
One thing I have done in the past, and while writing this realize that I should do again, is offer personal learning network (PLN) training to teachers. I think children are unsafe online without our positive examples and direct guidance. I never have to stop learning.Īs a Technology Integrator, I consider it part of my responsibility to help teachers see the value in Social Media, wherever willingness exists. They're like getting a newspaper delivered with just the headlines I'm interested in. I use Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest in much the same way. Sure, I get to see my friend surfing in Maine in the Winter, but I also am just as likely to get lost reading about the best 10 digital tools for infographics. Now my newsfeed is more like a newspaper. I then deliberately followed all sorts of news sources, people who teach technology, and organizations I'm interested in. I kept them as friends, but "unfollowing" removed their posts from my newsfeed. I unfollowed many of my friends who were still experimenting with Facebook or posting things that I did not find interesting or valuable. So, I decided to do something about that. I, too, have found Facebook to be distracting, annoying, and often a waste of time. How can I apply it to my own interests or my to do list? So, when I am presented with an opportunity to teach or learn about a new tool, I always ask myself how I can use the tool or information for my own use. T is difficult, if not impossible, for me to teach students something that I do not see the value in. They're either abandoning the tools for newer ones or using existing tools differently. It is evident that many people who have been using social media for some time are bored with this experimenting stage. Everyone is having fun sharing all kinds of things and getting all kinds of attention. I think that our culture is still in the midst of that unorganized gawking stage when something is new and different. For the first five or ten minutes, all students were preoccupied with what the others were doing, but then they would get used to it and simply settle into whatever it is they were doing.
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I remember using LanSchool software to project the laptop screens of all my students onto the whiteboard - everyone could see what everyone was doing.

It is difficult to see evolution while it is happening. But why is that all that some people can see? I think that it is because we're in the midst of transition. It is true that there are massive amounts of inane, ridiculous, and offensive things out there in cyberspace. It's turning into something that everyone uses. So, social media use is no longer just for digital natives and those who gravitate towards cutting edge technology.

According to this article by InvestorPlace, Facebook users are getting significantly older, while younger users are moving on to other things. My mom has had a microwave for years and she texts me from her cellular phone almost daily. I remember a time when my mother adamantly insisted that she would never have a microwave, and then she would never need a cellular phone. The general message we give them is that social media is frivolous at best and perilous at worst.Įven though social media has been around for some time, in the larger picture, it is still a pretty new thing.
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I wonder how we're going to teach our students how to navigate the digital social landscape without that understanding. It is always somewhat of a "walking on eggshells" experience for me. This is so true that when I broach the topic of the positive use of social media to many parents or fellow teachers, I feel like I'm talking about religion, politics, or some other hugely decisive topic. Everyone seems to grasp the risks and drawbacks of social media, but there are few who can recognize the benefits and tremendous potential. One of the biggest obstacles to teaching students positive digital citizenship skills to students is that so few adults are comfortable with social media themselves.Īlmost daily, I hear an adult declare, often with great pride, that he or she does not do social media as if social media were an unsavory thing.
