In
today’s classroom, technology is used to engage learners, inspire students to
think independently and critically. Students of today, have grown-up alongside
technology and social media. It has become a natural part of their everyday
life. Technology is ever evolving and changing and will not ever go away. To
properly prepare students for the real life skills they will need to have when
entering the world outside of the classroom walls, technology has to be a part
of their educational journey. The 21st century student is defined
using the word “technology”.
With
technology comes social media. More and more classrooms are beginning to
incorporate social media into their classrooms. It is a way to continue school
outside the classroom walls. But, when it comes to social networking in schools
there are some pros and cons associated with it.
Challenges with Social
Media in schools:
1.
Lack of Knowledge: social media sites need to be managed and used by
professionals that understand social media in order to maintain an authentic
and safe experience.
2.
Initial Experiences: upon initial viewing of the social media site, if it
does not interest the person viewing it they will not be interested in using
it.
3.
Lack of Features: lack
of experiences for students due to security settings or just minimal features
included on the social media site. Students may become bored or uninterested if
there are minimal features.
Successes with Social
Media in schools:
1.
Safe communities:
many social media sites allow teachers to control the security settings making
for a safer environment to learn.
2.
Collaboration in encouraged: social media encourages collaboration among
students, teachers and parents.
3.
Accessibility:
social media can allow anyone to access anything that you publish online if you
allow it.
References
Gleen, D. (2012,
February 7). How Well Are Schools Using Social Media? [Infographic]
SocialTimes. Retrieved from http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/how-well-are-schools-using-social-media-infographic/90209?red=st
SocialTimes. Retrieved from http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/how-well-are-schools-using-social-media-infographic/90209?red=st
Hi Erin,
ReplyDeleteYou have made some great points about the pros and cons of social media in schools. I had not considered how students could become bored with sites that are not appealing due to the amount of security settings or lack of features (which is typically a direct result of security settings).
In my school, we cannot even access a social media site and only in the last two years have gained access to YouTube. I think the district finally realized the value of the resources we could access on YouTube. We still have to watch our students carefully to make sure they are being responsible and staying safe.
I like sites like Edmodo that act as a social media network for a class. My kids enjoyed messaging one another on their and I was able to control the messaging. The students knew they had to use proper social media etiquette or they would lose their privilege.
Nice breakdown of successes and challenges with social media in schools. Thanks for another great post!
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