A Great Tool Must Be Used Responsibly
I will never forget my first faculty meeting at my school. It was the end of the summer in 2010, and I was excited to start a new job at a school that I loved. I had been hired to teach English, and despite my nerves, I felt that I could greatly contribute to the life of the school. At that time, the average age of the faculty was probably 50, and I had the feeling that I was hired in order to bring in some youth and offer a fresh perspective on things that hadn't changed at the school in thirty years. My proficiency with technology probably also contributed to my selection for the job.
The first agenda item at the first meeting was the school's new social media policy. The topic of social media was something that had been on my mind since I applied for the job. I was a freshman in college when Facebook was founded, and so my online profile had documented four years of undergraduate fun and games. Facebook was something new and innovative, and so during my undergraduate years I didn't really think about privacy or protecting my online persona. There was nothing too risque on my Facebook, but there were some things that a potential employer didn't need to see. There were certainly things that a potential STUDENT didn't need to see. Before I started applying for jobs, I scrubbed my online profile clean--pictures of me holding red solo cups were removed-- and ratcheted up the privacy settings.
As I sat in that first meeting, I was feeling pretty confident about my "digital footprint."
The Director of Technology at my school spent about 10 minutes explaining the New Technology Policy. The whole thing felt a bit clumsy to me. The policy was clearly adopted as a response to recent issues that schools in the public sector were having. The state of Missouri had recently adopted a similar policy for its schools and our school seemed to be modeling its policy after the state's. However, this new policy was merely reactionary. It viewed social media as a threat and discouraged teachers from using it in the classroom. Actually, it not only discouraged, it seemed to forbid use of social media in or out of the classroom.
My school's policy seemed to do exactly what Hicks mentioned in Chapter 7. It focused on the negative aspects of social media and ignored the positives. On that first day, I felt as if I was immediately put on a leash in my classroom. My school was not thinking about student experience. My school was only thinking about liability. Rather than rethinking our system in order to adapt to a changing digital environment, we seemed to be telling our students and teachers that the digital environment did not exist inside the walls of the school.
Fortunately, my school's administration has relented in many ways over the past 5 years. Innovative teachers are finding ways to connect with students in the digital world, and these sorts of connections are fruitful ones. This past year my school actually set aside a whole professional development day in order to equip teachers with digital tools and skills that could help them in the classroom.
Unfortunately, I am still about weary of social media in the classroom. I have trouble not viewing it as a threat. Yes, it can enhance my students' experience, but are the risks worth it? Just last year, a teacher was fired from my school for comments made on a personal twitter account. When things like that happen, it makes me think about retreating from the online world even though I know that is not what is best for my students.
When I read Chapter 7 of Hobbs (2011) I realized that students need guidance with digital writing. Hobbs' examples of student abuse online made me think about my responsibilities as a teacher. It is my job to teach them to read and write so that they are prepared to enter the world as adults. What good is it to teach them how to read and write in a medium that is no longer relevant. Even though students may be willing to write on Facebook or Twitter, that does not mean that they know HOW to write appropriately. They need guidance. They need role models. They need teachers. I can't shy away from modeling digital writing, because that style of writing is what my students need to see. Otherwise, they may choose the wrong types of role models:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfhS7meOZJw
Hi Brick,
ReplyDeleteNexus here, Interesting post. I share your concerns regarding the need for students to be mindful of their digital footprint and that students actually need guidance as they traverse the digital and social media world. We do have a responsibility as teachers to ensure that students understand the choices they make when writing digitally and that they make choices that are ethical and reflective of the value system they subscribe to. Base on the story of your former co-worker, it seems sometimes adults can also use a lesson or two in exercising caution in the kind of text created and being mindful of the digital footprints left behind.
Social media is very much a part of our students' lives and culture and I think it is important that schools recognize the potential of the tools of social media to improve learning outcomes and student engagement. When schools behave as if school should not have connections with the outside influences of media, they create barriers that obscure the identities of students as well as stunt their growth academically and socially. It is important to have a balanced perspective, being conscious of the risks and educating and grooming students to harness the great possibilities for learning and interacting that social and digital media presents.
When Hick’s mentioned about social media’s negativity, I began thinking about so much of what has happened in schools has focused on social media and negative connotations that have been in the news with young people. Each day on the news, the first fifteen minutes seems to be negative news which is usually where social media is mentioned. Never have I heard any news reports for positive things related to social media except for helping those who have been injured, sick or killed. The day to day life of our young people is usually that of non-education appropriate such as the red solo cup. Although that one item could just be a simple cup of juice, in the current day we are in, it appears to represent alcohol.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like now, something changed with school policies, and I think it was the fact that technology and social media are not going away but rather it is becoming the norm. So we, as administrators, need to get on board if we want to provide challenging and new ways to optimize student learning for success. I have noticed that many schools are revisiting their social media policies and integrating useful ways to utilize it within the curriculum. Setting up a professional development day just for social media and technology seems to help get all generations of teachers on board.
Hey! (For some reason my initial comment didn't go through…so I thought I would try again)
ReplyDeleteWhen I read your post, I thought about my school's former director of technology. Let's just say she was closed-off. The first technology contract I signed was so limiting, we weren't to use our cell phones in school, and this was 2008! For years, we seemed to stumble through technology for technology's sake. This year, we have a new director of technology and he has not only done away with some of the barriers that have been in place for over 6 years, but encouraged us to really get out there! He has helped teachers set up class wikis, maximize Google Docs, set us up on Edmodo, and has a Twitter account that documents the ways kids are using technology around the school. And it isn't even December!
Yes, there are pitfalls and things need to be put in place to protect young children, but we can't isolate students from forms of communication, that as you say, are becoming the norm.
Thanks for sharing!