Social Media Etiquette Required

Social media has power. This was recently proven this past weekend when senior Emily Sullivan from Shawnee Mission East High School in Kansas tweeted a rude comment about the state's governor. Even though she never actually said the comment, she tweeted this “said” comment and the governor's office responded. The governor demanded an apology and then after some thought rescinded his request. This power of social media though has many people asking if social media should be policed. Emily Sullivan did make the comment that she would watch what she says, but is that really good enough?

So what should schools do about social media etiquette? The first thought to consider are the consequences of inappropriate tweets. Students have lost scholarships and job opportunities due to inappropriate posts. There is freedom of speech granted in the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution, but saying malicious and libelous words is not granted in these rights. Stating an opinion and justifying a position with facts is very different from attacking the person. Schools are developing policies for social media etiquette but a problem for schools is what students post after school.

The second thought about school and social media etiquette is teaching what is appropriate in a post or tweet. Basically what is appropriate comes down to the word respect. Respect is something students earn through their actions and their words. When a student uses social media, he needs to be cognizant of the tone and word choices made. Always encouraging students to read what they have written before they post is very important.

The third thought to ponder is that once a student has posted or tweeted something, that comment stays online permanently. Unlike editing errors in a paper after writing a draft, once something is placed on the internet it is there for all to see any time and anywhere. Again the earlier example of the senior who tweeted the comment that had the state of Kansas up in arms. Sometimes students feel that because they are on their phone or their computer, what they say does not reflect on them. However this is not true. Schools need to make the students aware of the consequences of poorly worded posts and how to improve upon what they write.

So should schools take a stand on policing social media? I think the best course for schools is to teach, promote, and encourage students to utilize proper etiquette when tweeting and posting.

Key words: social media, tweeting, respect, schools

Dark Side of Social Media and Schools

In looking at social media and schools, one needs to consider the dark side of social media. Unfortunately, there are instances of cyberbullying, sexting, and inappropriate comments posted. So there are a couple of avenues to explore here: what are the teens themselves saying about the dark side of social media and what can schools do.

According to Pew Internet and American Life Project, 90% of teens ignore the rude comments posted. 80% of teens defended someone who was being ridiculed; 79% have posted to others to stop their rude comments; 69% of teens said their peers wrote positively about others. However, there is a flip side to these percentages. 21% of teens reported that they have joined in posting derogatory statements; 8% of teens have been cyberbullied; 25% have had a bad experience online and it ended up in a face to face confrontation and 22% of teens said that their poor experience with social media ended a friendship. Clearly teens have had experience with the dark side of social media.

So what can schools do to help prevent the dark side of social media within its walls? The first step is to have a clear policy with the main purpose of social media being for educational uses. This ensures the safety of students as well as staff members. Social media tools need to have an educational value. Just chatting online is not an appropriate use of social media in school. A second step is to educate the students. Educating the students in the appropriate use of the site and appropriate language is imperative when introducing social media in school. Just like explaining to students that texting language is acceptable in some venues and not others, teachers need to demonstrate and monitor student interactions with the social media tool. Schools need to be considered safe places for student expression. When students are shown the correct way to respond to posts in school, then educators can encourage the same behavior in the students online conversations outside of the classroom. A final way schools can prevent the dark side of social media is to apply appropriate consequences. Unfortunately students will write something inappropriate. When the student does, immediate action needs to take place. Being proactive and having a plan in place will benefit the school and ensure the integrity of the social media tool. In North Dakota, by the year 2012, all schools must have a cyberbullying policy in place. Most of the states in the country are also looking into enacting policies concerning social media and the appropriate use in schools.

There is a dark side to social media in schools. However, by educating the students, staff, and administration, most of the problems associated with social media will be eliminated. Checking posts made by school personnel is important too. With educating and monitoring done in schools, hopefully this enables and encourages students to continue posting appropriate responses in their own personal lives.

Key words: dark side of new media, education

Gaggle-Is it a bird, a plane, or a social media tool for schools?

     In looking at other social media sites that are safe for schools, another tool that is widely respected is Gaggle. According to Dictionary.com a gaggle is “an assortment of related things”. This is true for this social media site and here are a few ways that schools can implement this technology into the classroom.

     The first aspect of this tool is it offers professional development. This is absolutely critical for ensuring the success of this social media in schools. As each educator comes with his own background knowledge of social media tools, offering professional development from a site encourages the teachers to actually utilize the tool in their classroom. The professional development offered by Gaggle falls into three categories: basic, proficient, and advanced. Within the professional development site, there are also choices that the teacher may choose from such as curriculum integration to training courses. There are also different webinars that an educator may attend to aid in their knowledge of Gaggle. What an incredible way to introduce another social media tool within one site!

