Social Media 101: Do's and Don'ts of Social Media as an Educator

 

    Being a twenty-four-year-old teacher means I grew up in the era of social media. I often joke with my friends that, before long, it will be impossible for anyone to run for president. This is due to embarrassing pictures or videos, unfortunate posts, and online interactions that can never be erased from the internet. We have all made questionable posts when we were younger. However, now that I have stepped into the world of high school education, I no longer have room for error in my posts. Each post is now a reflection of my character. Each retweet is a public endorsement. As educators, we are more than just individuals on social media, we are role models. We are responsible for molding the young minds of the future. Our students look up to us, and their parents trust us to guide them. This is a great power. Like Uncle Ben said to Peter Parker in Spider-Man, "With great power comes great responsibility". This is the same case for using social media as a teacher. It is our job to make sure to understand the impact that we have as educators. In this post, I will help you navigate the do's and don'ts of social media as an educator. This post will help you maintain professionalism and integrity in the online world. 

My Do's for Posting on Social Media     

1. Keep It Professional: At the beginning of each football season, my coach would bring up a tweet from Johnny Manziel. Manziel is the former quarterback at Texas A&M and made a controversial post after a game. He would use this post as a lesson. The lesson was that controversial posts benefit no one. As an educator, you should post or repost things that bring positive attention to your school. No matter what social media source you post on, your students, parents, and administration can see what you post. Bring positivity to your school, not negativity. 

2. Share Educational Content: Use your platform to inspire learning, share resources, and engage with other educators. Again, all stakeholders can see your post. Education can be a controversial topic. Be a positive spokesperson for all teachers. 

3. Personal and Private Accounts: If you want to branch out and post personal things that you don't want everyone to know about, make your social media private or create two accounts. One account for friends and family, and one account to promote school content. I call this the Severance route. I recently have watched the television show Severance, and the premise of the show is people get a chip implanted to separate themselves from work and home life. This is the same concept for social media accounts. 
 

4. Think Before You Post: Before hitting the post button, think about the impact your post will make. Does your post align with your schools beliefs? Will your post cause issues among stakeholders in your life? These are important things to note when making a post.

My Don'ts for Posting on Social Media

1. Avoid Controversial Topics: In the locker room on my football team, we had a list of things that we all agreed to not talk about. The highlight of these topics were religion, politics, and other divisive topics that can be harmful to groups of people. These topics are sensitive topics, and most likely will leave one or more groups of people upset. 

2. Never Overshare Information About Students: Make sure if you post an activity of your class, or a post supporting a student, that you avoid giving away unneeded information. This also applies to students whose parents may have them on the no picture list. Make sure to understand these rules and requirements, and avoid posting. 

3. Avoid Online Arguments: Online banter can escalate quickly and reflect poorly on you as an educator. You are a public figure. As a teacher, people look up to you. As I said earlier, think before you post!

Final Thoughts: What We Post Matters

    Everything we share online, contributes to our digital footprint. Much like my life, students are growing up in a time where their online actions can impact their future opportunities. We must be good models and display responsible digital behavior for our students. Think critically before you post, understand privacy online and recognize the consequences of online interactions. Follow these rules, and teach them to your students!

What's Next?

    Next weeks post will be Differentiated Learning: Strategies to Reach all of your Students. In this blog I will discuss with Allie Philhower, who is a distinguished elementary school teacher in Kewanee, Illinois, and discuss ways in which she gets the most out of her students through differentiated learning. As we know, every student is different and learns in diverse ways. This blog will help you identify each of these learning needs and how to address all students.