From January of 2013 to 2016, I facilitated some BCTF Staff Union Rep Training Workshops, including "Keeping the Public in Public Education," as well as a great workshop on Social Media: Ethics and Boundaries. I no longer facilitate, but many others still do, and the workshops are revised by teams of teachers every year, based on changing needs and participant feedback.
The Social Media workshop is available in 3-hr and 5-hr versions, but the feedback so far from participants is that everyone wishes they booked the 5-hr version because it allows us to go more in-depth into how to protect ourselves across multiple platforms (beyond Facebook and Twitter).
Your PAC, Staff, or Local Teachers' Association may book workshops such as these by contacting the BCTF.
Want to become a BCTF workshop facilitator? It's an amazing experience, and you receive training!
See the complete list of workshops here: http://bctf.ca/ProfessionalDevelopment.aspx?id=31878
Check http://bctf.ca/OpportunitiesforMembers.aspx regularly for posted opportunities!
Mme Jarvis's Tech Tips
1) "Why bother to use Twitter?"
-Nobody is forcing you to do anything. But I will say that Twitter has been (and continues to be) my best source for professional development. I don't use Twitter often, but every once in a while it's perfect for my needs. Twitter is like a waterfall of information that I dip a cup into every once in a while for sips of inspiration and connection. Sometimes I browse tweets for five minutes before I fall asleep at night, similar to bedtime novel reading. Skeptical? Search "Twitter pro-d teachers" in Google or test out a few #edchat hashtags and see what comes up: I think you'll find some powerful testimonials.
Examples of how Teachers use social media in their classrooms are easily found all over the Internet. Here are a few showing a range of interaction for various ages and subjects:
Karen Lirenman, Canadian/Surrey, BC educator, got our and the rest of the world’s attention when she had her kindergarten class tweet: What does it look like outside your window today? Her class received responses from all around the world. Her blog presents this and countless other examples of innovative ways to use social media in the classroom. Learning and Sharing with Ms. Lirenman
Example from Karen: "Over the past couple of weeks I have shared two of Elise Gravel's wonderful non fiction children's books on disgusting critters. We have read The Slug and The Rat. After reading The Rat, and knowing that Elise is on twitter I asked my students if they wanted to tweet her and tell her what they thought about her book. To no surprise the answer was YES!
Since I teach a combined grade one and two class I started by modelling how to tweet with the entire class. I ask my grade one students what they wanted to say to her and I typed their tweets as they spoke them. In the process I modelled how a tweet is written and what we needed to include in a tweet.
With a few tweets sent, my grade two students were encouraged to tweet to her too while I worked with some of my grade one students. Of course, the rules never change, and I saw each tweet before it went live. Actually one tweet did sneak out without my eyes but it was quickly brought to my attention. This tweeting provided my students an authentic opportunity for writing.
As soon as I got a chance to look back at our class "notifications" on twitter I noticed that she was already tweeting us back. How exciting was that! Here an author/illustrator of books we really enjoyed was reading and responding to our tweets.
A bit of frenzy occurred in my room as we read the various responses to each of my students tweets. A couple of students continued their conversations with her. The rest of us moved on with our morning.
What we missed in the process was that a few tweets later Elise Gravel was curious as to what my class was called since our class twitter handle is @MsLsClass. Thankfully she figured it out because what she had in store for us next was something we would have never have expected to happen.
She tweeted us this...
Can you imagine how powerful that one image was for my students? Needless to say we have a lot more Elise Gravel books to enjoy over the next few weeks and are looking forward to her new books too." http://learningandsharingwithmsl.blogspot.ca/2014/11/a-positive-use-of-social-media-strikes.html
SD36 K-3 iPad and Technology Resources (< click link)This group has been created by Karen on SurreySchools.ca. It is a work in progress but the goal is to have it house resources that are technology related at Kindergarten to Grade Three level. Please feel free to contact her via twitter at @klirenman if you have some links to add. Her goal with this group is to have a resources that is useful for all people who would like to try to use technology with K-3 students. These are the Apps Karen's Class uses.
2) "Who do I follow?"
