Student Post: Emily Blimer

 I never had experience with social media in the classroom going through K-12. The use of social media was almost shunned by teachers, banned from school computers, and never utilized as a tool for communication or student engagement. My first experience with any types of social media in the classroom was from a conference I attended for my PRCT/CURR course a year ago that talked about technology in the classroom and the idea of having a “Teacher Twitter". It really opened my eyes to how beneficial social media can be for student engagement, both inside and outside of the classroom. 

Not only is it a tool for educators to connect and share resources through the web, but allows older students (middle and high school) to be directly involved with curriculum, connect with their teachers, and interact with concepts taught in a “digital-age” way. I think social media is a great tool for the classroom. We know our older students are heavily involved, and sometimes addicted, to social media, which may have a negative connotation behind it, but educators can use them to their advantage. Students are more excited to check a Twitter notification about what the homework is for the night over writing it down themselves (along with 5-6 other classes). It also allows students to interact with peers in a way that they are used to.  Threaded discussions about what they are reading or learning is a great way to get them excited about the next day in class. 

Overall, I think the social media presence in the lives of our students is not going away anytime soon, so teachers that take advantage of that point of engagement with benefit greatly.