Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs … we’re surrounded by social media. But are professors sold on the idea of using it as a teaching tool?

Check out the results of a recent survey. About 1,000 professors at U.S. colleges took part in the survey “Social Media in Higher Education” by Babson Survey Research Group and New Marketing Labs and Pearson.

Here’s how professors are using social networks:

• Nearly 60% have two or more social network accounts — with almost 25% having four or more.
• More than 30% communicate with their students via social networks
• More than half (52%) have incorporated video, podcasts, blogs and wikis as teaching tools in their classrooms.
• More professors in Humanities and Social Sciences use social media than profs in Math, Science, Business and Economics.
• Faculty who’ve been teaching more than 20 years use social networks nearly as often as younger professors.

“The overall opinion is quite positive,” says Jeff Seaman, co-director of the Babson Survey Research Group, “with faculty reporting that social media has value for teaching by over a four to one margin.”

How do you use social media as a teaching tool? Let us know in the comments section below.

Tags: facebook, social media, social networking, twitter