- Check out my follow list for some ideas! You can also search hashtags to find people with similar interests. Search "Education Hashtags" in Google for inspiration. Hashtags I search frequently are as follows:
3) "I want to Tweet but I don't know how"
- Here's my biggest secret for becoming a 'tech' pro: plug some keywords into Google and you can practically learn anything from reading tutorials and watching videos! This is how I continue to learn everything I know about computers, including how to do screenshots, how to use Weebly to make my teaching site, how to archive content, and how to use Dropbox features like linking and file sharing. If my dad phones me with a question about his computer, chances are I put his question into Google and do some poking around before I help him resolve the problem!
Example: Use keywords and fragmented sentences/questions:
-Nobody is forcing you to do anything. But I will say that Twitter has been (and continues to be) my best source for professional development. I don't use Twitter often, but every once in a while it's perfect for my needs. Twitter is like a waterfall of information that I dip a cup into every once in a while for sips of inspiration and connection. Sometimes I browse tweets for five minutes before I fall asleep at night, similar to bedtime novel reading. Skeptical? Search "Twitter pro-d teachers" in Google or test out a few #edchat hashtags and see what comes up: I think you'll find some powerful testimonials.
Examples of how Teachers use social media in their classrooms are easily found all over the Internet. Here are a few showing a range of interaction for various ages and subjects:
Karen Lirenman, Canadian/Surrey, BC educator, got our and the rest of the world’s attention when she had her kindergarten class tweet: What does it look like outside your window today? Her class received responses from all around the world. Her blog presents this and countless other examples of innovative ways to use social media in the classroom. Learning and Sharing with Ms. Lirenman
Example from Karen: "Over the past couple of weeks I have shared two of Elise Gravel's wonderful non fiction children's books on disgusting critters. We have read The Slug and The Rat. After reading The Rat, and knowing that Elise is on twitter I asked my students if they wanted to tweet her and tell her what they thought about her book. To no surprise the answer was YES!
Since I teach a combined grade one and two class I started by modelling how to tweet with the entire class. I ask my grade one students what they wanted to say to her and I typed their tweets as they spoke them. In the process I modelled how a tweet is written and what we needed to include in a tweet.
With a few tweets sent, my grade two students were encouraged to tweet to her too while I worked with some of my grade one students. Of course, the rules never change, and I saw each tweet before it went live. Actually one tweet did sneak out without my eyes but it was quickly brought to my attention. This tweeting provided my students an authentic opportunity for writing.
As soon as I got a chance to look back at our class "notifications" on twitter I noticed that she was already tweeting us back. How exciting was that! Here an author/illustrator of books we really enjoyed was reading and responding to our tweets.
A bit of frenzy occurred in my room as we read the various responses to each of my students tweets. A couple of students continued their conversations with her. The rest of us moved on with our morning.
What we missed in the process was that a few tweets later Elise Gravel was curious as to what my class was called since our class twitter handle is @MsLsClass. Thankfully she figured it out because what she had in store for us next was something we would have never have expected to happen.
She tweeted us this...
Can you imagine how powerful that one image was for my students? Needless to say we have a lot more Elise Gravel books to enjoy over the next few weeks and are looking forward to her new books too." http://learningandsharingwithmsl.blogspot.ca/2014/11/a-positive-use-of-social-media-strikes.html
SD36 K-3 iPad and Technology Resources (< click link)This group has been created by Karen on SurreySchools.ca. It is a work in progress but the goal is to have it house resources that are technology related at Kindergarten to Grade Three level. Please feel free to contact her via twitter at @klirenman if you have some links to add. Her goal with this group is to have a resources that is useful for all people who would like to try to use technology with K-3 students. These are the Apps Karen's Class uses.
2) "Who do I follow?"
- Check out my follow list for some ideas! You can also search hashtags to find people with similar interests. Search "Education Hashtags" in Google for inspiration. Hashtags I search frequently are as follows:
- #Edchat
- #BCed
- #Frimmchat
- #Kchat
- #edcamp
- #BCpoli
- #sd36learns
3) "I want to Tweet but I don't know how"
- Here's my biggest secret for becoming a 'tech' pro: plug some keywords into Google and you can practically learn anything from reading tutorials and watching videos! This is how I continue to learn everything I know about computers, including how to do screenshots, how to use Weebly to make my teaching site, how to archive content, and how to use Dropbox features like linking and file sharing. If my dad phones me with a question about his computer, chances are I put his question into Google and do some poking around before I help him resolve the problem!
