Abstract—The use of social media technologies in higher education have played an important role especially in both the formal and informal aspect. In this paper, we delve deeper into the pedagogical connotations of this phenomenon as we identify three social media characteristics and trace them back to established learning theories as we document evidence of their manifestation in real academic scenarios. We conclude that social media technologies are no random manifestation of pedagogical solicitation, but a natural and inevitable occurrence that fulfilled and satisfied a societal and human need and that was only possible through advances in information and communications technology. 
 

Index Terms—social media technologies, higher education, learning theories, e-learning concerns

Cite: Matthew Montebello and Vanessa Camilleri, "The Role of Social Media in Higher Education," International Journal of Learning and Teaching, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 311-317, December 2018. doi: 10.18178/ijlt.4.4.311-317