Teachers’ and Students’ Experiences Using Social Media as a Pedagogical Tool Within Classrooms: A Systematic Literature Review
Abstract
This study is a systematic literature review (SLR) that intended to understand the reported views and experiences of teachers and students about using social media in elementary and secondary classrooms in existent literature. This SLR also explored the pertaining challenges in using social media in classroom settings and implications of using social media in education. A total of 40 articles were included for the SLR and thematic data analysis was implemented. Reported findings show that using social media in classrooms was positively and negatively perceived by teachers and students, where positive perceptions overweighed negative ones. Social media was viewed as an important and useful tool for teaching and learning that facilitated assessment and feedback, increased students ‘motivation and engagement, and allowed students to acquire some of the core media literacy social skills and cultural competencies. Yet, students’ distraction was reported as one of the common drawbacks, along with other challenges such as unclear policies and guidelines. Findings will contribute to the literature in the field of social media and education and help understand the relationship between using social media in class and other educational outcomes.