Teacher-generated content in social media: Studying the experience of Iranian teachers

Abstract

The development of social media has provided new opportunities for generating and publishing online content, and some teachers are actively involved in creating online content. The aim of this study was to examine Iranian teachers' skills, motivations and types of content in generating online content in the social media. In this study, 327 Iranian teachers with an active role in social media were identified and then 25 were selected for individual interviews through snowball sampling technique, and in the next step, the group interviews were conducted with ten teachers active in online content generation. The findings revealed that teachers generating online content create original, non-original, and critical content products with their intellectual, artistic, and technological skills in an attempt to interact with other teachers and help their colleagues’ as well as their own professional development and marketing. Moreover, they use text, info graphics, videos, and online events to present their content. Based on the findings, certain suggestions have been made for policymakers and teachers.