For starters, I understand that it is a highly personal choice whether to allow your high school student to partake in social media. It is a scary world out there and we all want to protect our kids. Part of our responsibility as teachers (and parents!) is to encourage the use of technology for educational purposes, and to teach kids how to use this technology in a safe and professional manner.
The school maintains several social media sites, including a moderated Facebook account. Many of our shops and academic departments have pages from that Facebook account that are moderated by teachers. I am one of the teachers who has a department page - the Art Department page – where I post updates to our families (parents and students) regarding art happenings in our art department and community. I do this to help students and their families make real world connections in the visual arts to the communities in which they live. I am very active in the local art community outside of school, so I am passionate about sharing these happenings with my students! I also use the art Facebook page to honor students who do exemplary work. Sometimes I use the page for sharing photo assignments, as well. Because art is a visual medium, the school Facebook is the most secure social medium to use for this purpose. I ask students at the beginning of the school year to “like” the Facebook page so that they may receive updates/notifications from the art department automatically. I grade this assignment to encourage that it actually gets done!
Despite this, I understand that you may still not be so comfortable allowing your student to use Facebook for educational purposes. There are some ways around this – all of which I have discussed with my students in class during the first day of school:
Whatever you choose is fine with me. If you choose option 3, I will exempt your student from all social media assignments. Just let me know!
The school maintains several social media sites, including a moderated Facebook account. Many of our shops and academic departments have pages from that Facebook account that are moderated by teachers. I am one of the teachers who has a department page - the Art Department page – where I post updates to our families (parents and students) regarding art happenings in our art department and community. I do this to help students and their families make real world connections in the visual arts to the communities in which they live. I am very active in the local art community outside of school, so I am passionate about sharing these happenings with my students! I also use the art Facebook page to honor students who do exemplary work. Sometimes I use the page for sharing photo assignments, as well. Because art is a visual medium, the school Facebook is the most secure social medium to use for this purpose. I ask students at the beginning of the school year to “like” the Facebook page so that they may receive updates/notifications from the art department automatically. I grade this assignment to encourage that it actually gets done!
Despite this, I understand that you may still not be so comfortable allowing your student to use Facebook for educational purposes. There are some ways around this – all of which I have discussed with my students in class during the first day of school:
- Your kid can create a Facebook account using an alias to serve educational purposes only – one that does not allow any “friends.”
- You, as a parent can opt to “like “ the art Facebook page instead of your child. That way, your household is still part of our virtual arts community, but you have control over the information you share with your student.
- Your family can opt out of using Facebook for educational purposes entirely.
Whatever you choose is fine with me. If you choose option 3, I will exempt your student from all social media assignments. Just let me know!