Safety and Social Media

Reflection #3 - Safe Use of Technology in the Classroom

The modern, developing classroom has placed a continuing emphasis on the safety of students in the classroom.  We do our best to keep our children safe while they are in our care, but the reality is that they are also at risk when they leave school.  Unfortunately, social media provides a new outlet that can expose our children to cyberbullying, predators, and other unsafe content on the web.  We must try to teach them, first and foremost, to protect themselves during these naive and impressionable years.

There is always so much to teach in the curriculum, but I believe that it is important to have a discussion and an activity early in the year to establish what is acceptable when it comes to social media.  Asking kids to express what they believe to be inappropriate, what will be acceptable in our classroom as well as meeting the standards of the board, and what will be done when someone violates the code, is an important way to get students thinking and expressing their opinion on this important topic.  One strategy could be an anonymous box, where students can share their worries about inappropriate use of social media or even if they feel bullied or threatened online.

In one classroom, I saw a teacher ask students to explore the school and take photos of the various joints (hinges, glue, etc.) that they found and share them with the class.  Creating a class platform where students can share their achievements, questions, photos or thoughts can be an interesting way for students to interact and learn a little more about one another and their interests.  Also, as teachers, we should be integrating the use of social media into some of our lessons in order to show and model the appropriate use of these mediums (albeit, if the school board allows).  

Lastly, things like Twitter or even Instagram could be used as a way to get feedback about lessons and activities.  For example, if students are role playing, working on a great piece of art or participating in a particular experiment, they can provide pictures and comments about what they enjoyed most about that particular topic.  I think this can be very useful for us as teachers to see what students enjoy and how they learn.  Sometimes it is very difficult for students to tell us about these things, so maybe this will provide them with an easier way to express their opinion.

These tools are new to me, and coming from a school where cell phones were not allowed in the classroom, have provided me with a new learning opportunity.  However, I do believe that there has to be times when using social media is ok in the classroom and times when we will just put the tech away and focus on other skills and ways of learning.  Providing students with structure but an ability to use these mediums in a safe and expressive manner are key to helping them learn about online safety and appropriate use in various situations.