This work is my column that was originally posted on Edsurge.com.
It is quickly becoming a non-negotiable for all classrooms
to leverage social media in order to communicate with families and other
classrooms—thus engaging others in the daily lives of students. While simply
posting “fun” photos is a start, this novelty wears off quickly, and as a
result, we must think more critically about how we communicate via social
media.
We must think more critically about how we communicate via
social media.
As a second grade teacher who facilitates a student-centered
classroom, I now believe our use of social media is an opportunity for students
to partake in the type of learning in which they can thrive and shout their
story to the world.
1. Genuine Digital Citizenship Opportunities
In fall 2012, I liked the idea of Twitter, but the thought
of social media infiltrating my classroom was still a bit scary. So I developed
an analog Twitter bulletin board and had each student write out their tweets on
sentence strips daily.
A month later, I realized the value of students sharing work
with more than just those in our classroom. So, I jumped right in and set up a
Twitter account under my name, with the intention of letting the students run
it. However, rather than immediately giving them complete control, and possibly
negatively affecting all of our digital footprints, we prepared ourselves
through digital citizenship bootcamp. Throughout these lessons, we used gradual
release of responsibility (the same technique used in my classroom in other
subject areas) to systematically turn the “social media reins” over to the
students.
Check out Kayla Delzer's student-controlled social media
channels:
At first, while this whole process was uncomfortable for me
(to say the least), I understood I was doing my students a disservice by not
actually helping them to develop their digital footprints in a genuine
environment. In the end, my comfort level was less important than their
experiences on social media.
What we do in my classroom: This fall, students in our
classroom completed digital citizenship bootcamp. My students had to pass seven
different digital citizenship rules before I was going to give them access to
our accounts as “Tweeter of the Day” and “Instagrammer of the Day”. To take
this a step further, I also had parents come in one night to complete the boot
camp, as well. That’s right—a parent social media bootcamp, where my students
were the teachers, helped their parents get set up with accounts, and taught
them about everything from retweets to our district hashtags.
2. Publishing for the World (and the Classroom Across the
Hall) is Powerful
When we allow students to write and share their work with
the world, suddenly their work becomes more valuable. Students will always do
their worst writing when they know the only person who will ultimately view it
is their teacher. How many assignments in classrooms are completed solely for
teacher as a requirement of the curriculum?
Additionally, while sharing our stories with the world is
invaluable, there’s something to be said with simply using social media to
share your story across the hallway. Canadian educator George Couros challenged
me to use our account in a way that could connect our classroom with not only
the world, but the other classrooms right in our school. This is where our
school hashtag #LegacyK5 was born.
What we do in my classroom: Students in my classroom now
post to that hashtag knowing our principal, previous teachers, future teachers,
and other staff members are going to see their work. When my students tweet,
blog, or post on our Instagram page, they are sharing their work with thousands
of followers. There is a positive and almost competitive pressure in knowing
that their work will be viewed by their parents, other classrooms around the
world, friends, our principal, and experts—and best of all, they step up their
game because they have an authentic audience to share their work with.
3. Establishing Your Classroom Brand
According to educators Joe Sanfelippo and Tony Sinanis,
branding can be defined as “the marking practice of creating a name, symbol or
design that identifies and differentiates a product from other products.”
Within the past few years, this idea of branding our schools/classrooms has
become extremely valuable, as it promotes transparency by painting an accurate,
live picture of what is taking place. Yet, in reality, the majority of the time
the educators are the ones telling these stories. While this certainly has its
place, ultimately what matters most is how students feel about their
experiences. Social media has allowed my students to share our classroom happenings
through their eyes. It has allowed my students the opportunity to both
establish and share the culture of our classroom and our school, and ultimately
create our “brand”.
What we do in my classroom: By literally handing over
classroom devices that are logged into our accounts, I am giving my students
control to cultivate our brand. We have a rule in our classroom to only share
pictures and the work of students that are engaged or making smart choices.
Additionally, my students start each day with an introductory post (and usually
a selfie or picture with me), and sign every post so our followers know who is
writing that day. Day by day and month by month, they are sharing work that
they deem important from inside our four walls.
The Sky’s the Limit
The opportunities my students have had because of Twitter
far outweigh the risks associated with setting up a student lead account. In
November, my students had the life-changing opportunity to do a Google Hangout
with Brad Waid while he was doing professional development in Hong Kong, China.
Following him on Twitter two years ago lead to this beautiful relationship that
allows us to follow his journey all over the globe. He has brought new culture,
knowledge, and expertise to our classroom. Brad has been an amazing expert who
has connected with my classroom over and over again.
In January, my students were invited to do a Google Hangout
to chat about digital citizenship with the #DigCitSummitUK. My students became
global speakers overnight because of their outstanding work on our social media
accounts. To say this is an honor would be an understatement—such a proud
teacher moment!
Social media is happening—with or without you. The lessons
my students learn by taking ownership of social media ends up enhancing all of
their work, both in and out of school. And let’s be honest… wouldn’t you prefer
to have your students write the story of your classroom, rather than someone
else?
