Become social media
savvy and boost your
technology confidence.
Do you have a Facebook
or Twitter account? Have
you tried blogging, using
a wiki, or collaborating on
a Google Doc? These are
just some of the technologies your stu-
dents already know how to use. Spend
some time exploring these tools before
you use them in the classroom. This will
help you keep up with the pace and ease
with which your students use these tools
and will enable you to assist those who
might have difficulty navigating them.
One of the teachers joined the study
on the recommendation of her principal. Afterward she stated, “I really
enjoyed the whole process because it
helped me become more knowledgeable
about technology. I realize I am getting
older, and you get stuck in your ways
and do things that were easy for you.
So this was awesome!”
10 Tips for Implementing Social Media in the Classroom
Get to know
your school’s
tech support
specialists.
Schools are set up
to keep students
safe on school
grounds and in
cyberspace. They use firewalls to pre-
vent students from viewing inappro-
priate content, downloading propri-
etary files, and sending distracting
tweets during class. All of the schools
that tried out zip Trips + Hotseat
found some of the necessary technol-
ogy blocked. The teachers contacted
their district or school technology
specialists to get help using the tools
or opening firewalls. Find out your
school’s policy for accessing social
media in the classroom, and work
closely with your technology special-
ists to determine the best way to
access these online programs.
Many teachers these days are eager to meet students where they are.
And where they are is on social
media—Facebook, Twitter, Ins-tagram, Pinterest, and other sites.
But the challenge for educators
who want to incorporate social
media into the classroom is to
identify strategies and teaching
approaches that engage and motivate technology-driven students
while keeping them safe. How
can educators incorporate the
tools young people use every day
to promote meaningful learning
while preventing cyberbullying
and identity theft?
At Purdue University, we used
a web-based social media tool
called Hotseat to allow students
to engage in a virtual field trip
known as Purdue zip Trips. Hotseat allows students to use laptops and other mobile devices
to submit and vote on questions
that they want experts to answer. Using zip Trips, schools
connect via web streaming and
videoconferencing to interact
with scientists at Purdue in real
time. During the program, students use Hotseat to post questions for the scientists as well as
to interact with one another.
Seven middle school science
teachers from across the country
piloted zip Trips + Hotseat in fall
2011. At the conclusion of the
pilot, we interviewed the teachers about their strategies for using these tools. Here are the top
10 recommendations that came
out of those interviews.
