Social Networking

My thoughts on social networking in the classroom as conflicted at best presently. Part of me wants to praise them as a god-send and absolute necessity in the classroom. However, I am also held back by the inherent danger of social networking, and how it can be misused both intentionally and by accident. In the article "Have you Googled your Teacher Lately?", the author states that all teachers are protected under the First Amendment, which grants freedom of speech. However, Carter then goes on to detail numerous instances of teachers being fired for their activity online and in social networking sites. Does this mean that we, as responsible teachers, should essentially erase our online footprint? The only way this seems possible to me is to either not use these sites altogether, or institute extreme safety measures and privacy barriers that keep students and others out of our business. Since I am neither proficient in doing this, or really excited to honestly, I find my self in some disdain with the classroom and social networking. I feel that if a student or anyone really wants to find me and information pertaining to me, they will. Therefore, I see it better to leave social networking out of the class, so that I may not ever be accused of encouraging any content that may deemed inappropriate or unprofessional in any way.

It is safe to say that Natalie was a bit of a dummy when it comes to blog posting. While I will not say that it was wrong of her to post her vents on other students, she should have at least done so in a more private way. By only allowing access to her friends and family, she would have never had any problem with this. That aside, I think that security is absolutely crucial when using social networking in the classroom. If I were to use Facebook in my class, I would not use my personal account in any way. I would create a school account, and only give students access to that link. In fact, I would not even tell students that I have another profile. My personal profile would be dripping with every privacy option known to man, to ensure that no student could ever gain access. This is the only way I can see to be truly safe. I do not think it is fair that a teacher should be held to this standard, but I can see why it is necessary. We are spending more time with children than their parents do, therefore, they want to be sure that their children are safe at all times. To ensure that this happens, the educational system and our society has placed teachers on a pedestal, where much respect is given, but model behavior is expected, and unprofessional activity is quickly punished.

I think that cyber-bullying is a very serious issue, and will continue to grow and become apparent in our schools in the future. Cyber-bullying is an invisible battlefield, where students can conduct their warfare virtually without detection. It is for this reason, that it is so dangerous. In the classroom, the teacher can usually identify bullying or other inappropriate behavior and quickly put an end to it. When this behavior is moved online, the teacher is taken out of the equation. Steps must be done to stop this, and giving schools and educators more access and influence in this area is the key. At David Douglas High School, teachers and administration have begun to fight cyber-bullying in this exact way. Students can now be punished for instances of cyber-bullying that are detected by the school. I believe that this is a great step forward in curbing this type of behavior. As a teacher we should take a zero-tolerance approach on traditional bullying, therefore, the same should be true with cyber-bullying. If we are using social networking in our class, or simply have access to students usage, we should constantly be on the lookout for cyber-bullying. I think it is our duty as teachers to seek the protection and good will of all our students, therefore, it is our responsibility to be on the look out for cyber-bullying.