Example: Use keywords and fragmented sentences/questions:
- "Twitter for Teachers"
- "How to Tweet Teachers"
- "Twitter Safety"
- "Social Media Boundaries Ethics"
- "Edutopia" *Edutopia and Edudemic are probably the best sites for internet-using educators! (Here's Edudemic on Pinterest)
4) "How do I protect myself?"
Know the limits of Boundaries and Ethics: THINK TWICE before posting any content on the internet. Always behave as though your employer and your grandma and your students' parents are watching every move you make online; especially while you are on an employer's computer or on an employer's wifi network. Behave with a high degree of caution and prudency: be smart.
Read stories about past blunders made by individuals who have suffered personal and professional consequences of internet mistakes.
There are ways to use Facebook for educational purposes without needing to 'friend' students or parents:
Revisit your profile security often; we recommend you re-adjust your privacy settings once per month.
Know the limits of Boundaries and Ethics: THINK TWICE before posting any content on the internet. Always behave as though your employer and your grandma and your students' parents are watching every move you make online; especially while you are on an employer's computer or on an employer's wifi network. Behave with a high degree of caution and prudency: be smart.
Read stories about past blunders made by individuals who have suffered personal and professional consequences of internet mistakes.
There are ways to use Facebook for educational purposes without needing to 'friend' students or parents:
- Sponsor a club? Use a 'group.' Search "make a facebook group" in Google to find a tutorial.
- Run a program like band or dance? Use a 'page.' Search "make a facebook page" in Google to find a tutorial.
Revisit your profile security often; we recommend you re-adjust your privacy settings once per month.
- Why so often? Because Facebook keeps changing things.
- Restrict photo tagging to require your permission.
- If you do not wish to have any student find you on Facebook you must use a moniker & maintain strict security settings.
Some more tips:
- Avoid Foursquare (Do you want your students knowing that you're at Marble Slab with your family?)
- Managing different 'identities' doesn't end well. Decide what you're comfortable using, and use it well. Don't have multiple versions of yourself online. If you want to have a twitter account about your obsession with Tetris, fine, create a separate account called "Tetrislover" and don't identify yourself in any way or use the account on your employer's wifi!
- Employees may on occasion respectfully disagree with employers, but be careful. Do NOT criticize your employer!
- Teachers are held to a higher ethical standard than any other profession in society. You are a teacher 24/7/12. The choices you make during evenings and weekends can affect your professional happiness and employment.
- Tumblr has recently evolved into having a lot of X-rated content. Stay away from having a Tumblr account.
- Pinterest is great for pro-d! Maybe have a different account with a fake name for your wedding-related pins.
- When you comment on newspaper articles, blogs and forums, your name is searchable. Posting a very negative review of a restaurant on a site like Urbanspoon could come back to haunt you.
- Search tips shared during past workshops using the hashtag #BCTFsocial
- Past cases of disciplinary action have been cited in recent UVIC Law studies materials (check page 38 of this document)
- Videos: Social Media 2013, #Hashtag with Justin Timberlake, Social Media 2014, Socialnomics
- Recommended Reading: Faulty Towers "I know nothing"
- 10 People Who Lost Jobs Over Social Media Mistakes (Mashable)
- Recent disciplinary actions from the TRB in B.C.
- How To Use Instagram In The Classroom via @Edudemic
- twitter wall in the classroom
- Social Media Perspectives: Teacher vs. Student
- Twitter for Teachers: Educational Hashtags
Posters for Digital Citizenship (find more by searching Google Images w/keyword combinations like "Facebook Caution", "Social Media Awareness", "Online warning poster", "Social media school poster", etc.)
- Caution warnings
- http://www.principalsessentials.com/benefit_text.html
Social Media Safety Posters
-A Must Have Poster for Facebook Safety by Fuzion
- Caution warnings
- http://www.principalsessentials.com/benefit_text.html
Social Media Safety Posters
-A Must Have Poster for Facebook Safety by Fuzion
Ideas for using Social Media with Students:
- What U.S. History Would Have Been Like With Hashtags. Something to try with your students?
- How to use Instagram in the classroom for Science, English, Math
- Have you heard of Flipped Classrooms?
