Teachers as Influencers? The Use of Social Media

Abstract

With the continuous development of information and communication technologies, digitisation and digital pedagogy increasingly pervade everyday pedagogical work. The literature and our preliminary research also shed light on the educational opportunities inherent in the use of social media. The educational content found on the interfaces, their use, and integration into classroom activities presupposes, on the one hand, adequate digital competence of teachers, and, on the other hand, the existence of critical thinking. In addition to all this, it can provide an excellent opportunity to broaden the teachers’ methodology. In this research, our goals are as follows: we present the activities of Hungarian educational influencers through specific examples; we map the type of digital content produced by professional opinion leaders who generate the most popularity and interaction from their followers. In light of all this, we are trying to give an adequate answer to our research question: how educational influencer content can be used as a teacher in our classes, as formal, informal, and non-formal forms of learning beyond the curriculum, inside and outside the school, that help in pedagogical illustration and attitude change.