Use of social media in higher education: a new teaching competence arises

This paper focuses on the context and the use of social media and its applications and collaborative tools by teachers in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Mechanisms offered by these media allow users to establish new strategies based on collaboration and communication in multiple directions that were unthinkable a few years ago. The main contributions of these media are its features, namely: interconnection of its users in real time and deferred; collaboration eliminating distances, membership, outreach and assessment of scientific works, among others. Throughout these pages affects the ability to make the most of the forms of communication and interaction offered by these means to teachers. Such is its impact, which arises as an object of the question that concerns us here, if the domain of social media can be considered as a new teacher competence in its own right. Proper use of these media reflects a new social organization based on cooperation and compromise. The training of teachers in this competition can be, in short, a priority that allows universities successfully tackle the current and future challenges of the dynamic and changing context of the EHEA. In conclusion, teaching and research dimensions of university teachers in the learning society are constantly evolving, directly related to the rapid development of social media.