OUR TEACHERS, OUR FRIENDS

Both teachers and students are using social networking sites to bond with one another.

GETTING updates on our friends’ lives has become easy, courtesy social networking sites. But, look closely and you’ll realise that it’s not just friends that youngsters are in touch with. Browse through TY BCom student Aditi Sharma’s online profile, and you will notice that amidst the ‘likes’ and comments from friends, there is a message or two from her college professor, proving that social networking sites have taken the student-professor relationship to another level altogether.

As Aditi tells us, “My professor and I are online buddies. We share links, chat and interact a lot through social media. It helps us bond better, and it becomes a ‘fun learning’ process.” Agreeing with Aditi is Professor Nidhi Arora, course head, business communication and soft skills, at MIT College of Management. She says, “Being a personality development teacher, social networking sites are a good platform for me. Inside the four walls of a classroom, I am restricted by the usage of words and can give limited live demonstrations. But with the help of online media, I can c o m m u n i - cate with my students and suggest links and videos that could help them understand the topic better.” For Ujjwal K Chowdhury, executive director, ISB&M School of Communication, too, the social network is a way to communicate with all the students at the touch of a button. “If I am reading an interesting article online, and think it would help my students in any way, I just have to post the link on the wall. It makes life really simple. It’s a great tool for sharing links for good reads,” he says.

Apart from being a way to impart knowledge, interacting on social networking sites has helped teachers bond with their students and understand them too. Dr Neha Sharma, director MITCON, explains, “It is a great way to know what the students think, their aspirations, future plans and dreams, on a one-on-one basis. This helps me analyse and understand them and modify the programme according to their needs.” Online communication also helps bridge the student-teacher gap. “The social network is a great equaliser as it puts everyone on the same platform. And students do not hesitate to discuss various issues concerning them,” she adds. The trend seems to have caught on. The affirmation of this is the number of students found in the list of these professors. Group director of Indira Group of Institutes Chetan Wakalkar, whose contact list comprises 90 per cent of students, agrees saying, “Earlier, I just had my friends and relatives on my list. Now, I have more than 1,500 contacts, and most of them are my students. It is a great tool to connect with the students and get their feedback on the various things happening at college.” But the online medium is an informal way of communication. So do students ever cross the line? After a moment’s pause, he says, “There are just one or two such instances. But if someone is not behaving well, these sites also have an option of blocking the person. So why bother? Moreover, we also have internet etiquette classes,” says Wakalkar.

Youngsters are hooked to the social network. If professors are taking using as an opportunity to bond better and make learning fun, then it’s a win-win situation for both.