I think the most effective use of social media for educators is the ability to collaborate and share ideas. Social media allows us to share ideas with all kinds of fantastic experts that we otherwise might never get the chance to talk with. What before depended on networking or viewing a panel at a conference, can now be achieved by participating in a twitter ed chat, or a webinar. I have zero hesitations about using social media to collaborate with colleges and education experts. My uncertainty lies in using social media to connect with students. I know that some of my students follow me on twitter, and that’s fine, but I don’t follow any of them. In fact I’m a little bit hesitant to become too active on social media because I’m afraid of what I might see. Kind of, “If I don’t see it, then I don’t have to fill out paperwork.” I’m not sure this is the right road to follow, but for now it’s keeping me from being responsible for anything I might find that would need dealing with.
If I came across an inappropriate social media post from a student my response would depend on the post. If it was one of my students I might remind them of the activities where we talked about digital citizenship and ask them to reflect how their post fits into what we talked about. IF it was a post that seemed to indicate some danger, as a mandated reporter I would have to make a report. If it were a serious issue, I would first address the concerns with a college (if the student ‘belonged’ to them) or my principal before going to parents. I would do this because I want the principal communicating with the parents, I don’t want to be the only one in that parent meeting. I might even ask for a union rep, having been burned by meetings in the past.
If I came across an inappropriate social media post from a student my response would depend on the post. If it was one of my students I might remind them of the activities where we talked about digital citizenship and ask them to reflect how their post fits into what we talked about. IF it was a post that seemed to indicate some danger, as a mandated reporter I would have to make a report. If it were a serious issue, I would first address the concerns with a college (if the student ‘belonged’ to them) or my principal before going to parents. I would do this because I want the principal communicating with the parents, I don’t want to be the only one in that parent meeting. I might even ask for a union rep, having been burned by meetings in the past.