Social Media

I have been sold on using social media in the classroom, especially for me as a way to share out the things we are doing in class, for about three years. The problem is I have done a terrible job of following through with it. I use Twitter frequently for news updates, Husker football discussions, staying in touch with friends, and following other teachers that show off what is happening in their programs. I also follow quite a few of my coworkers and I see how Twitter gives them a platform to connect with parents and the larger community around the school. An Edutopia blog post by Jim Asher (https://www.edutopia.org/blog/making-case-social-media-in-schools-jim-asher) discusses more positives about using social media including professional development opportunities community building within the school. These are great added benefits, but my focus moving forward will be on using the platform to display the great things that students are creating in my classroom and shops and also encouraging students to use Twitter to advertise their own great work. That creates an immediate real world example of using the platforms available to them to self advertise, especially if these students are wanting to pursue a career in the construction or drafting fields.

Another article (https://www.teachthought.com/technology/6-pros-cons-social-media-classroom/), this one by Aimee Hosler, addresses some risks associated with encouraging students to use social media for school. She mentions cyber bullying and in class distractions. These are concerns of mine, but my school has a lot of great resources in place to help with the issue of bullying, and the distraction issue is just another class room management issue that can be easily handled. To combat cyber-bullying, my school has handbook policies, digital citizenship courses, and a great technology integrationist that has experience with recognizing the behavior and helping teachers handle the issue. Those factors help alleviate much of my concern.

As I stated in the beginning, I am sold on using social media in my classroom, I just simply need to start doing it to promote what is happening in my classes. This will help keep parents and the community informed as well as promote the school and the district. Twitter is a great platform for doing this and already widely used at my school.