     The second aspect of this tool is sharing what the benefits are from each stakeholder's point of view. For the administration, Gaggle provides reduction in paper costs, communication with the entire school or selected groups, and virus free storage. For the teacher, it assists with a paperless classroom, communication with the students, and a way to motivate students. For the students, Gaggle furnishes communication among peers and the ability to turn in assignments electronically. This last piece is especially important because this is how they will be submitting their work at the college level as well as reporting hours worked at some jobs. From all three viewpoints, this tool provides necessary communication and a tool that is reducing the paper waste.

     The final aspect about Gaggle that is important is its safety. When schools begin utilizing a social media tool, the utmost priority is the safety. Gaggle employs all of the FERPA regulations and allows the school administration and educators to access all of its tools. Student access is limited to the tools the school allows them to utilize. This tool also filters vulgarity and sexual references. As schools are needing to foster appropriate communication among students and staff, this is an important feature to have with a social media tool.

     This is a tool that I would like to explore more. As the entire school would have to be involved and not just a classroom, the professional development piece would be the best place to begin thinking about “selling” this social media tool to a school district.

Key words: Gaggle, professional development

Collaborize Classroom II

Several weeks ago I published information concerning Collaborize Classroom. I have set up an account for my senior English class to see what the benefits are to this tool.

At first, my seniors were excited about “blogging” although that is not what they are truly doing. We went over etiquette of what a good post is. We discussed what they had seen on Facebook concerning some of the comments that their friends and acquaintances had made. We shared what is appropriate language in a post. Then the students shared their first comments to a posting that I had created. The responses were comical and I was disappointed in their responses. I thought that this was not going to be a tool that I would utilize. However, as I stress to my students, if at first you don't succeed, try try again.

The second attempt was much better. As the students could view the comments made by the other students, which they were really excited to see and comment on, the students became aware of what my expectations in posting comments were. As comments were posted, students elaborated and clarified points made by other students. Students also continued a comment of another student in their posts. My seniors were actually reading and engaging in a discussion through the use of this tool. Of course, the students would tell you that they were not discussing because no words were used aloud, but the repartee among the students was lively and enriching their knowledge of the text. This was what I was hoping from this social media tool and what had sold me on this site. Collaborize Classroom sells their product by saying that educators will get 100 % participation and grading time will be reduced. This was verified for me in two ways: one was reading about it in the Collaborize Classroom blog and the other was through practical experience. I am able to keep track of my students comprehension of the text we are reading and seeing what insights they are able to develop. It also allows the students to see what the others in the classroom are thinking. I have also had 100% participation.

From utilizing this tool for the last several weeks, I have come to several conclusions. One is I will be using this tool often. I enjoy the feedback that I am seeing from the students. The second conclusion is the students are enjoying discussing the text this way. I know verbal discussions are improving somewhat as well with the use of this tool, but the students enjoy commenting and responding to comments from their peers. Finally I have much more to learn about using this particular tool. As my students and I have found some success with the application so far, I will continue to become more familiar of the ways to best utilize this tool.

Key words: Collaborize Classroom, classroom, appropriate language

SchoolTube and TeacherTube-videos for the classroom

Students love watching movies. YouTube is watched and enjoyed by many students. However, in the classroom this site is usually blocked and requires an override password to view the videos. This can be frustrating and tiresome for the classroom teacher. So SchoolTube and TeacherTube are the sites that educators need to utilize.

Let's first look at SchoolTube. SchoolTube offers videos made by students and schools about certain topics. These videos are educational as well as very appealing. Students enjoy watching other students share information on videos. Students also enjoy creating these videos to share. SchoolTube allows students to be creative in sharing their knowledge. This site also provides contests the students and schools can enter. Schools can register on SchoolTube. SchoolTube is also on the social networking bandwagon being affiliated with Facebook and Twitter. This links the videos students and schools create even more by sharing them with other social media sites. SchoolTube is definitely student oriented.

TeacherTube is more from an adult perspective sharing insights and information about topics. These videos have more of a lecture structure as they are designed and usually reported by adults rather than students like in SchoolTube. TeacherTube is also linked to Facebook and Twitter. TeacherTube provides documents, photos, and audio bytes as well. This social media also has an important feature entitled “Keep it safe. Flag all inappropriate content” (2011). This is a terrific feature because it permits TeacherTube to constantly check the content of the submissions and only allow appropriate material. As this site is not usually blocked at schools, it is important that such a filter be in place so videos that are utilized in the classroom are appropriate. The videos still need to be previewed by the teacher before viewing them in class. TeacherTube does have advertisements before each video, but you can begin the video before class starts to skip the ad.

Both of these sites are free to use. However the true benefit to the classroom teacher is the sharing of information with others. Whether the information is done through student or teacher videos, all educators may access these two tools to help aid instruction in the class. From personal experience, when a video is employed in the classroom, engagement in the lesson is higher and the students retain more as they have another way to make personal connections with the material. Of the two tools, I prefer TeacherTube. The reason for this is because the content is more grade level appropriate for my students than SchoolTube.

Key words:  SchoolTube, TeacherTube, Facebook,Twitter