Social media in the classroom

Before establishing whether social media should be allowed in the classroom, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered: Do you understand the value of social media fully? Are you engaging in it as well as the students? Are you okay with people having conversations while you teach? And, finally, who is your class?

The last question can probably cancel out the ones before it if the answer is negative. If you know for a fact that your class will only abuse the privilege of social media to ignore you and get off-topic, there isn't much reason to explore the idea. Also, if you will assume that they are off-topic the whole time, it will not be a genuine experience to enrich education.

Conversations in class can range from educational to 

completely off-topic, but all conversations have the 

potential to be of a large benefit to the learner.

When I first heard from Steve Elliott that we were allowed — no, encouraged — to use social media during class time, I was pretty blown away by what seemed like a two-week-long distraction. Especially as someone who is easily distracted by social media, videos, memes, and an array of digital junk food, I saw it as a mistake.

But it has worked, and I was wrong.

During lectures, we can explore sites that speakers have suggested, retweet and favorite quotable anecdotes to bring home or to put in stories, and share related resources with each other to enrich the learning experience in real time.

I will admit to, at times, being completely off-topic. It has to be expected. But if I'm tweeting off with another classmate about whose NHL team is better, isn't that forming a bond? If plans are made during class time on Facebook to get together later, isn't that strengthening a relationship that will inform our practice in the future?

Even the seemingly bad parts can be beneficial. As teachers, if we want to implement it in our high school classrooms, there would have to be more direction. Decide when to use it. Maybe you want to use it for five minutes here, five there, then have them put their devices away. More importantly, use social media as a foundation for assignments. Don't hand them Twitter and say, "Go."

If we can teach these kids how to use social media in the way we have these last two weeks, we will teach them an extremely valuable skill for the futures of their information intake and synthesis.

Bobby Oliver

San Pasqual High School

Escondido, California