What is Social Learning Network and How it is changing the way of Learning

A lot of changes have taken place in the past few months due to the sudden outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. In such times, one major change that was witnessed in the education sector was the need for online learning. This form has gained immense popularity among teachers and students due to its flexibility and other various benefits. Keeping this in mind, students started to opt for an online learning platform to become a part of flexible learning.

Many Edu-tech companies have profited even in this pandemic as more students are opting for online learning and teachers are conducting online teaching. 

Many educational institutions started to adopt a social learning platform to carry out education smoothly. In this article, we will talk about this platform, its importance and its impact on the education sector. 

What is the Social Learning Network?

To make this easy, let’s first understand the term ‘Social Network’. Social networking is nothing but connecting with your friends, family, colleagues, etc. through a network. 

A good example of this can be Facebook as it is the world’s popular social networking site where people can connect and collaborate with each other and achieve many things.

Similarly, a social learning network is a place where learners and educators can collaborate with each other and carry out all their educational needs in a single place. 

There are many social learning networks out there for students. This network allows students to connect with highly skilled educators from around the globe and obtain a top education. Apart from this, they can access various study materials as well.  

On the other hand, teachers can find their potential learners on this platform and make the most of their teaching skills. They can create and share study materials with their students and earn easy money as well. 

What are the benefits of Social Learning Network?

There are numerous benefits of this network which are as below:

Social Learning Network Provides ease for collaboration

A social learning network has a wide range of learners and educators from various parts of the world. It provides total ease for both of them to connect with each other and conduct successful online learning. 

Let’s say for example a learner wants to opt for a digital marketing course. He/she will browse through the network and find experienced and top educators who provide this course. Then the learner will enroll in their course in no time and enjoy a hassle-free learning experience. 

The same goes for an educator. They will find and connect with their potential student and teach them feasibly.

Social Learning Network follows a Flexible learning approach

Students have the flexibility to learn and take up their online sessions as per their convenience. This method is quite flexible as it allows them to access their online courses and study materials easily and at any time. 

All you need is an internet connection and a laptop/desktop/smartphone for learning and you are good to go. This gives students the zeal to learn and take interest in their studies.

Social Learning Network Increases Student Participation

Students participate more when they become a part of this platform. This is because this approach uses an innovative and interesting form of education. Students get their hands-on various study materials, connect with their peers, learn from experienced teachers, etc. 

Also, as discussed above, they get the total flexibility of time and place over their learning. In a traditional teaching approach, they have to attend their lectures at a particular time and place resulting in a strict and rigid form of education. It is observed that students tend to participate more when they are given the freedom to learn at their own pace. 

Access to Innovative Educational content using Social Learning Network

This type of learning allows students to access various forms of learning materials like videos, presentations, e-books, etc. Students get to learn a lot from these sources as they are innovative and encourage students to learn more.

In the traditional approach, students have to refer to their class notes and other study materials which consist of limited knowledge. However, when they study using these various online resources they learn many new things. 

This increases their interest in learning and adds more to their knowledge. 

Easy access to various technologies

Nowadays every other student possesses a smartphone with an internet connection. This makes it easy for them to collaborate and make the most of their learning by using the platform. 

Apart from this, online teachers can teach their students by making use of various technologies like virtual whiteboards, video streaming applications, video and animation tools for video content, etc. 

We are living in a technology-driven world where technology plays a major role in contributing to online learning. Hence, both teachers and students can access the technology as it is easily available. 

Social Learning Network is Feasible for Shy learners

We know that in a traditional form of learning, teachers teach many students in the classroom. A fair number could be around 50-60 students per class. While doing this, one must understand that the learning pace of each learner is different. Not everyone can grasp the concepts easily. 

In this case, a social learning platform is a savior for shy students who do not actively participate in the class and clear their queries. 

Get Instant Feedbacks using Social Learning Network

Teachers can give instant feedback to their learners as this network is 24/7 accessible. It is important to provide feedback to learners as they can easily track their progress. 

This network is quick in the sense that learners can communicate and ask for feedback and teachers can provide that in a short amount of time. This approach is much more effective than the traditional approach as teachers don’t need to invest hours checking bundles of paper and providing feedback after a lot of days to the learners.

How is the Social Learning network changing the way of learning? 

Technology has made it easier for students and teachers to connect with each other worldwide. This platform has a lot of benefits which we just saw above. Apart from this, students are responsible for their own learning where they take the authority of learning, completing their assignments, etc. 

This skill will teach them to be independent and will benefit them in the future in their workforce. On the other hand, with the use of this network, connecting with skilled educators is not a problem anymore. This opens up opportunities for them to choose the best expertise in the world. 

Students have to invest very little money as compared to the traditional approach as online courses and study materials are very budget-friendly. The extra money spent on buying books, tuition fees, campus fees, etc is not required here. 

Lastly, students can engage more in this approach and can learn at their own convenience. These are some of the reasons why world needs social learning network. 

Conclusion

we can say that a social learning network opens many opportunities and benefits for learners. Both teachers and students can contribute and conduct good online learning with the help of this network. It can be rightly said that this approach is changing the way of learning and is getting a positive response among the education sector. 

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