{Ask A Teacher} Help! I Want to Use Social Media In My Classroom!

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 Question: I'm interested in using Social Media (Twitter, Facebok and Instagram) to engage my students in my math class. Any suggestions. I'm lost.
A lot of educators become overwhelmed at the thought of incorporating social media into their curriculum. We all know we must meet our students where they are in order to effectively teach them, and social media is definitely where they are these days! Below are some steps you must take as you get geared up for 21st Century Learning.

•  Whatever grades you are teaching, I suggest you start small. Select one site; utilizing one site will create an intentional focus and hopefully a better success rate for you and your students.
• Select a site that is accessible on your school’s server. In my district Facebook and Instagram are blocked, but Twitter is open. This way, students who do not have access to computers/internet at home can be involved and you don’t widen the digital divide.
•  Secure permission from your school administrators and students’ parents.

I attended the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) conference this summer and attended a session titled, “In Schools We Tweet.” Presenter Roseanne Sessa shared how she uses Twitter in her 8th grade science classroom. Click here for  a link to her PowerPoint presentation.

In short, after about two weeks of “training” her students, she shares the password for the class’ Twitter page. Students may access the page from home or from school, and allowed to follow professionals in the field, post questions/concerns regarding content and homework, and even retweet posts that are relevant to the science curriculum. Retweeting is only allowed once students have researched what they are retweeting so no misinformation is spread. Students are not allowed to follow individuals from the class (you don’t want to see Johnny Jones’ Twitpics he took in his bathroom mirror show up on the feed).

By connecting your students to professionals in the mathematics world, you will definitely be able to show them how math is used in the “real world.” Students could also use Twitter to post pictures of “math in action.” For example, when you are studying geometry, students could post photos of example of symmetry they find in everyday life. Remember to keep in mind the following points:

• Create your own hashtags to hold conversations about the night’s homework.
• Make sure each student signs his/her tweet with a dash and their last name, just in case something questionable does appear on the page.
• Once you become an expert on Twitter, you could even poll the class to decide upon which social media site you will conquer next. They are the true experts, and when you share the trust of appropriate internet use, your possibilities are infinite.