INTEGRATING SOCIAL MEDIA INTO DISTANCE LEARNING Seçil KAYA 1 , Aydın Ziya ÖZGÜR 2 , N. Gizem Koçak 3 1 Anadolu University, TURKEY 2 Anadolu University, TURKEY 3 Anadolu University, TURKEY secilk@anadolu.edu.tr, azozgur@anadolu.edu.tr, ngkocak@anadolu.edu.tr Abstract In recent years, developments in information and communication technologies have made the internet usage a natural part of everyday life. Especially with Web 2.0 revolution internet users found themselves in an interactive environment. People have come from a passive spectator position to active participant and have gained a virtual environment that they can create, share and interference the contents. In the broadest sense, social media is defined as web sites that are founded on Web 2.0 technologies, also allows social interaction, formation of community and collaboration 1 . A web site or application can be described as social media when it allows user-based content, individual users/members and provide interaction among users. Compared to traditional media, social media promotes two-way communication among users. Also social media is cost-efficient when compared with the traditional media like newspapers and television in terms of information publishing and access. Also access to social media is open to everyone. Users, who doesn’t satisfied with the content offered by traditional media produce the basis of social media by creating their own content 2 . Usage of platforms including blogs; social networks like Facebook, Myspace and Friendfeed; professional networks like LinkedIn; content sharing communities like Youtube and Flickr; sites like Wikipedia; forums and comments on news sites are becoming widespread day by day and continues to find new fields of application. The interactive nature of social media can also have some advantages for distance education. Technology-based distance education applications that aim to reach large audience become more challenging and effective when the communication and interaction opportunities increase. When appropriately integrated into the online classroom, social media can offer innovative learning experiences. On the other hand, online collaboration becomes much easier when it is facilitated by social media technologies. With creative integration of social media tools in a class, students can participate more and be more engaged in the learning process. One of the most important advantages of social media usage in distance education is helping online learners feel less isolated. The diversity of the platforms accepted as social media entails different suggestions and discussions about which the platform can be used for what purpose within the educational process. This study aims to clarify the usage of social media in distance education considering the examples from the field. Keywords: Social Media, Distance Education 1. WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA? "Social" refers to the interactions among people, and "media" refers to the Web-based technologies that store and transfer electronic data or information. Combined together, social media can be defined as Web- based technologies that facilitate information sharing and user interaction 3 . In the last years, the Web changed from a medium to a read-write-web platform and social media is also an important part of this read-write-web platform. Social media is defined as activities, practices and behaviors among communities of people who gather online to share information, knowledge and opinions using conversational media which are web based applications that make it possible to create and easily transmit the content in the form of words, pictures, videos and audios 4 . Social media is best understood as a group of new kinds of online media, which share most or all of the following characteristics 5 :