Personally, I am an avid user of social media. My Twitter and LinkedIn accounts are a brilliant source of PD for me and I am a regular user of Facebook. My Facebook page was originally set up with the purpose of connecting with friends and family who I don’t get to interact with that often. It was also set up to share photos and little anecdotes about my growing children - particularly appreciated by the grandparents and family who live overseas! Over time my Facebook profile has become a precious online journal that the kids and I often look back on and reflect.
I can also see the benefits of social media in the classroom. Immediately it can generate an authentic audience for the student’s creations. An audience that can provide instant feedback and interactions at a global level. Now that’s exciting! Many schools find Facebook as the most effective way of reaching their parent community through online communication.
With so many potential benefits, I’m against the notion of banning social media in primary schools. I also am aware that our children are surrounded by social media, this is the world they live in and something that they will engage with (either now or in the future) - so I see that ethically - we have an obligation as teachers to teach our children how to engage with social media in ways that add value to their learning and social interactions - in a safe and responsible manner. In the NZ Code of Ethics for Certified Teachers, under ‘Commitment to Learners’ it states that we should strive to “encourage learners to think critically about significant social issues” and “promote the physical, emotional, social, intellectual and spiritual wellbeing of learners”. I think that the use of social media provides a platform and opportunity for these important conversations to take place in the classroom.
Dilemma: Teacher Personal Use of Social Media - Accepting Friend Requests from Students
When I had my first friend request from a student I was delighted. This was a student who I had taught several years ago and had just started her university study. I admit to enjoying the opportunity to see what my students were up to later in life, what they become, their achievements - something we often miss out on as teachers when our students move on.
At the time I thought I had all of the risks of accepting students as Facebook friends covered. Looking at the School Docs policy around staff personal use of social media - I thought I had ticked all of the boxes:
From SchoolDocs:http://www.schooldocs.co.nz
I had been mindful of my audience every time I had posted to Facebook in the past (especially given my family elders and in-laws were included in my audience!) so I was happy for my students to see any of these posts. I had also set up a group in my privacy settings that restricted the content that certain people could see and interact with.
What I hadn’t anticipated were some of the issues that later came to light:
1. Photos I was unexpectedly tagged in
Didn’t see this one coming. Hadn’t considered the photos/content that my friends might post and tag me in…. Yes those alcohol induced moments that you never anticipate being shared out of context!
2. Inappropriate content being posted by the students
I could cope (only just) with the poor spelling and grammar - although did wonder where I went wrong in my teaching!!! ;) What I made me really uncomfortable and confronting were the sexually provocative photos that my young female ex-students were posting publicly - along with so much personal information - including phone numbers. These students were practically adults now - so in some respects this was none of my business - however - I still felt that ethically as their teacher (whether it be past or present) I had a responsibility to warn them of the dangers … but how do you go about approaching this with an 18 year old!
3. Friend requests from students under 13
Then there emerged the problem of friend requests from students under the age of 13. This one was a little easier to tackle although in many cases it was the parents who had set up their accounts. For this one I drew the line and did not accept friend requests from these students - but ethically I felt I needed to take this further - particularly given that we have a responsibility as teachers for the wellbeing of our students. At the time we had issues with other social media tools - Instagram and Snapchat. This lead to an open conversation with the students around the use of social media. I was open about my own dilemmas that I had faced and posed a range of scenarios for the students to think about. We also made use of the Netsafe resources and talked through the concept of a digital footprint. Also recognising the importance of involving the parents in this discussion (Code of Ethics - Commitment to Parents/Families/Whanau) - our school held a cybersafety education evening for parents and we promoted the use of the Netsafe resources for parents.
Again, I see the importance of being open with our students about the dilemma’s we face in our use of social media and use them as opportunities to think critically and engage in those important conversations around how we can overcome those challenges, protect ourselves and reap in the benefits that social media use can afford.
I can also see the benefits of social media in the classroom. Immediately it can generate an authentic audience for the student’s creations. An audience that can provide instant feedback and interactions at a global level. Now that’s exciting! Many schools find Facebook as the most effective way of reaching their parent community through online communication.
