Blog Post #8 - Social Media in the Classroom

Resource: https://www.enrole.com/pfw/jsp/course.jsp?categoryId=&courseId=BUS459

    Social media is a great way to communicate and connect with people all around the world. It's even beneficial for classrooms and students to connect with other students and their families at home. At my school, teachers and staff use social media platforms, such as Facebook, to connect and communicate with families about school events and upcoming important information. Some teachers even have their own Instagram or TikTok accounts where they can post pictures or short videos about learning that occurs daily in their classrooms. Parents seem to respond well and seem more pleased and connected with how to help their students at home. Class Dojo is another social media platform teachers use to communicate with parents and share photos.

Resource: https://davidmeessen.com/facebook-launches-tiktok-competitor-reels-on-instagram/

     Overall, I'm not afraid to use social media in my classroom but find myself too busy during the day to incorporate it. I also struggle with allowing my students to use it independently. I feel that since I work with such young students, I would prefer to have ownership of the platform until I know they can use it independently and safely. If I had more than 15 minutes with my students daily, I could incorporate lessons about internet safety, but alas I must use my time otherwise. Thankfully, my Library Media Specialist takes care of teaching students about internet safety and even begins sharing the pros and cons of using social media. Many of my students want to be YouTube or TikTok famous, so I think I need to find more ways to incorporate and model using social media responsibly in my classroom.

Resource: https://ssir.org/advancing_the_art_of_collaboration

    When thinking about collaborative productivity tools, I have previously used Google Docs and Slides. After completing this module, I might begin using additional collaborative apps and sites such as Flipgrid, Padlet, and/or Diigo. I would need to consider which ones are best for the large age range I service. What could be good for one grade may not be great for them all. I believe it is important for students to collaborate digitally with one another. Group projects are something that my students get excited about so by using apps and websites that allow them to work together, lessons can be more engaging for them. I also believe learning to collaborate using digital tools is an important skill that my students will need later on when entering the workforce. I am looking forward to the ways I can get creative and use them this school year with my students!

Resource: https://www.freepik.com/vectors/challenge

    

     Obviously, the one large change I wish I could make for my classroom is the time I have with my students so I could include more digital tools in my teaching. If I had more time with students, I believe we could use digital tools more often. Another change I wish could happen would be having access to Chromebooks more often. Though these challenges seem discouraging, I will not let them stop me from trying. I may have to do a lot of trial and error this school year to find a balance, but I'm going to give it my best shot! Maybe classroom teachers will collaborate with me and we can use digital tools in both the main classroom and the intervention classroom?

Resource: https://minutes.co/how-to-accelerate-your-achievement/

    I am very grateful to have taken this class and can positively say I feel more confident in using digital tools in my classroom. This course has opened my eyes to a variety of ways of getting my students engaged with the digital literacy world! I discovered new apps and websites that can make learning more engaging and fun for students. I also learned how to successfully manage a personal blog, engage and download a variety of tools that help with reading and writing, and discover the importance of technology integration. I look forward to challenging myself in creating lessons using what I've learned. Teaching the new literacies is going to impact my students for many more years to come!