10 FAQ About Social Media in Education

Recently a journalist from Spain interviewed me for an educational newspaper that he writes for. I thought his questions were very similar to  ones I frequently hear from teachers, parents and administrators... 

#1. ​What is the potential of social networks in education? 

Perhaps the most profound change in the way technology has infiltrated human populations has been how it has altered the way people communicate. Social media apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat, Vine and others have all grown exponentially in the past decade. Our human desire to connect and communicate has worked its way into nearly all aspects of technology. The ability to share more details about our lives and how we feel about what is going on in them is only matched by the growing simplicity with which technology allows us to do this. In education, this means a shift to more student-owned, individualized learning on a world-wide scale. Gone are the days when the teacher was the ‘sage on the stage’. We are moving increasingly towards co-constructed models of learning where knowledge is crowd-sourced from a democratic global pool.  

#2. How do you think social networks help to the process of teaching and learning in the classroom?

When students and teachers use social media in learning they:

• access a global network of experts 
• provide real time authentic snapshots of their learning and thinking
• connect with other learners around the globe; essentially flattening the walls of the classroom
• democratically access information
• mirror interactions they will have in adult life
• develop digital citizenship skills
• contribute to their positive digital footprint
• model appropriate use of social media for other learners around the globe
• learn to critically think as they curate information they access
• create content to contribute to the knowledge pool
• connect with their extended community, including family, friends and a personal learning network (PLN)
• harness powerful tools they are already using in extracurricular activities for learning in school

#3. How old would be appropriate to include social networks in the classroom?

If the social networks are moderated in the back-end by adults, modeled by teachers, discussed and part of authentic learning experiences, social media can be used as young as kindergarten. Of course, just as any learning, we would gradually release responsibility to the children over their entire lives at school. 
 
We wouldn’t give children the keys to a car at five years of age and expect them to drive; we show them, model good driving practice, talk about the parts of a car, help them with a learner’s permit and finally they get to have the car to drive alone. In this gradual way, we unpack social media for children so that they will be able to ‘drive’ their digital lives safely and responsibly. 

#4. What are the main difficulties faced by teachers using social networks in class?

If teachers are unfamiliar with a specific tool (Twitter, Snapchat, YikYak etc…) they are often fearful of it, and unwilling to incorporate it into their teaching and learning cycle. However, becoming a learner along side your students and admitting, “I don’t know, yet.” sets a positive precedent for life-long learning. Creating essential agreements in the classroom creates a healthy relationship between the learning community and technology. 

#5. What risks should be avoided? ​

Actually, I would say that appropriate risk is good. Kids need skills to develop resilience and exit strategies when things go wrong. "Little" crises in the safely moderated environments of schools help children gain confidence, and help them develop relationships of trust with adults to solve problems effectively. Bullying can happen in ‘real life’ or in a digital environment. The only difference is that tech can escalate an incident quickly. As a parents or teachers, we have our own vast toolbox of skills to help kids solve these real-life problems. Those skills are the same in digital environments. But they need to be explicitly taught, modeled, and solved within the school community. 

#6.  Do you think it’s necessary for teachers to have more training to make good use of social networks in class?

Developing a strong Personal Learning Network for Professional Development is an important part of being a teacher in the 21st Century. Keeping practice fresh and innovative is part of our responsibility as educators. But training doesn’t have to be costly and time consuming! Parents and teachers can learn more about how to develop a program of digital citizenship and tech skills by visiting the free online resources such as:
NIST Social Media for Schools
EdTechFramework for Schools
Digital Citizenship for Parents
Your Digital Life
Perhaps most importantly, if your school has a Digital Coach, reach out to that person for one-to-one support as you make use of social networks. 

#7. Are there better or worse social networks for education?

I would say that tools are always changing. Tumblr used to be hot, now it's Snapchat, what’s next? There will always be a new app. The tool or app doesn’t really matter, and it will always change. It is the concept behind the tool. The big concepts that we want children to develop are to create, curate and communicate. These concepts underpin each app. The question should not be if one better or worse, but rather, what do you do with it, how will you use it appropriately, and how does it enhance teaching and learning? You have to find what works for the age of your learners, and what best augments learning experiences for the students. 

#8. Can you give an example of an educational methodology using social networks?

You can discover how we implemented Twitter at a large international school in Thailand by visiting this link. If you would like to discover how kids are using social media to share learning visit the hashtag #nistmakerspace #elemakerspace #nistpypx to see real examples of social media learning in action. 

#9. What advice would you give to those teachers who feel apprehensive about starting with social media?

​The truth is, all teachers want empowered learners who make a difference in the world around them, and who will be successful, happy people in their lives ahead. Teachers teach the academic and character skills needed for kids to do just that each and every day- and each of those skills are transferable to a digital environment. That is why coaches, like me, are pushing away from the idea of “digital citizenship” towards just, “citizenship”. This is our life; we live part of it in the digital realm. Let’s be awesome people: on-line and off-line. Kids are already using social media in their extracurricular lives, it is our duty of care as teachers to ensure they have the skills, attitudes and aptitudes to be safe and learn in that space. 

Get started with a low-risk high pay-off tool like Twitter. Not sure how? Hatch here.

#10. What future do you see for social networks in education?

We are at a golden moment right now in education. We can choose to go the way of a litigation culture like the United States and block or limit student access to social media, or we can be champions for our learners. Education is changing, whether we like it or not.
 
One day, we will have virtual rooms for learning; the Internet of things will become part of our everyday lives, learning will become more and more individualized and personalized, and the globe will become more connected. We will use design thinking to collaborate across continents and develop real empathy and international mindedness for all cultures around the world. Our students will own their learning and understand they are socially connected to others in digital and physical ways. 
 
OR we can keep the four walls of our classrooms, have knowledge controlled in text-books, we can become more fearful and cut off from others, more polarized and insular in our thinking. Our students can keep preparing for a world that will be fundamentally different by the time they graduate. We can own the content that they consume, the products that they create, and the ways in which they share their ideas.
 
It’s up to us to make the choice of what learning will look like for our students. How will you choose?