The massive and consistent use of mobile phones has given the education industry an idea of how to improve communication in the educational system. The popularity of instant messaging among students in everyday life was projected to the use of instant messaging for academic purposes.
Incorporating technologies such as instant messaging in the teaching and learning environment has proven to bring many benefits. This opportunity allows educational facilities to introduce immediacy, improved organization, and more efficient communication in their systems. When it comes to specific pros of using instant messaging in education, consider the following advantages.
Faster Response
Enabling both students and teachers to communicate efficiently will reflect on their relationship. Instant messaging seems more personal than corresponding through emails. This will help educators to build a more trusting relationship with students.
Researchers like Dr. Wooseob Jeong have tackled the subject of the effect of instant messaging on the student-teacher relationship. What Jeong has found is that using instant messaging facilitated a more intimate student-instructor relationship.
You may wonder why establishing this closer relationship is important in the education industry. When students feel closer to their teachers they will be more open to asking questions. They will also be more motivated and attracted to learning because of the respect they have for the teacher.
Establishing a Closer Student-Teacher Relationship
Enabling both students and teachers to communicate efficiently will reflect on their relationship. Instant messaging seems more personal than corresponding through emails. This will help educators to build a more trusting relationship with students.
Researchers like Dr. Wooseob Jeong have tackled the subject of the effect of instant messaging on the student-teacher relationship. What Jeong has found is that using instant messaging facilitated a more intimate student-instructor relationship.
You may wonder why establishing this closer relationship is important in the education industry. When students feel closer to their teachers they will be more open to asking questions. They will also be more motivated and attracted to learning because of the respect they have for the teacher.
Higher Engagement
Instant messaging can increase the level of engagement of students. Any educational facility that is looking to involve their students more in the lessons should consider instant messaging.
Students will be more confident in sharing their thoughts and questions on a less traditional platform.
Social media websites or educational platforms usually demand a login page, password, or platform to navigate towards. The lengthy process that leads to the place of communication will lower students’ and teachers’ engagement. There are none of those procedures with instant messaging.
“Educators can even start group chats to encourage higher engagement among students. Their interaction in these chats can lead to a more positive atmosphere in the classroom,”- said Marie Fincher, a Head of Content at GrabMyEssay and BestEssayEducation.
More Efficient Administration
The pros of instant messaging don’t just apply to teachers and students. The administrators of educational institutions can also benefit greatly from instant messaging. The overall administration in the educational industry can be more productive and improved.
For example, administrators can use instant messaging to remind students of due dates for library books. Or, students can contact librarians for assistance in learning. There are many ways in which administrators can use instant messaging to speed up their tasks.
In emergencies such as abrupt class cancelation, instant messaging can ensure that everyone gets noticed in time. If office hours changes, students won’t be able to overlook the notice as it will be delivered to them through instant messaging. All relevant information about educational facilities’ functioning can be shared timely.
Time Management
The immediacy of instant messages helps with providing students with time-management assistance. The students’ forgetfulness and lack of organization can be solved through this means of communication.
Instant messages can be used to remind students of application or assignments due dates, timetables, changed class schedules, procedural changes, and so on. What Dr. Dave Harley has noticed is that instant messaging reminders of when assignments are due can be of particular benefit to helping first-year students adjust to academic life.
The faculty can use instant messaging reminders to help students develop a time-management strategy. With time, students will get used to be accurate and organized.
Higher Involvement in Academic Activities
Students who are not physically present in class can receive all the updates through text messaging. The same goes for teachers when they are unable to hold a class and want to keep the students busy during that time.
An example of how instant messaging be used for academic activities is a simulation of decision-making scenarios. As instant messaging platforms allow quick sharing of messages, such activities can be fun and engaging for students.
When a student isn’t able to attend classes for a longer period, the teacher can help them be involved in lessons through instant messaging. The ongoing communication will help the student not to lose track of the learning and development materials.
The academic activities can go beyond the classroom. Teachers can share quick and interesting assignments, such as trivia questions for kids, that will help students expand their learning. Instant messaging allows teachers to find relevant material to students whenever they come up with it. Since it will be shared in an interactive environment that is instant messaging, the idea of being more involved in academic activities will be more appealing to students.
Instant Messaging Vs. Text Messaging
As we have already covered, instant messaging provides a faster means of communication between students and teachers, promotes higher engagement, gives administrators improved oversight. Also, it gives opportunities for teachers to send text from computer and other devices, provide time-management help, and improve academic involvement.
How does it compare with the more traditional SMS-based text messaging, though?
Despite the advantages of instant messaging, text messaging has its own edge— specifically, it does not require an Internet connection for communication to take place. Instead, it uses its existing connection to a cellular network, which means that the sender and the recipient only need to have working phones to text each other.
In contrast, instant messaging requires all parties involved to be on the same messaging platform. To illustrate, teachers who prefer to communicate via Facebook Messenger cannot send messages to students on Whatsapp. On the upside, most messaging platforms allow for direct file sharing, which is becoming the norm in the online education scene.
Text messaging is ideal for quick questions between students and teachers, as well as a way to send gentle reminders of upcoming tests and projects. In fact, 86% of prospective students say text messages from colleges and universities have prompted them to complete a task they hadn’t done yet.
While instant messaging and text messaging have varying benefits, both can be used as a means for students and teachers to communicate. They can be used in conjunction to bridge the gap between students and teachers, allowing for seamless interactions.
Some Final Thoughts
The benefits of instant messaging affect students, teachers, and educational facilities. The convenience and ease of communication are undeniable. These clear and specific reasons show you how effective instant messaging is.
Instant messaging can be used for obtaining information rapidly, building a relationship, streamlining administrative tasks, organizing group activities, sharing files, multi-tasking and so on. All in all, it is an instant and convenient means of communication that resolves many common issues in the education industry.