- Digital Scavenger Hunts
- 5 Time-Saving Ways Teachers Can Use Google Forms
- how exactly different universities are using Pinterest in the classroom
- Why (and How) Teachers are using Twitter
- Lisa Highfill uses Instagram in her classroom to engage with students. During everyday classwork, class projects and field trips, Lisa’s students click pictures of what they’re doing and describe in 140 characters. This gives them a chance to practise collaboration, critical thinking with a real world audience. Lisa’s students are proving that all the world is a learning canvas and we’re glad to be player in it. (Edudemic: Social Media in Education)
- Students can make Vine videos for science
- Analog Twitter Wall to build digital citizenship from @TechMinock, 4th grade teacher in Michigan
Paul Klintworth has great E-Safety resources on his website for BC Teachers: http://techspaced.weebly.com/esafety.html
Want more face-to-face learning about social media?
Here's another Social Media Workshop (this one has been run by Brian Kuhn, so you could ask your local pro-d chair to contact him and request it for a pro-d conference!) "CueBC Social Networking Experience: This session will introduce you to the use of social networking and in particular, twitter, Through hands-on experience – attendees must bring their laptop - you will create your PLN, participate in tweets, follows, searches, retweets, and share ideas"
My parking lot (For future elaboration)
Pseudonyms
Digital Tattoo
Self Image
Cyberbullying
Time. Is it healthy?
Loss of social media
Platforms:
Moodle
Edmodo
#Edcamp
Parent-Teacher vs. Parent-Student communications
Remind101
Facebook Privacy Prezi - Created by Mr. Roger Hayward, Teacher-Librarian, DS 36 https://prezi.com/zbuj6_jbxnnd/copy-of-facebook/
iPods/iPhones in the classroom (By Julia Leong) http://www.slideshare.net/JuLeong/i-pods-i-phones-in-classroom-cuebc
Resources for integrating Tech into your classroom
http://bctf.ca/bctla/pub/documents/conference/Stranaghan.pdf
Best 35 Web 2.0 sites
http://bctf.ca/bctla/pub/documents/conference/Monk(1).pdf
http://popei.sd38.bc.ca/graphic-photography-credits http://bctf.ca/bctla/pub/documents/conference/Monk(2).pdf
Stay away from:
Yak App
Ask.fm
4chan.org
http://9gag.com
http://postsecret.com
Ethical Use of Information and Digital Footprint
David Warlick's Code of Ethics
http://www.bestlibrary.org/digital/2006/08/david_warlicks_.html
Source: creativecommons website
http://creativecommons.org/about/
Images
Students search for photos on http://www.flickr.com/ and add Creative Commons to their search term to find photos they can ethically use in their projects. Students link back the photos to the creator of the image. They can also add their photos to their Work Cited pages.
http://www.cbc.ca/spark/
Amazing CBC show, blog, and podcast on technology and culture.
Pseudonyms
Digital Tattoo
Self Image
Cyberbullying
Time. Is it healthy?
Loss of social media
Platforms:
Moodle
Edmodo
#Edcamp
Parent-Teacher vs. Parent-Student communications
Remind101
Facebook Privacy Prezi - Created by Mr. Roger Hayward, Teacher-Librarian, DS 36 https://prezi.com/zbuj6_jbxnnd/copy-of-facebook/
iPods/iPhones in the classroom (By Julia Leong) http://www.slideshare.net/JuLeong/i-pods-i-phones-in-classroom-cuebc
Resources for integrating Tech into your classroom
http://bctf.ca/bctla/pub/documents/conference/Stranaghan.pdf
Best 35 Web 2.0 sites
http://bctf.ca/bctla/pub/documents/conference/Monk(1).pdf
http://popei.sd38.bc.ca/graphic-photography-credits http://bctf.ca/bctla/pub/documents/conference/Monk(2).pdf
Stay away from:
Yak App
Ask.fm
4chan.org
http://9gag.com
http://postsecret.com
Ethical Use of Information and Digital Footprint
David Warlick's Code of Ethics
http://www.bestlibrary.org/digital/2006/08/david_warlicks_.html
Source: creativecommons website
http://creativecommons.org/about/
Images
Students search for photos on http://www.flickr.com/ and add Creative Commons to their search term to find photos they can ethically use in their projects. Students link back the photos to the creator of the image. They can also add their photos to their Work Cited pages.
http://www.cbc.ca/spark/
Amazing CBC show, blog, and podcast on technology and culture.