This week we had Jesse Miller as a guest speaker. He gave valuable insight into some of the difficulties that come up with the rise in social media and the precautions we should be taking as educators. The internet is a powerful tool that can be used for good and malicious intentions. As things evolve and grow we need to educate ourselves and our students on how to appropriately and safely use social media.
Understand the School Expectations and Policies of an Employer
When using social media as a teacher we may want to share everything new and exciting, but we need to be responsible for what we put out. When posting something personal it is best to consider if this is seen by my employer or any students/parents will that cause professional issues. If a teacher wants to have a social media presence it is important to ensure it all works together to build a moral and appropriate image. Every once in a while take a moment to google yourself and see what comes up. Is that a person you would trust to teach your children? How do you present yourself online? Is not just a question of what you chose to put out there anymore, what are you tagged in?
When we are working with a school, we must be sure we understand what the district, school, and even parents expect with social media use and communication. We must open a dialogue and discuss the importance of how we can appropriately use social media at the school. Using electronics and other devices is being integrated into the system and it is becoming more and more difficult to stay completely disconnected whether parents and teachers agree with its use or not. It is time to start focusing on creating healthy boundaries and expectations.
Digital Consent
Are we asking before snapping a picture and using it for our class website? Even a photo that seems innocent like students working on a project together must have consent to be posted online. Not everyone has good intentions despite our trust they can take advantage of things we share. Both in professional and personal situations we need to consider what we are sharing and what the consequences might be.
Thoughts and Other
One thing I have found changes everything is the use of phones to film. Teachers are being held accountable for their actions now that students have evidence unlike before when students we brushed off. Even at UVIC, there was a video released of a professor telling a student that there’s a cap on how many times a student can be confused during a lecture and that student reached their cap not allowing any more questions. This video has received a lot of backlash online. Up island there was a video released where a teacher showed up to class drunk and was going off on a crazy rant; he was quickly fired. There have been many cases of students providing receipts to prove inappropriate behaviour from a teacher. Not many students have phones in elementary school, but even so, anything you do in front of your students you should not fear being shared online.
