Comments on: Is Social Media in the Classroom a Necessity or Distraction?

By: Tsivya Fox

Tsivya Fox — Sun, 21 Sep 2014 18:34:53 +0000

Great ideas. Thanks for sharing.

By: Kevin Zanner

Kevin Zanner — Sun, 21 Sep 2014 14:31:28 +0000

One of the more important elements of digital citizenship is health and wellness. Staring at glowing boxes too long isn’t good for anyone, but it is certainly harmful to children. I think more than an hour or two a day is enough on glowing boxes. My high school classes are more productive when we have a healthy balance of paper and screens.

We actually practice microblogging on a tack wall in the back of the room and collaborative writing on magnetic whiteboards that are a little smaller than the desktop (the actual desk, not the computer).

By: Tsivya Fox

Tsivya Fox — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 07:06:41 +0000

Thanks for sharing your personal experiences with social media in the classroom. It sounds like you have taken the inevitable and made it work in the classroom.

By: kafkateach

kafkateach — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 10:31:15 +0000

This was a pretty well balanced article about social media in the classroom. This year all of my students were given tablet computers and our classrooms have been equipped with wi-fi. I love using social media in the classroom! The kids are on it all day already, so we might as well incorporate it as part of a lesson. Our district uses a secure social media platform called “My Big Campus.” It connects all teachers and students within the county and is monitored for the nasty side of social media (cursing, bullying…). Think of it as a safe academic Facebook. I also fear people always looking at their phones instead of the people standing in front of them, so I have arranged my desks so students are looking at each other in small groups. They can work socially while using social media.