If you use social media such as Facebook, do not expect privacy. Employers now look for the Facebook or MySpace pages of their potential employees so be careful what you post. Teachers, especially, have to be very careful to ensure that they portray a professional image. Facial expressions, body language, vocal tone, and other cues are missing in internet communication so you have to be careful what you say and how you say it. Humor or sarcasm may not come across as you meant it without your tone of voice to tell the reader that you’re joking. There can also be questions about appropriate interaction between teachers and students online. While it’s safest for the teacher not to communicate with students through social media, I believe avoidance is too limiting. Class time is very limited and being able to communicate outside of class may allow for a better relationship between teacher and students. Social media may provide students with the opportunity to ask teachers questions about assignments or to ask for help. We just need to set some guidelines and remind teachers to think about what they’re writing. Look at your potential posting or message from an outsider’s point of view. Could what you plan to say be misconstrued? If yes, then simply rewrite your message so that there is no misunderstanding. I recently read an article with some tips for keeping school staff out of trouble when using social media (http://bit.ly/ctJLXn). A second article I read this week, highlights a disturbing trend (http://bit.ly/bHNuAI). In this article, they talk about rules that counties are thinking about imposing which limit what teachers can and can’t say on Facebook. I think if these rules are passed then there are going to be some serious lawsuits based on First Amendment violations. Honestly, just use common sense people. If your settings on Facebook would allow other people to see what you say (potentially including your students or their parents) then don’t say anything you wouldn’t want to be heard saying in public.
You make some great points Lisa. First, “If your settings on Facebook would allow other people to see what you say (potentially including your students or their parents) then don’t say anything you wouldn’t want to be heard saying in public.” It is unfortunate, but anything that gets put online can affect you in a negative way. There have been a few teachers at my school that have been asked to take down information from Facebook because it was deemed too racy. The principal simply asked them to take it down. He did not demand it. He found out about the context because of complaints from parents. They were not fired or reprimanded, but I know they were embarrassed about the situation.
ReplyDeleteAs you have said though, “there are going to be some serious lawsuits based on First Amendment violations.” If teachers lose their jobs or have a negative evaluation because of something on the internet. I am sure some teacher will get a great lawyer and sue. Personally I just keep my private life off of the internet. I do not want my students showing up on Monday knowing what I did on the weekend or how I dress at the beach. Its not a legal issue with me; its more of a moral issue.
You also said, “Facial expressions, body language, vocal tone, and other cues are missing in internet communication so you have to be careful what you say and how you say it.” That’s not just true about the internet, its also true in the classroom. If you have a student that does not speak English very well or understand sarcasm, you can get yourself in trouble in the classroom. If you say something in the classroom that you think is funny or sarcastic and offend someone, you could be in a lot of trouble from a simple joke. If that joke is printed in an email, you can get in even more trouble because there is documentation.