With so many potential benefits, I’m against the notion of banning social media in primary schools. I also am aware that our children are surrounded by social media, this is the world they live in and something that they will engage with (either now or in the future) - so I see that ethically - we have an obligation as teachers to teach our children how to engage with social media in ways that add value to their learning and social interactions - in a safe and responsible manner. In the NZ Code of Ethics for Certified Teachers, under ‘Commitment to Learners’ it states that we should strive to “encourage learners to think critically about significant social issues” and “promote the physical, emotional, social, intellectual and spiritual wellbeing of learners”. I think that the use of social media provides a platform and opportunity for these important conversations to take place in the classroom.
Dilemma: Teacher Personal Use of Social Media - Accepting Friend Requests from Students
When I had my first friend request from a student I was delighted. This was a student who I had taught several years ago and had just started her university study. I admit to enjoying the opportunity to see what my students were up to later in life, what they become, their achievements - something we often miss out on as teachers when our students move on.
At the time I thought I had all of the risks of accepting students as Facebook friends covered. Looking at the School Docs policy around staff personal use of social media - I thought I had ticked all of the boxes:
From SchoolDocs:http://www.schooldocs.co.nz
I had been mindful of my audience every time I had posted to Facebook in the past (especially given my family elders and in-laws were included in my audience!) so I was happy for my students to see any of these posts. I had also set up a group in my privacy settings that restricted the content that certain people could see and interact with.
What I hadn’t anticipated were some of the issues that later came to light:
1. Photos I was unexpectedly tagged in
Didn’t see this one coming. Hadn’t considered the photos/content that my friends might post and tag me in…. Yes those alcohol induced moments that you never anticipate being shared out of context!
2. Inappropriate content being posted by the students
I could cope (only just) with the poor spelling and grammar - although did wonder where I went wrong in my teaching!!! ;) What I made me really uncomfortable and confronting were the sexually provocative photos that my young female ex-students were posting publicly - along with so much personal information - including phone numbers. These students were practically adults now - so in some respects this was none of my business - however - I still felt that ethically as their teacher (whether it be past or present) I had a responsibility to warn them of the dangers … but how do you go about approaching this with an 18 year old!
3. Friend requests from students under 13
Then there emerged the problem of friend requests from students under the age of 13. This one was a little easier to tackle although in many cases it was the parents who had set up their accounts. For this one I drew the line and did not accept friend requests from these students - but ethically I felt I needed to take this further - particularly given that we have a responsibility as teachers for the wellbeing of our students. At the time we had issues with other social media tools - Instagram and Snapchat. This lead to an open conversation with the students around the use of social media. I was open about my own dilemmas that I had faced and posed a range of scenarios for the students to think about. We also made use of the Netsafe resources and talked through the concept of a digital footprint. Also recognising the importance of involving the parents in this discussion (Code of Ethics - Commitment to Parents/Families/Whanau) - our school held a cybersafety education evening for parents and we promoted the use of the Netsafe resources for parents.
Again, I see the importance of being open with our students about the dilemma’s we face in our use of social media and use them as opportunities to think critically and engage in those important conversations around how we can overcome those challenges, protect ourselves and reap in the benefits that social media use can afford.
Hi Mandy
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. Social media is an excellent place to learn grow and share. Like you I was also friend requested by past students. It has been fun watching them grow into adults. Thankfully I have never been tagged in any inappropriate photos. I think, had that happened, I would seriously considered my place as their friend.
I have my own teenage/adult children who use social media and they often put photos up that I find borderline inappropriate. What I often find is their answer is "everyone else does it".
I feel at primary school is a good time to teach the students how to use the internet appropriately and what are the consequences of publishing online are. The Tweeting I do with my class allows me to teach them this.
Social media has it's place as you say.
Thanks for your post.
Jodi
Good point Jodi - tweeting with your class is a great way to model appropriate and effective use of social media. That's where class blogs can work well too.
DeleteI agree that we can't ignore the power and influence that social media is having in all our lives. Dealing with the ethical responsibilities that come with this is often issues we haven't even considered until they occur some of which you have spoken about.
