Social Media has a place in Education! 

Yes it does.  It has many places as a matter of fact. As a teacher that sounds so very weird for me to say.  Social media in schools?  No way!  

Elementary

Social media in elementary schools can be a free communication tool.  From Facebook groups to Twitter, if educators can commit to being diligent about updating, these media outlets can be lifesavers to the busy parents.  No more waiting for an email or waiting as the school closings scroll by on the bottom feed of the local news.  

For students, social media is not so much for school, but friends and trends.  But they should take heed, there is a lot to learn from social media.  From celebrities to athletes, many have learned a valuable lesson of the consequences of posting. College coaches and employers are using tools to scour social media outlets to verify potential players and employees.  These tools will report not only posts to social media, but likes, retweets/reposts and tags.  Recruiters are now asking for your social media handles when completing recruiting paperwork.  

In Real life, there are consequences for social media posts.  Just ask Kevin Hart, who as a teen posted some remarks.  When he was chosen to host an awards show, these remarks resurfaced, and even though it was well in his past and he apologized, people did not care.  He resigned from hosting position.  Check out this timeline if you are not familiar with the drama.

Middle and High Schools

You can’t walk a step in a high school without seeing a student with their phone or tablet out.  Chances are they are posting or tweeting all about what is going on.  While informative, what are the latest scores of the basketball game or who won the scholars bowl meet, students need to be cautious about what they believe.  Just last week there was a school shooting.  The student-shooter had posted a sort of warning, which prompted some students to ask to stay home.  Red flags were there.  Lives were lost.  The sadness is felt in all schools.  

Closer to home, there have been similar posts in Olathe.  Taken seriously, school officials contact police.  While social media is being monitored, what isn't monitored these days, kudos to the students who recognized that trusted adults needed to be involved.  Brave, and well taught.  

Live Interactions

Social media rose to a new level in education-thanks for Covid. In March of 2020, educators everywhere were thrust into a new world of online tools.  Relationships needed to be kept up, so teachers and principles around the world started thinking outside the box.  From daily meetups, read aloud, virtual field trips and Zoom, we all did what we could to maintain the relationships with students.  These interactions were a lifeline for so many students (and parents). Social media was used to get the word out about all the school happenings.  Tech challenged parents were thankful for the links to keep their students connected.

Connect with me! Tell me your story, experience or grievance with social media in education!

Hugs! Debbie Meehan