It is important to note that before introducing students to any form of social media it is essential to debrief the parents on what will be taking place and how it will benefit the child’s learning. It is fundamental to have a safety information session with the students prior to entering any social media sites. Students are aware that social media exists but they should be educated on how social media can negatively impact a persons life and they should understand the dangers of over sharing.
My opinions on social media are varied depending on which form of social media is being discussed.
FACBOOK: I believe that Facebook should only be used in Post-Secondary institutions. Although some teachers may find it’s benefits in High School environments, I am less familiar with the dynamic in high school classrooms and I am more inclined to think there are better ways for students to network.
On a side note I would like to mention that I have seen first hand the successes of what happens when parents and teachers work together to warn children about using Facebook before they are old enough. Talking to some students at my YMCA program most of them said that they do not want to have Facebook. Although I do think that Facebook can be an excellent tool for networking and communication for mature youths and adults, the age cut off is 13 for a reason. I want these children to stay away from Facebook until they are old enough to understand and responsibly used it.
TWITTER: I will begin with an anecdote- As I sit right now in a Starbucks, I’m writing this all while I am hearing two men discussing “the Niagara Region” which I believe is in their line of work. Neither of them appears to be under the age of 50 and one of them has just said “______ must be asleep because their last tweet was from city hall 40 minutes ago”. They continue to discuss tweets and current events, the use of social media and how twitter has made them feel more informed than ever. Social media is so popular and widely used that it is a great gift to be able to use it order to keep up to date with current events. It also allows for the sharing of ideas, interests and information without having to give out too much personal information. Students can use twitter as a way to be heard and as a way to connect with and reach others. I think that there are many interesting ways for teachers to use twitter with their students. The article titled 50 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom by Samantha Miller, suggests many safe ways to use twitter responsibly including ways to connect with the teacher, fellow students and the community. I have often thought about how I myself could use twitter in the classroom.
As a project a teacher might create a twitter account for their classroom and use it as a tool for an eco-awareness project. Children can take proactive measures under the supervision of their teacher, and under the anonymity of a classroom community to help encourage environmental responsibility and share ideas about how their class is taking proactive measures to be more ecofriendly. This could be an excellent way for a junior division teacher who’s students may be showing an interest in social media, to help promotes responsible use of Twitter as a tool for humanity. Parents may even appreciate finding their children following activists and positive figures over celebrities and their friends.
INSTAGRAM: As far as using Instagram in the classroom I cannot see many benefits. As much as I appreciate Instagram in my personal life I feel as though Instagram can be a dangerous as well. With twitter we can appreciate that it is a forum not only for sharing images but for sharing thoughts, opinions, links etc, and it creates a more open dialogue whereas when you are primarily using a tool for sharing photos it can be a bit more precarious, especially when there are other effective tools for classroom photo sharing such a Flicker.
I recently read an article about the dangers of Instagram and how it perpetuates harmful body images for young women. I found myself very disturbed by what I read. I know that I myself follow a fitness profile and decided to investigate into some of the profiles of those who post comments such as “My goal weight is 105 almost there,” what I found was #’s from preteen children which including #pro-anorexia, #proself-harm messages and something called #thinspo that left me clenching my stomach. I found that I could look into these profiles and see terrifying pictures as well as find supporters of children who are harming themselves! What scares me the most about this is that unlike Facebook and Twitter I feel like Instagram may not be catching on as much with adults as it is with younger generations. Many children’s parents may not even be aware of the fact that their children have Instagram. Facebook on the other hand is so widespread and has caught up with older generations, making it more difficult for young people to hide from their parents. This telling news story highlights the popularity of #thinspo amongst young women. The new story says that Social Media has began to implement policies that prevent these accounts from being shared, but Other stories I have found argued that Instagram has had less success than Facebook and Pinterest when it comes to monitoring these accounts. I know from my own investigating it was fairly easy to find these accounts.
In summery, as a Primary/Junior Educator I would likely only use Twitter with my students. As I mentioned above, I feel like educating students on the way Social Media can be a learning tool is extremely important but it is equally important to ensure safe and appropriate use.
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