Social media: like the staffroom, but without all the negativity | Teacher Network. I once heard someone describe Twitter as, "like the staffroom but without all the negativity". This resonated with me. Teaching is one of those professions where everyone has an opinion on how it should be done; teachers are often harangued for short working hours and long summer holidays, and whenever things go wrong in schools it makes national headlines.
But very rarely do you see good practice being celebrated. This negativity – and the pressures of the job – quickly seep into the staffroom and it can be difficult to stay motivated. I once heard Dr. Anne Looney, chief executive of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) Ireland, talk about Andy Hargreaves and Michael Fullan's book, Professional Capital. One thing she said stuck with me: "if you have high professional capital but are surrounded by others with low professional capital, you will be brought down by them. " I came to teaching later in my working life – I was 30 years old when I started. 10 tips for using social tools with students. Chalktalk%20Vol13_Issue%201.pdf. Turn Twitter into a learning tool.
Working relationships - New2Teaching website. The relationships you form with staff, students, parents and governors can make all the difference in the early stages of your career. Starting out As a new teacher, you are trying to make a good impression, understand the school culture and work out who’s who. These are a few points to help with this: Take your time: you don’t have to suss everyone out.Beware of being isolated within a department which may stop you forming other helpful relationships, notably with other new teachers.If you do notice cliques, try to stay neutral.
Working with support staff Teaching assistants, administrative and other support staff have a crucial role to play in the successful running of a school. Building positive working relationships with colleagues takes time and effort. Try to involve teaching assistants in as much planning, preparation and assessment as possible – this will demonstrate that you value their support. Commenting on the teaching of other staff Communicating with the senior managers.
Engaging Your School Community Through Social Media. When I started my career as a school administrator, the closest thing we had to public relations and communications was the biweekly school newsletter that we cranked out in MS Word. Photocopied newsletters stuffed into backpacks on a Friday afternoon seemed to do the job of communicating with parents. For teachers, memos were placed in cubbyholes in the staff room. As technology progressed and the schools where I worked got larger, new options became available. The need to better communicate and engage our students, staff, parents, and prospective families became even more essential. Here are a few ways that we at The International School (TIS) have engaged with our community. School Website Schools are busy places, and parents need a trusted place to find the right information. It must be mobile friendly. Facebook Peter Sutton told me in a workshop that "if you are not telling your school's story on Facebook, someone else is.
" Promote sports, arts, and cultural events. Twitter LinkedIn. Engaging Your School Community Through Social Media. This blog post was originally published on Edutopia’s website on Friday, November 14, 2015 (see original here) When I started my career as a school administrator, the closest thing we had to public relations and communications was the school newsletter that we cranked out in WORD bi-weekly.
Photocopied newsletters stuffed into backpacks on a Friday afternoon seemed to do the job of communicating with parents. For teachers, memos were placed in cubbie holes in the staff room. As technology progressed and the schools I was in got larger, new options became available. The need to better communicate and engage our students, staff, parents and prospective families became even more essential. Here are a few ways that we have engaged with the TIS school community: School Website – schools are busy places and parents need a trusted place to go to find the right information. 1. 2. 3. 4.
Use Facebook to celebrate the great things that are happening at the school! Be sure to monitor your posts. 2. Introducing Social Media to Elementary Students. Let me begin this post by saying, "I agree. " I agree that students should have recess and play outside. I agree that young children need to interact in a face-to-face setting. I agree that it is developmentally critical to engage with paper, paint, blocks, crayons and even the dirt on the ground, because elementary students need to experience the physical world. However, I also agree that social media pervades all aspects of modern society, and it has become an imperative for us as educators -- and parents -- to model appropriate digital citizenship to even our youngest learners.
Do I really believe that toddlers should have Twitter handles? Not really. But we do need to introduce children to the virtual, social world around them in appropriate and meaningful ways? Why? I have worked with and spoken to dozens of educators who strongly feel that engaging in social media is irrelevant for them because of their students' age.
Students already have enough screen time. As I said, I agree. 1. Social Networking Can be a Vital Classroom Tool. From Facebook and Twitter, to YouTube and Tumblr, children as young as 13 are increasingly bringing their Internet savvy into the classroom. According to a recent study from Common Sense Media, 90 percent of American teenagers, age 13-17, have used social media, 75 percent of them have a social networking site, and nearly one in three teens visit their social networking sites multiple times a day. Those stats are too big for teachers to ignore. Integrating social media into classrooms Teachers across the nation are increasingly taking advantage of students’ social media savvy and are working it into the classroom curriculum. A good example is how teachers are engaging students who are shy about participating in traditional classroom discussions, but who enjoy communicating online.
