Our society is filled with social beings, it's no wonder that schools and workplaces have had to include a social media policy in their handbooks. My school, Notre Dame College Prep, has a social media policy for both
employees and students. Our employee handbook is private, but you can read our
student handbook here.
It’s been four years since I’ve glanced over the employee handbook, and
I was actually surprised with what I found when it came to the terms and
conditions of social media. My assumption was that it would list that teachers
are not to be interacting with students on social media at all. However, it
actually states “Teachers, faculty, and staff are not to interact individually
with current students on social networking sites about anything other than
appropriate school matters.” Therefore, interaction with students via social
media websites is okay, as long as it is school related and appropriate.
I was also reminded that posting pictures of individual students or
using their name is not allowed. Although, I’ve never done this as a teacher, I
can see how someone may be proud of a specific student and want to share their
accomplishment, however a social media post may not be the place for that.
I also looked over the student handbook. I spoke briefly with our Dean
of Students about this assignment and he said that the “Social Networking” part
of the student handbook is something they review on a yearly basis. Each summer
the administrative board makes sure that this section is still applicable and
appropriate. I found this interesting, since social media is ever changing so
are our policies.
Our student handbook states that students should be following all the
terms and conditions set forth by the social media services they are using. It
also gives students the full responsibility of what is on their sites. If
anything the student posts goes against or violates the mission and policies of
Notre Dame College Prep, the student is subject to disciplinary action.
We also include that Illinois Public Act 09-0129 gives the school the
right to request access to a student’s social media account if the school has
reasonable cause to believe the student has violated our handbook.
This blog post had me reflecting on how much thought and careful wording has to go in to handbooks, policies, and terms of agreement. There is so much fine print when it comes to contracts we make within our school. Often we brush over and just accept the terms as they are, but this assignment really provided me with an opportunity to analyze them and what they are saying.
This blog post had me reflecting on how much thought and careful wording has to go in to handbooks, policies, and terms of agreement. There is so much fine print when it comes to contracts we make within our school. Often we brush over and just accept the terms as they are, but this assignment really provided me with an opportunity to analyze them and what they are saying.
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| Screenshot taken by Kara Tomaszewski: NDCP Faculty Handbook |
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I'm surprised that the social media policy allows contact between teachers and students as long as it "school-related" at all. I guess the question would be who is the judge of what is and what is not school-related? What if a student sends you a message saying they couldn't finish their homework because they had a family function, and they attach a link to their Facebook page showing photos from the event, but that same Facebook page contains other photos of them doing something inappropriate? Or on the reverse, what if you post a link to your Twitter to check for the latest update of an upcoming assignment, and students can see you are following an actor who is doing something potentially inappropriate in their current movie (drug use, nude scene, etc.) It seems like the policies are in place to address those issues for both the student and the teacher, but I would still avoid the scenario all together.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you would never do this, but if I were you I would be especially careful, because you are a young woman at an all-male high school, and all the hormones involved therein, about how non-school social media is used. Just some friendly advice from a former Don who also had young female teachers when he was in high school :)
Hi Scott, thanks for your reply! I would have to agree that most of the teachers in our school are not using social media as a form of communication. We have so many other online portals that are more specific to classroom learning that I know teachers use for communication. But I still found it interesting! I definitely don't communicate with the students on social platforms haha.
DeleteI am also shocked that teachers could possibly reach out on social media to students for academic purposes. I would think that this should only be done on school approved social media. What I mean is, like a learning management system. My school currently uses Schoology, which is almost like Facebook for students. It looks like Facebook's format. Students can comment on teachers post, add comments to posts, submit homework assignments, and even take tests/quizzes on it. It is a safe way to practice social media with the students. Teachers have control of it. I think this, plus simply emailing the students school email address, are the only ways I would feel comfortable reaching out to students.
ReplyDeleteRobert, I've never heard of Schoology thanks for sharing. I was shocked, I have to assume that many of our teachers DON'T use social media as a form of communication. I know we are more incline to use Google Classroom, myHomework, Showbie, etc. However the fact that it was stated in our handbook is still so interesting to me.
DeleteI was happy to hear that you sought out additional clarification from your Dean of Students and that the social media policy is reviewed annually by the school. That's great news! The inclusion of the Illinois Public Act is curious to me and something I haven't seen before and need to check out. Great post Kara!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nicole!
DeleteKara,
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that your school district review their social media policy yearly. As quickly as things change with the internet and social media, it is important to stay on top of things. Students use social media for good, bad and ugly. So often, students'consider criminal acts or dangerous challenges due to what they view on social media. Also, I like the fact that they are clear with the students about the rules. So often rules are written and the people who need to understand them can't.
I'm not comfortable with interacting with students on social media, although I will use google drive and email. Sometimes communicating with or just reviewing other individuals social media pages can be challenging.
Kara,
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that your school district review their social media policy yearly. As quickly as things change with the internet and social media, it is important to stay on top of things. Students use social media for good, bad and ugly. So often, students'consider criminal acts or dangerous challenges due to what they view on social media. Also, I like the fact that they are clear with the students about the rules. So often rules are written and the people who need to understand them can't.
I'm not comfortable with interacting with students on social media, although I will use google drive and email. Sometimes communicating with or just reviewing other individuals social media pages can be challenging.