Typing Back: Social Media as Space For Critical Discourse

Social media applications such as Facebook and Twitter have become integrated into sociocultural practices for millions of people around the world, and are having an enduring impact on the field of adult education. As essentially free, virtually non-hierarchical tools that facilitate user-generated knowledge, these online spaces may be powerful applications for a talking - or "typing" - back to dominant ideology, and giving voice to counter discourses. These tools require careful consideration around issues such as technological know-how, access, and consumerism which is inherent in these applications. This paper discusses social media as Web 2.0 tools, their connection to critical discourse and adult education, and the considerations of using these tools in an educational context.