Social media is an important part of young people’s lives in our connected society; however, its use in higher education is currently sporadic, localised, and not aligned with the large and growing literature relating to digital pedagogies. Despite its potential to increase students’ engagement, promote interaction between students and lecturers (Ong & Quek, 2023), and provide timely feedback (Demir, 2018), social media is yet to be fully harnessed as a learning tool in the sector. These disconnects between students’ daily habits and education represent a huge, opportunity.

‘Despite its potential … social media is yet to be fully harnessed as a learning tool in the higher education sector.’

A taxonomy of social media for learning

To address this, I have developed a ‘Taxonomy of Social Media for Learning’ (TMSL) in my research and teaching practice (see Demir, 2024). TMSL is an academic and operational framework for integrating social media into the learning process. It offers a solution to the lack of systematic social media use in higher education, developing research-informed pedagogies that enable broader adoption of innovative, technology-enhanced teaching practices.

TMSL is a framework that helps lecturers activate social media platforms as effective learning tools. It guides lecturers on how to integrate these platforms into subjects they teach and align social media resources with both physical and virtual environments. TMSL focuses on the metacognitive process, structured around three dimensions (the 3Cs): Consciousness (Viewing), Cognitive (Posting, Interacting and Analysing), and Creativity (Evaluating and Curating).

Figure 1: Taxonomy of Social Media for Learning framework

In my own teaching practice, I applied this framework in a teacher education course focused on collaborative learning and material design. The aim was to transform social media into a vibrant learning tool, allowing students to create, share and evaluate resources within a virtual environment.

Viewing: The course begins with the ‘viewing’ phase, where students explore course content, presentations, resources and rubrics to familiarise themselves with expectations and set the foundation for deeper engagement.

Posting: The next phase, ‘Posting’, involves sharing knowledge and explaining key concepts while encouraging discussion. By providing detailed resources and fostering interaction, I guided students towards deeper understanding and critical insights.

Interacting and Analysing: In small groups, students discussed and compared each other’s work, reflecting on their own work and improving it based on peer feedback. This promoted collaboration and gave students a clearer understanding of their strengths and areas for improvement. This was followed by ‘analysing’, where students used feedback to review the learning objectives, assess their own work and make necessary improvements.

Evaluating: Students assessed their own work and their peers’, using feedback to innovate and improve. This process enables students to highlight strengths and offer suggestions for enhancement. I also guided them with probing questions to deepen their understanding.

Curating: Synthesise learning into polished, meaningful content. After revising materials based on critiques, students presented their refined work on the group page. To make the process more engaging, I encouraged students to use hashtags like #greatwork, #innovative, and #learning to highlight their achievements.

Outcomes

Through this initiative, I have observed that integrating social media through TMSL into higher education has a potential to enrich teaching and learning, and brings coherence to the use of social media in learning contexts, aligning it with pedagogical goals. Transforming platforms that students are already familiar with into tools for academic growth creates a more inclusive, engaging and accessible learning environment. TMSL’s structured framework not only improves the quality of students’ work and collaboration but also fosters creativity, critical thinking and essential skills.

This innovative approach has greatly enriched my teaching and enhanced the student learning experience. I have received extremely positive feedback from my students. One of the students gave me direct feedback, highlighting to me that:

‘It was a very original idea indeed. Our youth spend much of their time on social media sites. This idea will benefit us by presenting an environment where we can both have fun and learn.’

Further exploration is needed to understand how different disciplines and cultural contexts might adapt and benefit from TMSL. Academics should consider how social media’s evolving role in education can reshape innovative pedagogies and policies. As digital pedagogy continues to grow in importance, interdisciplinary research linking TMSL with established frameworks, such as ‘a digital pedagogy framework for design and enactment’ (Tan et al., 2024), could deepen our understanding of social media’s impact on engagement and learning. Future inquiries might focus on how social media fosters inclusive learning in diverse environments and what ethical considerations arise as it becomes more integrated into education. Addressing these questions will help shape global integration of social media in learning, influencing teaching practices and policy development.

References

Demir, M. (2024). A taxonomy of social media for learning. Computers & Education, 218, 105091. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2024.105091

Demir, M. (2018). Using online peer assessment in an instructional technology and material design course through social media. Higher Education, 75, 399–414. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-017-0146-9

Ong, S. G. T., & Quek, G. C. L (2023). Enhancing teacher–student interactions and student online engagement in an online learning environment. Learning Environments Research, 26, 681–707. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-022-09447-5

Tan, S. C., Voogt, J., & Tan, L. (2024). Introduction to digital pedagogy: A proposed framework for design and enactment. Pedagogies: An International Journal, 19(3), 327–336. https://doi.org/10.1080/1554480X.2024.2396944