Module 4 Reading Response

Social Networking Goes to School

                In the article, Social Networking Goes to School, many of the issues educators deal with on a daily basis with concern to social media are addressed.  Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, blogs, etc. have become a part of most American’s daily lives.  It’s difficult for many to part with their social media so where should educators draw the line? Is it okay to be Facebook friends with students? Follow them on Twitter? Give them the link to your personal blog? Show them the latest viral video on Youtube? Where do educators draw the line?

            Social Networking Goes to School discusses many of the benefits of using social networking to collaborate with students and promote learning.  Principal Eric C. Sheninger of Milford High School in New Jersey uses Facebook to keep student and parents updated through the school’s page and with more than 1,000 followers it is obvious that students are using this to stay informed.  He also uses Twitter to keep his students and staff informed.  Other teachers use Skype to connect children across the world and build relationships that in the past likely would not have existed.  Teachers are using Twitter to collaborate and gain ideas from other teachers across the country.  However, reaching many of these sites on your school computer can be close to impossible because they are blocked by many districts which blur the line of what is appropriate for educators and what is not.  It would seem that if your district or principal are using these sites to inform the public and collaborate with teachers that they would be readily available on the school computer, but because they are not many teachers still feel as if they are breaking the rules. 

            I believe that when it comes to the internet many educators are afraid to embrace social media because they fear there may be consequences.  Although, it may be easy to send a Facebook or Twitter message to a student to keep in contact that may be seen to others as taboo.  In this new age of technology, teachers are constantly being reprimanded for inappropriate relationships with students that often stem from social networks.  With so much technology how can we be sure that we are not crossing a line socially with our students.  Even though it a great ways to collaborate and communicate many teachers stay away because the consequences are too great.