Social Media for Teachers

Over the past eight weeks I have been learning about the benefits and negatives of social media, how it can be used in the classroom, teaching students about digital citizenship and Internet safety, and so much more! With the Internet ever-evolving, I wanted to continue to explore how I can use social media professionally and in my classroom.

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Why Social Media?

Why can social media be beneficial in a classroom setting? It is clear that social media is not going anywhere and our students are going to be on some form of it. So as teachers, it is important that we teach our students digital skills and how to be responsible digital citizens. In order to do so, we should embrace social media and incorporate it into our lessons. This blog post shares 7 reasons why social media should be used in classrooms. Some of the reasons include engaging parents and community, sharing work, make global connections, and connect with experts. Social media is a great way to connect with families outside of the classroom and for them to see what is happening in the classroom. This could be through Instagram posts of student work or sharing a newsletter on Facebook. Social media is great to connect with other classrooms around the world. Your class can find a "pen pal" class from across the world and connect with them through Twitter.

What Does it Look Like?

Social media can help students retain more information and be more engaged in lessons. But what does social media in the classroom look like? With all the different social media platforms, there are many options to incorporate some form of social media into lessons. The Tech Edvocate explores ways to use Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and Skype (this can be updated to Zoom or Google Meet). Twitter is a great resource for students to use to see what other people are saying about a specific topic. It can also be used to share information with students and families. Using social media in the class is a way for students to connect to other people around the world!

These days, social media is everywhere and students will find ways to use it. Rather than letting it become a distraction, teachers can incorporate it into their lessons. Edutopia shares many specific ideas for lessons that use social media as a primary resource. Twitter can be used to write summaries using 280 characters or less (students focus on the main idea rather than details). You can use TikTok or Flip to have students create videos to highlight important takeaways from readings.

Reflection

Overall, I believe that social media is a great resource to use your classroom. You are able to connect with families, keep your students engaged in topics, and create a global connection. Since social media has become widely popular, especially with students, it is important to have lessons that teach students online skills and be responsible digital citizens. In order to do that, we need to embrace technology and social media in our classrooms.