Good morning, Boston!! Consider these three video clips:
1. An interview with New Milford, NJ High School Principal Eric Sheninger:
2. This clip from CNN's Headline News to hear "Your Views"
3. And what one Florida school district has decided to do with regard to social media:
Clearly there is a divide in opinion as to whether or not social media tools should be used in the classroom. Not just in Florida, but also locally school boards are crafting policy narrowing or outright banning their use.
For a quick write in the comments below: Should educators and students be allowed to use popular social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter as instructional tools? Or are school committees justified in taking such action?
11 comments:
I think that there is a big difference between using social media in schools and students and teachers being friends on Facebook outside of school. I think social media is a great tool, and the safe use of it in school can actually help students defend themselves against internet scams and predators.
I do see a big risk in teachers and students becoming facebook friends, however. I liked how the Weymouth School Committee chair put it that teachers shouldn't have to worry about commenting to their family and friends, or posting pictures that their students will see. Teachers would have to worry about censoring themselves in their personal time to make sure that all content is something that their students could see. Perhaps a solution is a protected personal page, and an additional professional page (e.g. Ms. L's Spanish 4 class page) that students would be free to use as a resource.
Yes, I think that is can be a helpful tool for student outreach. One of the most challenging issues schools face is how to better engage students. I think in order to solve this problem, we have to reach out to students where they are living and socializing. It is very important, however, that there be a structure to this outreach and protections against privacy issues. Students and teachers personal lives should be kept separate and so allowing for more social networking in education begins to blur that line. There are tools available in the education market that help make this possible. A tool which allows the school and the teachers to interact with their student through social media yet does not infringe on their privacy, is an invaluable tool. We must begin to reach students and integrate learning into their online and social world.
Yes - schools (teachers, administrators etc) should be able to use social media to connect to students. HOWEVER, there needs to be a distinct differentiation between a social page and a professional page for both the students and teachers/administrators. It is not appropriate for teachers to have pictures or comments regarding activities that could be regarded as unprofessional or unsafe - remember the audience here! (ex. getting drunk, random sex, violence etc) Regardless of their constitutional right to do these things, they are still role models and are serving as an appropriate one. The same thing goes for students - we don't need evidence that they went to the after prom party and there was alcohol there. We don't need to see that they are making inappropriate choices. Social media is a TOOL that extends the boundaries of the classroom - it DOES NOT ELIMINATE THEM. I think it is a brilliant way to stay current with students, to use the internet and technology to its full potential and to grab the attention of all of the parties involved. It also teaches a very specific lesson that will serve students well later in life, about personal and professional demeanor, about appropriateness in the workplace and it provides yet another vital connection between students and an adult that they feel comfortable connecting with.
Educators and students should be allowed to use social media sites for instructional tools. However, school relationships between educators and students should remain at school. The social media sites for school instruction should be set up as a "school only" or "class only" site. At no point should educators and students (or parents) be socializing on personal social media sites, such as personal facebook pages. Schools already have restrictions on personal email use, seeing students outside of school grounds and working with students at their homes.
A step further- employees should always think twice about added anyone in their work environment to their personal environment, ie Facebook. Where is takes nothing for someone to question one's personal choices and their ability to teach, can you imagine someone using your personal photos and friends' comments to justify your inability to teach?
Okay, I think that there IS a potential use for social media as an instructional tool, but I think that we need to come a long way in developing safety percautions that will gaurd against misuse. One thing that needs to happen is that teachers need to be trained properly on the dangers of social media EVEN IF they do not use it as an instructional tool. I wonder how much time is really spent teaching teachers the dangers of social media. Finally, yes, I do think that school committees have the right to "outlaw" the use of social media UNTIL appropriate policies and strategies are put in place to protect students, teachers, and administrators. So, until we have better ways to ensure safety for everyone I think we need to use social media cautiously.
The key words in the question are "instructional tools." Yes, I believe educators should be allowed to use social media as instructional tools. As an educator, you have the professional responsibilities to understand the tools you are using, and use these tools appropriately. I am not comfortable using social media, so I would not use this a an instructional tool. However, I don't feel my lack of knowledge should force another educator to not have the choice to use social media as an instructional tool.
I think social media like facebook could be used as an instructional tool but great caution should be exercised. Clear ground rules need to be laid out beforehand and each and every student involved need to sign on it. The ground rules should include things like use of language and what can and cannot be posted on the class or group page. The class could then open a group with the administration powers held by the teacher. The teacher would then allow the students to sign into the group without necessarily being friends to the students. From this platform, the teacher can communicate with the students and vice varsa.
There is a place in schools for social media if used properly and established with certain ground rules. To me, it does not make sense to cross personal and professional boundaries using Facebook. If teachers want to create a social community for subject areas for students to communicate and collaborate, there are other social media sights such as Ning that can be utilized. I don't see any problem with teachers or administrators having Facebook accounts, but It is professional suicide to friend students or make comments that are irresponsible. I think districts are well within their rights to create policies surrounding social media issues as long as it does not prevent teachers from using such tools. Bottom line----think before you write!
As with many things in life a little bit is just fine, but too much is problematics. I see facebook, twitter, e-mail etc all as useful educational tools when judiciously used. Just as in the classroom, a multiple-way respect must exist between teachers and students as well as student to other students. Students and teachers have learned to follow expected standards of behavior in the classroom. The problem that I see with the various forms of electronic communication and social media is the difficulty, almost impossibility, to monitor expression on these sites. I expect that the prevalent reaction acrsoss the country will be to ban such communications between teachers and students. I expect over time these ban will relax and be lifted. At that point a natural respectful communication via social networking will emerge and flourish. In the meanwhile I pray That school administrators are not expected to spend large parts of their day reviewing various blogs and e-mail communications and then disciplinging accordingly.
While I believe Social Networks may have a place in education, somehow we need legal guidance and a way to monitor it. Not every professsional uses good judgement in less formal settings, such as social networks. Essentially, I believe strong guidelines would need to be adopted for educators use that would include FERPA (privancy) restrictions and educational standards. As an administrator, I have to find an acceptable risk level befor taking the plunge. We are in the process of developing policies related to social networking and while they are most appealing in terms of student use, I still see caution signs for educators and students. Many cases are just going through the court systems and will take time to adjudicate. Time will tell the story for policy development.
Hot topic! Love this discussion.
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