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Blogs about the classes: Educ 701-The Equitable Classroom, Educ 790- Research, Educ 702- Digital Tools Educ 791-Sensemaking and Research Design, Educ 703- Extending Human Capacities via Transliteracy, Educ 792- Capstone Seminar
Patrick Larkin tells us of an instance that he reported a student to the principal because of the student's rude post. He ascertains that it was a teachable moment and hopefully, the student was counselled and did learn from the instance. (Footprint from pixabay)
I belong to the neighborhood social media account and I have a Facebook account, and I consider those personal. I don't allow students to friend me unless they have graduated. I do not initiate the contacts. I feel like I need to have boundaries about these accounts to feel comfortable. I do not check the accounts every day, or even every week.
As far as how "should" one use social media, I think that is a new area to discover. I am glad to learn of the educhats and will check those out- I do believe that it is beneficial for me to learn and grow as an educator and the format I use "should" probably include technology that students are using, whether is is just to understand what they are using, but I do not feel that it is my job to educate on all the possible technological advances and implications. I will do my best to help them become good citizens in the classroom and beyond, including being a good digital citizen. I hope to impress upon them the lasting impact of data and to think twice about postings that they make. Another issue that I would consider is the 24/7 access to social media that pervades our world. Some students seem to believe that they "need" to be connected constantly. And it is difficult to get them to set aside their devices for other activities. I worry that an educator might feel the need to be "on" and responsible to monitor the site. If I saw an inappropriate post by a student I think Patrick Larkin's idea was a good one. Sending a screenshot to the principal and that student's counselor, would be an appropriate way to handle this situation. If the student was in my class, I might talk to them privately, let them know what I saw and remind them how public the posts are, that it can never be truly erased, and that they might want to consider future implications of postings. Some employers and colleges like to see if a person is what they say they are, and will use social media to obtain additional data about a person. But, I also feel that we have a Constitutional right to free speech for a reason. Why can't a student use social media in the way that they see fit? I would hope that students would look to their mentors and people that they admire for clues on appropriateness, so I understand the need for people in those roles to use the tools appropriately, but "appropriateness" is certainly subjective. These are new and uncharted territories for our lives. As a parent, I set some guidelines for media influence in my children's lives and I hope that they are considerate when they use the tools. I also think that there is a trend for students to find the newest thing until adults are using it, and then they move on to the next thing. It reminds me of a clubhouse, where young people gather for some socialization away from adults, and when the adults are present too often, they gather elsewhere.
3 Comments
Dana Hand
10/23/2016 01:26:45 pm
I can connect with your concerns about the 24/7 access. While I do think that teachers should be relatively up to date with what students are using, I also think that modeling balance in regards to tech tools is also important. There is definitely a time to unplug and many teens have parents who also struggle with being role models in this arena. My own teens almost exclusively use Snapchat now so I think you are on to something with the idea of the online privacy that teens are seeking.
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Florenca
10/24/2016 08:01:09 pm
Thanks for your thoughtful comments. I agree with you in all accounts. I think we are all concerned about our kids being connected 24/17. That cannot be good for anyone, specially when done day after day. It is easy for us (adults) to point and criticize the kids for being constantly connected. However, aren't we exacerbating the situation by expecting them to be able to access the curriculum, to learn, collaborate and communicate with others almost around the clock as well? It is one of those things that worries me because we still have not seen the implication of the "24/7 connection" on the new generations.
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10/26/2016 06:17:28 pm
I agree with you about social media being a new territory to explore. You are ahead of me on social media. I have had a facebook account that I don't really keep up with, but I consider it personal. I enjoyed your comment.
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