District Social Media Policy

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photo attributed to The Blogging Adventures of the Awkward Education Major
Social Media is in every aspect of the 21st century world, so it was only a matter of time until it reached the public education arena. With the increase in Social Media comes the responsibility to monitor it's use within the school setting. This week we were given the task to find out District Social Media Policy and examine it. My school and district policy is one in the same, as we are the only school in our district. District Internet Policy, see page 42

As you can see this document does exist, but is very vague on its view of social media uses within the district. The district took the time to outline all that is prohibited while using technology and district computers. Every student in jr. high has their own school Google account. They are able to access all of the Google Apps for Education. These terms outlined in the above mentioned document clearly state that the use of all internet resources should be used for educational purposes. They also clearly state that any form of sexual misconduct, bullying, inappropriate comments, or in using any tools in a way other than their intended purposes will result in immediate removal from district resources.

 I would make the alteration to the document and include social media vocabulary within the document. I know that almost all of the Jr. High students that I know have smart phones, and social media apps on those phones. Teachers in Jr. High do not allow cell phone use throughout the day. I think that by doing this type of zero tolerance policy, they are missing out on so many wonderful opportunities for learning. I also know that if the teachers did decide to allow cell phones and tablets in the classroom that most apps would not work. The technology director, per the board, has restricted any use of social media technology including; Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Snapchat. While these apps have the ability to cause trouble for the district, if implemented correctly, many of these apps could enhance the learning of individual students.

Comments

  1. NMZumpanoJanuary 29, 2018 at 9:43 AM

    While many districts block Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Snapchat I was surprised to see Twitter added to the list- especially with it's educational value for the teachers in your district. I like the idea of including social media vocabulary. Perhaps going a step further the policy could include "scenarios" as to when social media would be acceptable for use (i.e. connecting with another class online for a book study, Skyping with an author, etc.).

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