The past ten years have brought significant growth in access to Web technology and in the educational possibilities of social media. These changes challenge previous conceptualizations of education and the classroom, and pose practical questions for learners, teachers, and administrators. Today, the unique capabilities of social media are influencing learning and teaching in ways previously unseen. Social media is transforming sectors outside education by changing patterns in personal, commercial, and cultural interaction. These changes offer a window into the future(s) of education, with new ... More

The past ten years have brought significant growth in access to Web technology and in the educational possibilities of social media. These changes challenge previous conceptualizations of education and the classroom, and pose practical questions for learners, teachers, and administrators. Today, the unique capabilities of social media are influencing learning and teaching in ways previously unseen. Social media is transforming sectors outside education by changing patterns in personal, commercial, and cultural interaction. These changes offer a window into the future(s) of education, with new means of knowledge production and reception, and new roles for learners and teachers. Surveying the uses to which social media has been applied in these early years, we see a need to re-envision education for the coming decades. To date, no book has systematically and accessibly examined how the cultural and technological shift of social media is influencing educational practices. With this book, we aim to fill that gap. This book critically explores the future of education and online social media, convening leading scholars from the fields of education, law, communications, and cultural studies. We believe that this interdisciplinary edited volume will appeal to a broad audience of scholars, practitioners, and policy makers who seek to understand the opportunities for learning and education that exist at the intersection of social media and education. The book will examine educational institutions, access and participation, new literacies and competencies, cultural reproduction, international accreditation, intellectual property, privacy and protection, new business models, and technical architectures for digital education.