A Guidebook for Social Media in the Classroom

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/guidebook-social-media-in-classroom-vicki-davis

In “A Guidebook for Social Media in the Classroom,” Vicki Davis writes about the need for students to learn how to use and write for social media. She suggests that there is one powerful form of writing that can get you fired, will be read by college admission counselors, and haunt a political campaign, and that form is social media. Given its power, she believes that we should be teaching students how to communicate, that is, how to write, when using social media. She also gives several examples of how teachers are doing this in their classrooms.

“Social media is another tool that you can use to make your classroom more engaging, relevant and culturally diverse,” says Davis, and I have to agree. Yes, as teachers we often loathe the potential for Snapchats and Instagram posts to take over our students’ attention in the classroom, but the reality is, the technology is in their hands, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it.

However, we as teachers are far from powerless. I believe, especially as a social studies teacher, that it is imperative that I teach my students how to use these social tools responsibly. Unfortunately, not all parents realize the extent to which their students are posting to these sites, and therefore, aren't spending enough time monitoring or teaching students what's smart and what's not when it comes to posting. And certainly many of our students do not realize the potential long term consequences of posting comments or pictures. Teachers do have the ability and opportunity to educate students about social media, and I believe we should be embracing this role.

As Davis suggests in her article, one way to do this is to use these social media sites in our lesson plans. By following the examples that she shares in the article, we can not only teach responsible use and demonstrate how wide-reaching these sites can be, but we can also effectively teach content and writing skills. Our students must be taught how to communicate through these mediums because they’ll be using them, or similar technology, for the rest of their lives. By using them in our classroom, we can not only engage students in learning but also help them understand how to be responsible posters and discerning consumers of the information they process from social media.