Week 1 Reflection

 Week 1 Reflection

This week I focused on the use of social media as an instructional tool, specifically at the secondary level. Working in a middle school brings the constant fight for student engagement and the battle against apathy. One thing that I'm sure people with children of all ages find is that students generally engage with their phones on social media more than anything else. It is where many of their social interactions come from. Unfortunately, it can also deeply affect young people's sense of self-worth and their image: social media is not often truthful about the realities of life. However, the emotional part of social media use can also be used for good in terms of the learning environment. Social media, likes, follows, and comments are important to young individuals and often trigger an emotional response. Using social media in the classroom can be a means of engagement, as long as students are given clear guidelines on how to use it appropriately and in a professional setting. 

I think it is also important to note the rapport and relationship-building possibilities that come with social media. Our students love to take pictures with us and they love it when they see themselves on the school's Instagram or on the website. Students feel like their teachers care more when they care to engage with them at the Web2.0 level, which in turn leads to harder work in the learning environment. Students who like their teachers are generally going to work harder than those who do not. This is not to say that privacy and security are not factors when engaging at this level- students should not have access to teacher's private social media while they are still students, generally speaking. However, with precautions in mind, it can be a key player for engagement.