Innovative Learning Blog
Review this article/letter. http:/dt/eechteacher.org/social-media-posts-patrick-larkin/ and blog about the following:
A.) How can social media be used to help me develop/collaborate/communicate as a professional? What are the critical issues to consider? Darrel West (2012) wrote "The appearance of collaboration tools such as blogs, wikis, social media, and video games has altered the way individuals and organizations relate to one another. There is no longer any need to wait on professionals to share material and report on new developments. Today, people communicate directly in an unmediated and unfiltered manner." The more social media tools I learn the more I develop my social media skills, which I can then teach to my students. As crazy as it sounds, I can see a future where (at least some of) my 2nd grade students are writing blogs instead of writing in their journals with paper and pencil. At my school, 5th graders are using Google Slides instead of pencil and paper for their writing journals. There is still benefit for writing with paper and pencil, so the 5th graders do their written homework assignments one week with pencil and paper and the next week with Google Slides. There are also numerous benefits with having students use Google Slides to present their writing. Below is just a few of the benefits from students using Google Slides: 1.)According to 5th graders and 5th grade teachers, when students use Google Slides they are more engaged with their writing and write twice as much compared to when they use pencil and paper. 2.) Google Slides offers a lot of student choice in terms of designing the background, visuals, and images. 3.) Google Slides teaches students how to professionally communicate. (Nobody communicates these days using pencil and paper. Everybody uses the internet, or texts, tweets, blogs, e-mail, and services such as Google Docs,Google Slides, and Zoom.) Even if I don't teach my students some of the social media tools I've learned, the students still benefit because these tools have improved my collaboration and communication with my colleagues, which has made me a better teacher. Social media enables people to collaborate effectively and quickly in comparison to how people communicated 5-30 years ago. For example, my grade level team collaborates more efficiently and with better results using Google Docs than previously (just 5 years ago) when everything was written and recorded using Microsoft Word. Today's world also communicates instantaneously, easily, and productively. For example, Malala used blogs to tell the world about the injustices occurring in her home country, which helped her become recognized throughout the world. Her recognition stemmed from using Social Media. Eventually, she became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. One critical issue with social media is access. Not all social media is free. Some are not supported by the district's bandwidth and policies. Another issue is for the teacher finding the time to learn the social media, teach it to the students, help them create and/or manage student's social media accounts, and regulate the content. It can be difficult and time consuming to incorporate social media into a curriculum that has no social media embedded into it. The major critical issue is digital citizenship (DC). First, you have to create or find the lessons, then you have to find the time to teach them. DC is important because without it, students won't have rules and regulations that guide them in safe, respectful, and responsible manner. DC is something that will probably have to be revisited frequently if social media is routinely used in class. Another possible issue is convincing parents the benefits from it. Some social media resistance may come from parents, but it would be the least of my worries. My main focus would be that students are using social media appropriately and that I'm able to control and regulate the appropriateness of the content. B.) What would you do if you were to come across an inappropriate post made by one of your students outside of the school. Do you address the post and, if so, how? Whom do you involve in the conversations? What considerations must you make in determining your course of action? In my opinion, any type of social media issue that becomes controversial inside or outside that involves a student should be brought to the highest authority, which in this case would be the principal. I would debrief the principal with everything I knew and collaborate to come up with the appropriate action plan. I would let the principal decide whom was to be involved in the conversation and how to discipline/support the student that made the post. At our school, we have a teacher who teaches digital citizenship via Common Sense to all 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. I would recommend involving him in the conversation as well as the parents of the student.
3 Comments
Todd
3/11/2017 10:51:07 am
Hi Joe,
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Kelley S. Miller
3/11/2017 02:47:37 pm
It's so interesting to see you write about the use of Google Docs and Google Slides as social media. I, too, love using a big slide deck in my class, on which all students can contribute. It allows them to read each other's work, and push themselves a bit more because they know their peers are reading what they write (or draw, link, etc.). Also, the idea that students to homework on paper one week, and digitally the next, sounds like a great system.
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Diane
3/12/2017 11:06:14 am
I think your right on about social media taking over in this generation. I teach kindergarten and they are even still and more engaged for a longer period of time when they are using technology to learn.
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AuthorMy name is Joe Hall. I am an elementary bilingual teacher in Napa, CA. Archives
July 2017
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