Social Media

Does Social Media, does it have a place in the classroom? 

As the class progresses I do agree that education would benefit from more technology in the classroom. Students are so digitally involved in their daily lives that incorporating more technology into teaching content will motivate students to want to come to school. Using technology as a tool to teach content standards may make it easier for students to relate to different subject areas. I am all for technology in the classroom but I am not sold on social media websites.

Social Media I believe should be more of an extra outside activity, done on the students free time. I feel sites like Facebook and Twitter can provided a lot of access to educational material but they can bring major distractions into the classroom. Students are often too young to have access to social media websites because they get caught up into issues such as cyber bullying or chatting with their friends. These sites give students access to a lot of information they may not be mature enough to be viewing. Social media sites become more of a distraction and would make it difficult for teachers to monitor the students correct usage of the sites. 

Do not get me wrong I personally use these sites but I feel young children do not need to be using sites such as these. Facebook and Twitter can provide great ways to communicate and learn but students at young ages tend to use these sites for immature drama and unnecessary information about their lives such as what they ate this morning. These sites would be great for parents and teachers to communicate and to provide classroom updates for parents but students do not need direct access to them. Possibly at the high school level it can be different but elementary and middle school students would survive without social media in the classroom. 


Happy Thanksgiving!!!