I would say that I go online to learn something new almost everyday. When faced with an unknown cook time, or unsure of which direction I need to travel, I pull out my phone and hop on my wireless network to find the answers. Whether I am at home, at school, or on the go I have access to learning new information at my fingertips whenever I choose to look for it.
Google is a great tool for finding answers, but I also use various social media sites. In recent years Facebook in particular has exploded in its opportunity for group creation and online communities because it offers people connection to others with similar interests and questions about the world. Personally I am part of many different groups related to things I want (or wanted at the time) to learn more about. Throughout my university years, there have been many facebook groups created with the people I went to school with so we could connect about what we were learning. Having those facebook groups and as a result the messenger chats, have been instrumental in my success with university. I was able to recieve feedback and collaborate with my peers after course hours, and now that I have graduated I still have them to learn from.
In my classroom I don’t think I would encourage using facebook specifically, but I like the idea of having a classroom social media presence for my students to share their learning. I found two videos about using social media in two different settings, in a grade 1-2 classroom and in university undergraduate classrooms. I found it interesting how in each video it stresses that teachers should be using social media and technology with their students to the best of their ability because students are already using it in every other aspect of their lives. Why not bring something they love into the classroom? It may shorten the distance between real life and school for many students.
Image link: https://unsplash.com/photos/DfMMzzi3rmg