source of information that's reliable and has the quality guarantee to younger students and their teachers. 98% of the students who took part at the surveys considered useful to use video tutorial as part of their INDIVIDUAL studies

Blogger A blog is a timely source of information and that’s one of the reasons why a large number of students of Department for Distance Learning have interests in learning to build their own blog or they are active members on a school blog. The results for a recent survey performed by the authors revealed that 74% of the students questioned believed that is useful to have a class blog and 21% of them were still skeptically.

The main advantages of a blog In students opinion a blog is USEFUL in the class to share opinions and learning, to see knowledge as interconnected, to facilitates reflection and evaluation and to promote an creative writing.

Tips in using social media for teachers Plan your objectives and activities before and so students would know in advance what they have to do/learn After the class is over let you students share their opinion and let them provide articles or links to other resources connected to your classroom Remember that quality resources are “liked” by the group and get more attention, and if something is of low-quality, you (as a teacher) or other students can always step in to correct. Educational process that takes place in the classroom is always about correctness, but the education we provide through social media must be different You must encourage trial and errors, to allow for failure and growth to work together.

Conclusion In the last years the number of people that own a Facebook / Google Plus account or a Blog has increased, so now we are witnessing a Boom of social media in education and teachers MUST keep up with all this powerful tools that new technologies provides us. In this educational environment, that it’s in a continuous transformation, we strongly believe that The Department for Distance Learning is on the right way by using one of the most modern and attractive technologies to engage students in the educational process.

andreea.visan@credis.ro, logofatu@credis.ro, dburdescu@yahoo.com Thank you! Andreea VISAN, Bogdan LOGOFATU, Dumitru Dan BURDESCU andreea.visan@credis.ro, logofatu@credis.ro, dburdescu@yahoo.com