Ok handsome fellow, I will try better. But it will take me a while to obliterate years of typing experience in order to appease the occasional hashtag.
Nevertheless, hashtags and social media are the way of life; and it is not going away any time soon. Our students don't know life without social media. #I'monly33butstillknowwhatitwaslikeprehashtag #canyouputanapostropheinahashtag #i'mstillworkingonthespaces #oy #icoulddothisallday
So where is the boundary between social media and your teacher role? There is no way around it, the area is gray. Do I friend my students? Do I friend parents of students? Do I friend coworkers? Do I friend past students? The problem is that students don't know life without social media, and they most likely don't see how it can be a negative thing to connect with their teachers online. There are benefits to social media and there are obviously safety concerns-for you and the students. Watch this video I created using Adobe Spark on the benefits and safety concerns of social media.
In my personal social media accounts, I keep everything private and fairly unsearchable. My friends are people that I know, and I do connect people that I work with. I do not have anything to hide on my personal account. I mainly post about my family and fun things that happen at work. However, if I wanted to use it as a rant place, I would choose more carefully who I friend. I choose to keep everything PG, so I have nothing to hide.
Let's talk about things to hide. There are times when everyone needs privacy, or a place to vent. Sometimes, in fact most of the time, that should be kept with the people closest to you; maybe a friend, a significant other, or a close coworker that understands what you are going through. Perhaps it is not the best idea to post it for the whole world to see.
You are so wise at such a young age young lady. Some adults don't even have this figured out. Ku-dos! (separated for syllabic emphasis)
Some think it is their duty to connect with students on social media, because they feel more comfortable confiding in an adult this way. To this, I say (if you insist on connecting with students online): make everything you do as a teacher known to administration. Why not start a School facebook page where teachers and students can join? This way, administration can see what is going on and you are covering your hide as well.
Now, enough of the warning signs. Let us talk about the productive side of social media. As I said earlier, students are fluent in all social media languages. Let's use it to our advantage in the teaching world! I like using Twitter in my classroom. I follow my district guidelines for posting, but I love that it gets parents into the music room. What do kids usually say when you ask them what they did at school?
Well, they can't say that anymore! Teachers can be so much more transparent with parents. Parents can use it as a way to open conversations with their child, tween, or teen. See how I use my twitter page by following me @CHEMusicRoom.
You can also use social media with your students in a purely educational narrative.
Symbaloo can be used in so many ways. You can use it to organize your own bookmarks, as they use visual tiles to help you navigate through the plethera of amazing sites that you use. Or you can use it like I do, and share vetted links with your students. Here is the link that I share with my 5th graders when they research their music genres. When students research on Rock and Roll, Rap, or pop genres, it makes me one nervous teacher. However, if I send them to my Symbaloo page, I know what they are seeing, because I placed the links there myself. You can place your own icons on the tiles and even color code them for better organization like I did. Then, you can share the link with students- like I am here. However, if you take a look below, this is what I use with my 5th graders.
Padlet is a great way to have discussions and post knowledge at just about any grade level. Think of it as an interactive refrigerator. You are always placing proud piece of work or reminders here. Padlet works the same way. We always talk about steady beat vs rhythm as music teachers, right? Take a look at this Padlet that I created with my 2nd graders. They were to find of anything that is non-musical that occurs in every day life and say weather it has a natural rhythm or steady beat, such as a jump rope, rain falling, lightning, or a cheerleader leading a cheer.
Long story, short:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Social Media is Never Going Away
Chapter 2: There are Many Benefits of Social Media
Chapter 3: Be Professional With Social Media
THE END
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