Learners without borders: Utilizing social media as a self-directed learning tool

Bob Barrett
American Public University
USA

According to a recent study by Babson (2014), at least one out of three adult learners are now enrolled in at least one online course. For some students, the change from the traditional face-to-face (F2F) classroom to a virtual learning environment (VLE) can be daunting, but technology has its advantages for both the learner and the instructor/facilitator. The use of this new technology, as well as the start of a new form of socialization, can be an adventure or a tragedy for some students. However, the purpose of this paper is to look at ways educators can make this transitional phase an adventure, which encourages, motivates, and retains potential adult learners. One method that has shown good results is the connecting of social media to learners. While some adult learners may be slow in transitioning to online learning, they appear to be using social media on various levels with ease, prior to this new form of learning. Thus, more academic institutions and instructors are realizing that the skills and experiences adults have gained from their own use of social media can act as a bridge to the online learning environment. This paper demonstrate how many adults may already have enough technological savvy with social media tools to carry these attributes over to a successful learning adventure with online learning by using various social media as another tool for self-directed learning for today and lifelong learning tomorrow.