Responsible Use of Social Media in the Classroom

In Twenty- First Century classrooms, teachers are encouraged to collaborate and communicate more with not only other educators but students as well. Each school district outlines their policies regarding the safe and professional use of social media in the classroom on their website or the teacher handbook.

Guilford County School District defines social media in their Social Media Guidelines Packet as, "User-created content online designed in a collaborative environment where users share opinions, knowledge and information with each other." Through social media, there are many platforms for educators to use. Some platforms include but are not limited to; Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, WordPress, Instagram, Pinterest, Google Sites, Wiki pages, and Tumblr.

Educators are encouraged to use social media in the classroom but are to keep all of their accounts private and unable to be seen by peers. Stated in their Social Media policy, Guilford County School District encourages educators to keep up with their social media outside of the school district. The policies writes, "Response and Post Regularly To encourage readership. Don’t post to your blog and then not post for three weeks. Readers won’t have a reason to follow you if they cannot expect new content regularly. Respond to other’s posts. Answer questions; thank people even if it’s just a few words. Make it a two-way conversation." This statement encourages educators to keep up to date with their social media and to create a reader based site.

Although teachers are encouraged to use social media, they are also warned about the irresponsible uses of technology. Outlined in the Social Media Guidelines Packet, Guilford County Educators are not allowed to accept any "friend requests" online from any students or parents. Educators are reminded repeatedly throughout the packet that they are employees of Guilford County Schools and are required to professionally represent the district. This means that there is to be no rude or negative comments, inappropriate posts, or inappropriate conversations held online. Educators are to express their ideas in a clear and concise matter. if errors are made, educators are expected to take ownership for their mistakes and politely correct them. Online, Educators are representing the school district and the values instilled. As a rule of thumb, Guilford County School District states, "if a post would be inappropriate for the classroom, then it is deemed inappropriate to post online."

Why Use Social Media in the Classroom?

There are a lot of cons to using social media but through the right training and information, educators are able to safely use it in the classroom. Social media is encouraged in the classroom for a variety of reasons such as:

• Teaching appropriate online behaviors based on learning and communication 
• Extending classroom learning beyond the school day 
• Connecting authentically with other peers, teachers, and experts outside the classroom 
• Promoting student driven engagement in an accessible forum. 

William J. Ward is a pioneer in using digital and social learning technologies for professional development. Dr. Ward currently holds position as dean at the Social Media Creative Diploma at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France. In the video, Dr. Ward gives a TED talk on why educators should use social media in the classroom. This video discusses the benefits of social media in the classroom and how it helps the economy. Dr. Ward does a wonderful job at providing detailed information on why we should use social media in the classroom.

How to Incorporate Social Media into the Classroom:

Before incorporating social media in the classroom, there are several steps educators need to take in order to make sure it is safely and appropriately incorporated. A Hershey, Pennsylvania Native Teacher, Brianna Crowley, outlines three important steps educators should take. First, the educator needs to choose his or her platform(s). After he or she has chosen their platform, educators should contact their building administrator to make sure that they are following district social media policies. Lastly, teachers should communicate with parents to get their permission for their student to participate in the use of social media in the classroom.

Ms. Crowley, an English teacher and instructional technology coach wrote a blog post reflecting on incorporating social media in her classroom. The platforms utilized were Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flickr and various blogging platforms. Ms. Crowley states, "after trying to develop our platforms, I agree that starting with one or two platforms makes sense." This statement later goes on to say that if an educator knows how to connect multiple platforms than it may be easier to incorporate multiple platforms.

At the end of the year, Ms. Crowley reflected on the use of social media in her classroom and how well it went. She wrote, "Last year, driven by a suggestion from a student, we created “social media teams” based on student preference. This year, I will again offer that option, but integrate class time for those teams to work. I also will not make it optional--each person has to commit to sharing through one of our classroom platforms." Based on this statement, it is a good indication of how well the use of social media went in her classroom. As indicated by this statement, Ms. Crowley plans on continuing the use of social media in her classroom and require it to be mandatory to encourage more student involvement. Ms. Crowley also stated that the co-ownership between students and educators may be more difficult to incorporate social media in elementary education classrooms as easy as it is for secondary or post secondary education classrooms.

How to Incorporate Social Media in Foreign Language Classrooms:

Before discussing how to incorporate social media in foreign language classrooms, it is important to understand the three modes of communication. Communication is very important in a foreign language classroom because educators can teach about the Spanish language but cannot teach students how to communicate in the native language.

The first mode of communication is the the interpretive mode. The interpretive mode is characterized by a student's understanding of written and spoken language. Examples of activities that use social media and focus on the interpretive mood are:

• Use the language proficiency site developed by UTexas. This site has native Spanish speakers talking about a variety of themes and the videos are organized based on proficciency levels.
• Read news articles, literature, poems, and blogs. Veinte Mundos has articles written for students in French, Spanish, German, and English.
• Watch the news online.

The second mode of communication is the interpersonal mode. The interpersonal mode focuses on person-to-person communication through a conversation or a written letter or email. Some activities focusing on the interpersonal mode and incorporates social media are:

• Youtube- create scenes relating to the chapter. Have students perform a small skit (about 2 minutes) and video tape it. Upload to youtube. If this is to public, create a Facebook group including the students in the class. Set the group settings to private and have students upload their videos there. Students will have to comment on each groups videos in Spanish and communicate with each other.
• Respond to a class blog. 
• Create comic strips and write a story describing the activities. 
• Play "20 Questions" where students have to ask each other questions and answer them. 

The third mode of communication is the presentational mode. Presentational mode is the creation of one way written and spoken languages. Activities including social media focusing on the presentational mode of communication are:

• Comic Strips 
• PowerPoint 
• Movies- iMovie, YouTube 
• Story Books 
• Brochure regarding a "night out." This will be for the art chapter in which students will have to look up a place to host their event, food from the native country, a theme, works of art and their artists and a movie. Students can also use this idea for powerpoint. 
• Posters 

The last thing to remember is the 5 Rules of the 3 Modes. These rules help educators create unique ideas in order to incorporate social media into their classrooms.


1. Activities must be authentic.
2. Activities must always be engaging.
3. There should be a variety of activities.
4. Activities should be focused around the unit theme.
5. Activities should force students to use the target language.

Before incorporating social media in your classroom, be sure you know your district's policies on the use of social media. Decide the platforms you are going to use. It is extremely important that educators are well informed about each platform's privacy and security options. It is very important that educators utilize social media while protecting their information along with their students. Once an educator has found a platform, it is important that they understand how to use it as well. After the lesson ideas are created, it is recommended to run the idea past your building administrator to make sure it is okay and follows district policies. Lastly, contact the parents whether its through email or phone call to get permission for their children to use social media in the classroom. If parents have concerns it is important to reassure them about the use of your platform and how you feel it will add to the environment and benefit students. There are many social media platforms available. Find one you like and work to incorporate it in your classrooms! Social Media in the classroom is highly recommended!