At our school friending through Facebook is prohibited (though we communicate through an email portal through the school, that way the staff can monitor exchanges). However using LinkedIn is encouraged, maybe it's because the exchanges are meant to foster more professional-types of associations and communications.
I think it could work out but only on platforms where privacy is guaranteed. It could be abused if the students get out of control and get kind of testy with each other. It would need to be monitored and that could be a real time-sucker. That's a factor when you're not on salary and you have to do not just grading but monitoring the social media for the class on your unpaid off-hours.
Yes,only if instructor is using a professionsl page
It can be a distraction but at the same time , will the student stop? No, so why not incorporate class discussions in it? This is a huge outlet in reaching our students
I believe so. Everyone is following their friends on Twitter or Facebook, as well as Instagram. Not being part of one of these social medias is like not existing at alll.
When used appropriately, social media networking can be a useful tool. It is prohibited in my current teaching facility due to the nature and culture of many of our students. I believe this is due to the management that would be necessary to ensure that no inappropriate behavior is occurring.
I believe that it is ok for student and instructors to be connected on social media if the instructor sets up a professional account for the purpose of interacting with students in an educational capacity. Additionally, I allow students to "friend" me on my personal account only after they have graduates/transferred so as not to create any conflicts of interest/unprofessionalism. I do this, as I like to maintain contact with my students when they move on to see how they are making out in the real world.
Jeff
For the most part, I have my students for only 6 weeks and have not been asked by many of them to be their "friend" on Facebook. I have a personal policy of not friending students. However, I do keep my google+ account very basic and will allow them on google+.
However, if I were to teach a class for a longer period of time, I would set up a private group page for my class. This would allow me to interact with the students by not necessarily have them as friends.
As a student, I have utilized this in class that I have taken and it really helps with community building and information sharing.
It depends on the type of the social network. if the social network is a school-based, then the idea of students connecting with their instructor is great.
I believe allowing students and instructors to interact on a personal level may be a dangerous.
Yes, I do think that there is a thin line for instructors and social media. The instructor must keep professional at all times, for students have a tendency to make instructors "friends" and that is not acceptable. I do believe in a structured way, social media can help in the classroom. Although, I must admit that I stray away from that attention and rather set up class discussions instead.
Megan
I have used a classroom Facebook account to share comments, post student projects and encourage peer interaction. Since they are familiar with it, there was virtually no learning curve and students participated freely.
I have a separate Facebook page for my class. While it is linked to my personal one, students cannot access my personal page. FB is a tool to post all materials, videos, links for students even after the class is over.
I definitely believe students should be connected to social media outlets. It has been the way of the future for some time. If instructors don't keep up with technology, students will suffer. I had know idea how much is available to instructors to utilize through the social outlets. Students will become more engaged. The old days have gone by, the train has left the station. If instructors stay "old school" retention rate will continue to drop. I am excited to get going on this.
After this lesson I am beginning to see more opportunities for using social media in the classroom. Why, the millennial students relate to this technology and it seem to be apart of their everyday life style. Whatever social media allows a positive interaction between students and faculty to help keep students engaged in their course work.
Yes, I believe such interaction is vital and gives students an opportunity to interact in real time. This promotes discussion which broadens the landscape of learning.
I believe there needs to be some distance and social media may just cross the line.
While I feel that social media networking has its benefits, I teach at a school that is very age diverse. Therefore, a seperate course on how to use technology like skype, facebook, twitter etc. would be neccessary. I fear leaving the technology challenged students behind if I'm not careful.
I have created a classroom Facebook page that helps me keep in touch with students. It is not personal by any means and is only reflective of what is going on in class an in the field. I am able to post interesting articles, news, jobs and regulations pertinent to our career field. It amazes me how easy it is to reach my students via this method as opposed to personl emails, cell phones or text messaging. I will admit it takes a little work on my behalf to keep the page clean and professional but for the most part, my students respect what the page was set up for, communication with the class.
Hello,
I can see the use of a social media networking group being used as a way of engaging students.
