Engaging 21st Century Writers with Social Media

Writing instructors from the US and Saudi Arabia contribute 16 essays on the integration of social media into college writing classes. They discuss the integration of Twitter, WordPress, Tumblr, Instagram, and Podbean; using blogs and social media networks like Facebook, and activism and selfies on them; incorporating WordPress, LinkedIn, and Twitter to help students with professional development; and using wikis, including Wikipedia.

The 16 chapters in this volume are divided into five sections which examine various aspects of broadening the use of “digital literacies,” particularly social media such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and blogs, in the college writing classroom. By involving different forms of writing, and examining the elements used there, students gain another view of the writing process. The projects and experiences described here are in fact fascinating, as they use the everyday Internet activities of young students in a new way, to have them examine the writing process from several points of view.