They are encouraged to participate in classroom learning using platforms like Facebook, Google+, and Twitter. Success using web technology Abbie Chavez also posted a comment: Among popular free sources are: Social Media Literacy: Integrating Online Identity Management into Engineering and Technology Education | Mihaela Vorvoreanu. Social Media Literacy: Integrating Online Identity Managementinto Engineering and Technology Education According to a survey of 275 U.S. recruiters and human resource (HR) professionalscommissioned by Microsoft Corporation, 70% of respondents have rejected jobcandidates based on information found online. However, only 7% of the 335 U.S.consumers who participated in this research believed online data affected their jobsearch . This discrepancy is at the root of a major problem likely to affect the currentstudent generation. Finding employment in the engineering and technology fields isdifficult enough: A declining economy and increasing foreign competition alreadythreaten U.S. students’ chances of employment.
A negative online reputation can beanother source of risk – but one that is within students’ reach to manage. The use of online information during employment screening Young adults’ online identity management attitudes and practices . Ten ways schools are using social media effectively. Readers discuss how they use social networking in their schools, list helpful resources By Meris Stansbury, Online Editor Read more by Meris Stansbury October 21st, 2011 Many "families ‘like’ our Facebook page. This gives us a great tool to communicate quickly with a good portion of our parents," said one reader. Smart phones might be getting the green light in more schools around the country, but social networking is still getting the yellow in many schools: Parents are worried about bullying, teacher-student online relationships are questioned, and school security can be compromised all too easily, some critics fear.
To understand how social media, an almost integral part of our current culture, can benefit K-12 schools and districts, we asked eSchool News readers: “Name one way you use social networking in your school/district. How have social media enhanced your own district, school, or classroom environment? 10. 4 Tips for Integrating Social Media Into the Classroom. A former local newspaper reporter, Tanveer is a student at the Medill School of Journalism learning all things digital and entrepreneurial. He also writes about political figures for WhoRunsGov.com and hopes to own the high score on multiple Ms. Pac-Man machines one day. While kids may rely social networks for personal use, there is a place for them in K-12 education, as well. In 2007, half of all students who used the Internet said they use it to talk specifically about schoolwork, according to a National School Boards Association survey.
Still, most schools continue to discourage or outright ban the use of the technology in school. This is often due to a lack of understanding, its status as a distraction, or both. The fact is, social networks are here to stay, and with or without rules, kids are going to use them. 1. Schools have been understandably cautious in allowing students access to social media sites. 2. 3. Unfortunately, there isn't a one-size-fits-all approach to this. 4. Pros and Cons of Social Media in the Classroom -- Campus Technology. Social Media | Feature Pros and Cons of Social Media in the Classroom By Karen Lederer01/19/12 There’s an ongoing debate about the role social media should play in education. Advocates point out the benefits that social media provides for today's digital learners while critics call for regulation and for removing social media from classrooms. Finding a middle ground has become a challenge. As an educational tool, social media enriches the learning experience by allowing students and teachers to connect and interact in new, exciting ways.
Web sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn provide a platform where users can dialog, exchange ideas, and find answers to questions. Despite these benefits, critics argue that there are serious risks to using social media in the classroom. Educational Tool Today’s students arrive on campus, fluent in Web and social networking technologies. How to Create Social Media Guidelines for Your School. Produced in collaboration with Facebook. Social media is fast becoming as ubiquitous as the air we breathe. In recent months, many schools and districts around the country have taken steps to create social media policies and guidelines for their students and staff. In my work with several districts to draft these documents, I have seen many approaches that work well, and some that don't. That said, there is no silver bullet for administrators; every school, district, and state has a different set of circumstances.
With that in mind, here are some steps that will help you determine the best approach for your own community. 2. This team should include educators who use social media in the classroom and those who do not. This team should be open and transparent in all their conversations and decision making, and be clear about their shared goal. Questions for ReflectionDoes everyone on the team share the same goal? Moving-Beyond-Blackboard.pdf. Integrating Social Media into Online Education - Faculty Focus. Many people take it on faith that online education must be run through a learning management system (LMS) like Blackboard, Angel, etc. Those systems were originally designed to allow faculty to move their courses online without having to learn HTML coding. They provided all of the tools needed to deliver an online course in one package.
As online learning grew, so too did the functionality of course management systems. As the systems grew more and more complex, they became more and more fragile, necessitating the new administrative function of instructional designer to manage the systems. Control of distance learning gradually shifted from faculty to administrator as instructional designers started dictating how online courses would look and function. Now faculty are starting to wrestle control back from administrators through the use of social media such as blogs, wikis, and VoiceThread.
But few colleges have a social media strategy. Drupal: Integrating Social Networking Technology into Online Teaching and Lea… Teachers' Comprehensive Guide to The Use of Social Networking in Education. Engaging Your School Community Through Social Media.