Social Media Beyond the Classroom

When we start talking about using social media to share our classroom experience with a wider audience, we frequently think about the same concerns as covered in the Social Media in the Classroom post.  We also need to seriously evaluate the privacy needs of all our students.  Most schools will have a list of students who do/don't have a photo release form on file.  Do all your students have a photo release?  If not, you will need to make sure not to share identifiable pictures of those students.  Are all your students comfortable having their photo shared on your class Twitter account?  Do any of them have (documented or not) concerns due to being a foster/adopted child?  Are there home dynamics (abusive/controlling family members) that could be worsened because of a picture being posted?  These are all questions you need to seriously consider when choosing to share pictures and information from your classroom.

Now that we covered that, let's take a look at ways to use social media to share beyond the classroom walls.  Social media is an awesome way to communicate with parents and community members about upcoming events, important information, and what is happening in your classroom.  Just be careful not to unintentionally exclude families that might not have regular internet access or choose not to use the same platforms as you do.  

Here are some options for sharing beyond the classroom walls:

• Facebook Group
• Create a private/closed Facebook group and allow immediate family members of students to join.
• Share pictures, events, updates on what is happening in the classroom.
• Many districts have Facebook blocked on district devices, so you may be limited to only updating through your personal device.

• Twitter Account
• Share classroom updates, photos.
• If you set the account to private, then you can approve follow requests.  Or set the account to public so that anyone can follow you.
• Read and respond to tweets and comments as a class.

• Class Blog
• Create a blog, possibly using EduBlogs (discussed in the Social Media in the Classroom post).
• Provide more detailed updates.
• Create posts as a class, or assign students to create posts. 

Do you have a way you share your classroom updates online?  What types of things do you post?

Attributions:

• Social Media Image:
• Ndiayebassirou, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
• Facebook Group Image:
• https://pixabay.com/illustrations/facebook-group-comm-community-1563273/
• Twitter Image:
• Public Domain: https://www.stockvault.net/photo/252897/twitter-concept
• Blog Image:
• Public Domain: https://www.stockvault.net/photo/252723/blogging-illustration