Social Media in Schools

I don't know about you, but I think social media gets a bad rap.

When I was in high school, social media in class was a big "no-no," at least for some teachers. You see, my alma mater, Palmer Trinity School, didn't (and still doesn't) have a social media policy of any kind. The general "don't use your phone at school" rule applied, but what about outside the classroom? And what about when it could be a useful teaching tool?

Typically, teachers would make up their own rules about social media:

• "Don't friend request me on Facebook until you've graduated!"
• "Do not make groups on Facebook to share information from class!"
• "No taking pictures of your experiments and posting them on Instagram!" 

I can remember a select few that found social media helpful in their interactions with students, but I can count them on one hand. Two teachers in specific used sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, and Wordpress to their advantage, facilitating conversations between students and teacher both in and out of the classroom.

One of these teachers, David Cutler of Spin Education, revolutionized the use of technology and social media at PTS by transforming the journalism program from an print-only production to a greener and economically-friendlier online option. Although he no longer works for PTS, The Falconer lives on and continues to highlight school events, cover national news, and even host live-streamed athletic events. Learning to manage the website was a large part of his class, and students who were lucky enough to have him left with incredible knowledge on building and maintaining a good online reputation—an invaluable skill to say the least.

Preston Michelson, a member of Cutler's class and one of my best friends, has truly reaped the benefits of Mr. Cutler's instruction. At PTS he conducted countless interviews ranging from administrative faculty to famous musicians to Martin Luther King III. His experience inspired him to enroll as a journalism major at Northwestern University where he plans to pursue a career in broadcast journalism. The video above is an example of the types of media he and The Falconer staff produced, which required in-depth use of green-screen technology, Final Cut editing software, YouTube, Vimeo, and Wordpress manipulation.

Another teacher of mine found it useful to host a Facebook group for the Student Government Association (SGA). I was the president of my class for three years and was constantly in contact with our grade's advisor. It seemed weird to me, particularly when I was a freshman, to simply call her up and ask her a question after school hours. She was my teacher! She had her own life! She didn't need an anal-retentive ninth grader bothering her at 8:00 P.M. on a Wednesday. Creating the Facebook group made it so easy to contact her and other members of the Student Government, even when ideas were floating around in my head at midnight. Without it, I don't think the SGA would have been as successful as it was during my time at PTS.


For some reason, though, teachers are hesitant to accept the benefits social media use can have on a classroom, or an extracurricular club/organization for that matter. These sites are viewed as recreational, and therefore pose a threat to the learning environment and a teacher's privacy. But while there are considerable drawbacks to using social media sites in class—occasional racy content, possible lack of focus, and probable multi-tasking—it's hard not to recognize the good that can come from them.

For example, Mr. Cassidy, a teacher from Waterloo Schools located in Black Hawk County, Iowa used Twitter in his Advanced Literature class. The school itself is 21st century focused, incorporating technology whenever possible. The YouTube video below shows how his students tweet about various topics using hashtags specific to their class.

In an article written by Allie Bidwell, an education reporter for U.S. News & World Report, she suggests that teachers and their students create social media accounts, like Cassidy's, in order to reach out to experts and invite them into their classrooms for a broader learning experience.

This is an incredibly inventive strategy, one that draws on global understandings and unique perspectives. In many instances, students can't see past the social aspect of social media. They forget that it's an essential tool in business and marketing. By using it in a productive way, teachers may shed some light on the professional side of social media and inspire students to take responsibility for what they post. I believe that PTS does a good job of this; the faculty managed to teach us how to use technology and social media responsibly, without a policy guiding them.

To better understand the district that I've been student teaching in, though, I read through the Social Media Guidelines for Guliford County Schools. While I understand that it's important for administrators to set rules that protect their employees and students, the guidelines feel so strict and cautionary. Rather than set up of defensive strategy that restricts the use of social media in the classroom and friendships between students and teachers, I think that we should take an offensive strategy—one that encourages children to use technology as an extension of themselves and as a tool.

When you think about it, it's easy to begin teaching students these habits at an early age. I plan on teaching 2nd or 3rd grade and would find it really helpful to use strategies like these to encourage students to love learning. An amazing example of a tool like this is Fakebook. It is a classroom tool that allows you to create a fake profile for a fictional character. In my brother's 3rd grade class, they created Fakebook accounts for characters in the novel The Lemonade War. I thought this was a truly inventive idea! My brother, Jake, was so excited to tell me all about what Evan Treski, the main character, was up to that day. His teacher really got into it and they continued the characters' interactions well into the school year, writing reflections on them once a week. Although at first it was merely a summer reading activity, it turned into a semester-long activity that incorporated math, science and reading.

We're in the 21st century; YouTube, Facebook, Blogger, Instagram and Twitter are outlets of expression and have the potential to serve as incredible platforms for learning, if used responsibly. Teaching children how valuable these tools are at an early age can encourage them to be socially responsible. While initially intended for recreational use, these forms of social media can truly benefit both teachers and students, and can teach us that being a student's "friend" doesn't have to be a bad thing.

Happy teaching,
Miss Font



References

[Cell phone notice]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://https://haveyoumetjosh.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/nocellphone.gif

Preston Michelson. (2013, August 27). Preston Michelson interviews Martin Luther King III [Video file]. Retrieved from http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQzSR77vaC0

WaterlooSchools. (2012, November 6). Social media and technology in the classroom [Video file]. Retrieved from http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaYIvdv4jFs

[Students with newspaper dedication.] (n.d.). Retrieved from http://https://media.cdn.whipplehill.net/241/photo/2013/05/large_photo264020_3391067.JPG

Bidwell, A. (2014, January 17). Check out that selfie: How to use social media in the classroom. Retrieved from http://http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/01/17/check-out-that-selfie-how-to-use-social-media-in-the-classroom

Guilford County Schools. (n.d.). Social media guidelines. Retrieved from http://http://www1.gcsnc.com/boe/2011/3_24/Social%20Media%20Guidelines.pdf

[Fakebook logo]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://http://internetfitpro.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/fakebook.jpg

[Students with phone]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://http://media.jrn.com/images/660*413/b99144895z.1_20131201224939_000_g9l3kga7.1-1.jpg