Why Banning Social Media Often Backfires Humans have a natural proclivity to want what they cannot have. Our insatiable appetite for sharing information, combined with the nearly limitless ways to access the web have thus far frustrated the most sophisticated attempts to block access to social media services. From the Great Firewall of China to the public schools of Britain, IT security experts are finding that restricting Internet access can have the unintended consequences of civic backlash, poor worker productivity, and students unprepared for cyber threats. Here are a few examples that illustrate the ban and backfire. In Schools My own university bans the Internet in some large lecture halls. Meanwhile, some schools in Britain have chosen to "lock down" their systems, allowing access to only verified websites. Additionally, children were less likely to understand proper Internet safety when outside of school. In the Workplace I once worked the night shift at a business that attempted to ban Internet access. By Government
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. As an educational tool, social media enriches the learning experience by allowing students and teachers to connect and interact in new, exciting ways. 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. Enhance Student Engagement Social media is an effective way to increase student engagement and build better communication skills. Improve Communication Among Students and Teachers Facebook and Twitter can enhance communication among students and teachers. Preparing Students for Successful Employment Students entering the workforce can use social networking sites to network and find employment.
Children and Media Texts, Snapchats, Instagram: Translating Teens’ Online Behavior How much surveillance should parents have over their teenagers’ social media lives? Why are kids’ online roles so different from their realities? How does technology change the way teens relate to each other and to adults? Continue Reading A Look Into Teenagers’ Complicated Online Lives In the world of social media research, danah boyd is a star. Continue Reading Kids’ Video Games: Source of Fun, Pain, and Profit Getting under a kid’s skin has become science. Continue Reading Reward, Educate, Occupy: Using Technology as Parenting Tool This generation of parents grew up with TVs, video game consoles, and computers, so digital media is one of many tools they use in their parenting repertoire. Continue Reading Teaching Respect and Responsibility — Even to Digital Natives As with any behavior involving kids, mistakes will be made with online behavior — and that’s a vital part of the learning process. Continue Reading Continue Reading
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. 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?
Should Parents Have the Backdoor Key to Kids’ Facebook Accounts? Culture M. Markus Concern about children’s safety and privacy online has led to a number of initiatives and programs — by schools, by private companies, and by government entities. These efforts are all aimed at protecting children and teens from what are perceived to be the big dangers on the Internet: sexual predators, advertisers, and bullies, for example, but they’re also at protecting children and teens from themselves. A new proposed piece of legislation in California (SB242) aims to mandate new privacy policies and practices for social networking sites. Should laws mandate children’s online activities, or should parents and children work that out together? Facebook still does not allow users under 13 to register for an account – and the legislation won’t change existing age restrictions. Nonetheless the bill raises a number of interesting questions about how we think privacy and security online works — and for whom. How will these parental requests work? Related
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. 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. Here are some ways to incorporate social media into your course: Faculty members who want to create a hybrid course should use social media systems such as blogs or wikis rather than an LMS. Education is changing, and social media is presenting a world of opportunity to improve learning outcomes. Learning Management Technologies: Enterprise Systems or Consumer Goods?
The Pitfalls and Promises of Facebook, Social Media, and Kids Big Ideas Culture Teaching Strategies Flickr:HoyasMeg With more than 500 million Facebook users across the world, it’s hard to refute that the social networking site has profoundly changed the way we communicate and share information. “Parents have to give kids the opportunities to figure out what it means to be digital citizens.” Parents worry about what’s age-appropriate, what should be kept private, and exposure to cyberbullying, among many other issues. “Parents can and should moderate sites, but they have to give kids the opportunities to figure out what it means to be digital citizens, and allow kids to be empowered,” said Carrie James, who’s conducting a qualitative survey of kids and social networks at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. For better or for worse, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and their ilk provide ways for kids to connect with each other and to express themselves. But at the moment, it’s not a high priority at most schools, Sheninger says. Related
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. School Website – schools are busy places and parents need a trusted place to go to find the right information. 1. 2. 3. 4. Facebook – Peter Sutton (@KaiMingConsult) told me in a workshop that “if you are not telling your school’s story on Facebook, someone else is”. Be sure to monitor your posts. 2. 3.
5 Ways Twitter Has Changed Education Digital Tools 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.