As the world ventures into the age of online learning, lifelong learners will find a plethora of social media platforms appropriate for individual learning where we can collaborate in virtual learning environments. However, not all social media provide the same tools. Whereas YouTube channels and Facebook groups are fine for adult learning, Microsoft Teams and Slack.com offer a wider range of collaboration tools. A closer examination of these social media platforms will reveal valuable insight into the new and exciting realm of online learning.

Social Media for Adult Learning

Although both YouTube and Facebook cover many topics, both offer the users the ability to to narrow down the topics of focus. The YouTube platform calls these focus groups Channels whereas on the Facebook platform, they are simply called Groups. Let’s examine how those channels and groups will benefit individual learning.

YouTube

YouTube is a social media platform appropriate for individual learning because it allows learners to view the video instructors as they perform a task on a video lesson, demonstrating the task to be learned. Bandura (1986) developed the Social Cognitive Theory of learning, stressing that people learn by observing others in society and then mimicking their actions (as cited in Nabavi & Bijandi, 2023). The YouTube platform applies the Social Cognitive Theory by offering video instructions where the instructor performs tasks in a video while explaining the steps that the learners must follow to complete the task. By observing and mimicking the actions of the instructor, the learners are able to gain the knowledge and skills the instructor indents to teach.

Hola Spanish is a YouTube channel that applies the Social Cognitive Theory to learning the Spanish spoken language. The video instructor presents examples of Spanish text and then pronounces the spoken content while the learners mimic the instructors voice and inflection as they read the content in Spanish. With over 360,000 subscribers, this learning experience has benefited many lifelong learners who strive to learn Spanish.

Facebook

Facebook is a great social media platform for individual learning because of the wide variety of unique groups that the users create. These groups mostly focus on specific topics, For example, Creative Writing Circle – Writers Helping Writers is a Facebook group where those individuals with a passion for creative writing can benefit from absorbing other members’ content, asking questions in the group chat and sharing one’s thoughts regarding the learning experience.

Adult Learner Collaboration

Lifelong learners who practice collaborative learning will expand their experience in an online world full of opportunities. As Zong (2022) explains, collaboration empowers “more efficient group communication around the world” (p. 34). Let’s discuss two social media platforms appropriate for adult collaboration.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a social media platform that allows users to develop workspaces where members collaborate in real time, share files, and attend meetings through both audio and video calls (Microsoft Teams vs Zoom, n.d.). The ability to learn from other lifelong learners will benefit anyone who understands the value of learning.

Slack.com

Slack.com is a social media site that provides all the functionality of a collaborative platform where learners can connect with teams, develop projects, and collaborate over chat, voice and video (para. 1). With Slack.com, learners can send direct messages and screen share (para. 2). This collaborating platform will benefit all lifelong learners who strive to advance their learning experience in the world of online learning.

Conclusion

Examining the benefits of YouTube channels, Facebook groups, Microsoft Teams, and Slack.com has revealed the power of social media in the modern world. While YouTube and Facebook are beneficial to learners who seek specific material and content, Microsoft Teams and Slack.com provide more collaborative functionally. Accordingly, social media will become the classroom of the future as we venture into the world of online learning.

References

Creative Writing Circle – Writers Helping Writers https://www.facebook.com/groups/357875004276915?hoisted_section_header_type=recntly_seen&multi_permalinks=9048435401887455

Hola Spanish (n.d.) YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@HolaSpanish/featured

Microsoft Teams vs Zoom. (n.d.). The University of Tennessee Knoxville. https://oit.utk.edu/microsoft365/microsoft-teams-vs-zoom/#:~:text=The%20primary%20distinction%20is%20that,tool%20that%20offers%20virtual%20meetings%2C

Nabavi, R.T. & Bijandi, M.S. (2023). Bandura’s Social Learning Theory & Social Cognitive Learning Theory. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/367203768_Bandura’s_Social_Learning_Theory_Social_Cognitive_Learning_Theory

A simple, pleasant, and productive way to collaborate. (n.d.), slack.com. https://slack.com/team-collaboration-tool?d=7013y0000026MyhAAE&nc=7013y0000026NQXAA2&utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid_search&utm_campaign=AMER_US_EN_Evergreen_SLKCON_Google_SLACK-PG-SS-SEM-Efficiency_NB&utm_content=slack-pg-ss-all-industries-all-mash_bestworldwidecollaborationtool_trials_7013y0000026MyhAAE&utm_term=Company_Collaboration_._company%20collaboration%20platform_._p_._c_._704691897728&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA0rW6BhAcEiwAQH28IkmAMYmVZYrCeM3Sv6WeEcMrqY_Ejjxwgt30dDlyTxwzn8029HM_UBoCcGkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds#content