ReplyDeleteI agree Mandy it is hard not to feel responsible for our students actions even when they happen outside of school. I feel awful about a case we very recently had of a year 5 student who ran up a horrendous bill on her Mum's debit card through the App store on her iPad which the school had encouraged her to get as part of our BYOD programme. The mum felt very unconfident around the iPad and consequently the daughter, who is usually a model student, had control. As a result we are rerunning our evening workshop around safety and control of devices but we find it difficult to get a good turn out of parents. Have you any ideas how to encourage families to prioritise this? Would welcome any thoughts.
ReplyDeleteHi Amanda, I can relate to your struggle around getting parents to attend these sessions. With the busy lives that we lead, I'm toying with the idea of trying to deliver these sessions in an online format. Maybe dedicating a section of our website to parent education around devices and cybersafety. We could post articles, weblinks and make our own video tutorials. I'd also love to see the kids making their own cybersafety movie clips for the community. We'd just have to get systems in place to update the site regularly and ensure we are responsive to needs as they arise.... just a thought?
DeleteThanks for your comment!
At my last school one of my colleagues held workshops in the evening (once a week) just for parents. She taught them all the basics of setting up an iPad, how to use the apps that their children were using, and answered any questions that they had. It was a very successful initiative for those parents who felt unconfident about devices.
ReplyDeleteI think you are right Christine at some point we need to target the parents/caregivers!! Despite living in a digital world some parents are far less skilled at using digital technology than their children and some are very naive about what their children can get up to online.
ReplyDeleteI teach Intermediate students and we regularly have to show parents what their children are doing online and how they are communicating to others. Some are shocked, some appear to have the appropriate punishments but despite all of this their children know how to run around all the systems. It is very easy to set up another Facebook, Instagram account!!
Despite running lots of programmes and engaging students in all sorts of ways to look at digital citizenship and online safety, we now realise we need to get the parents on board in a big way and in a sense educate them on these topics as well and providing ways they can keep their children safe online.
A great read and absolutely agree with you Mandy. As a Principal in a Primary School and knowing how technology is so the future of our learners, it is our responsibility to teach our students about the ethical responsibilities of using social media to keep them safe and informed to make good choices. With this said it is just as important for teachers / leaders /Principals to not engage with students on social media on a personal level, which could become problematic. This is just my view of course, but one that I make a conscience effort to stay clear of. There is a time and platform for form teacher / student interact on a social platform which is strictly learning related.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your experiences Mandy. I too received the typical friend request from a young Y5 student who really just wanted his friend tally to look good. I was especially concerned when I decided to take this a little further and began to search some of the students of the time. This lead to a very frank and open classroom discussion about social media legal requirements, appropriate friendship behaviours online, parental involvement or supervision, Netsafe resources and then the big guns.... our local community constable came for a casual chat. We all decided this is in many ways an excellent forum for discussion around friendships, language, body language versus words for comments and what people may think is being said versus what is really meant. From previous comments the bigger issue is parental involvement in children's' lives and the relationships they have with each other providing guidance and support is so important.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Mandy. I agree that it is naive to exclude social media from primary schools. It's here, it's growing, and if we want to teach children how to use it responsibly, then we need to model that in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI remember having John Parsons visit us at school to do cyber-safety (great presentation!). He asked the year 5/6 students to 'hands-up' for a social media presence - despite 'age limits', at least 1/3 had facebook accounts and more than half had Instagram accounts! Whether or not their parents knew was another question! As social media is so pervasive, the only reasonable response is education about safety and citizenship.
I can also relate to your issue about students wanting to 'friend' you - although, this wasn't a dilemma for me, just a flat no!
Thanks
Cara
Ah yes Cara - John Parsons was the name I was trying to remember! He was great and his presentation was well pitched at the parent community. For anyone interested his website is: http://www.simulate2educate.co.nz/john-parsons
DeleteI like your comment, "Over time my Facebook profile has become a precious online journal that the kids and I often look back on and reflect". I can connect to this, as so too have my class blogs and more recently class Twitter accounts as a record of my own teaching work. These could be used as a form of digital portfolio and I presume may become more powerful for teachers than the traditional CV when applying for jobs.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I wonder if there is an ethical issue in teachers keeping photos and video of ex-students online (through blogs, YouTube, etc) years down the track, effectively having some control over the digital footprint of those children. Just a thought.