Social media is the
wave of the future for communication. People Facebook instead of call,
tweet instead of interact face-to-face, and Instagram instead of sending
pictures via mail. It is how we, as humans, talk to each other and
interact. Understanding the correct ways to communicate via social media is important.
Although, we as people love to communicate with a post, what you say or do may
affect your life in more ways than one.
As
professionals, we move forward with new communication strategies of the 21st
century and face new challenges that derive from social media interaction.
Whether a teacher posts his or her crazy weekend, or a student discusses
personal issues to the world, as professionals of the education industry, we
must understand the potential positive or negative feedback we may receive from
what we post. Even though, you might think that posting that picture of
yourself in a bikini while on a vacation with a beer is OK because your
Facebook status is "private", you still may come across some serious
repercussions in your professional life. The only protection businesses
may have against these unfortunate and often unfair complications may be preset
policies that a business has established for the safety of their employees.
Especially in the education industry, teachers and educational admin are judged
on a stricter level because of the involvement with students.
Although
schools should have a standard social media policy in place, not all schools
have one. This may leave teachers and employees open to scandals and
threats to jobs and even teaching licenses. So as a teacher or admin, do
you know your school's social media policy? Does your school have a
social media policy?
Here
is a great example of a social media policy from the San Diego Unified School
District (image on the left). This
policy gives a clear indication of the terms and policies that should be
followed for safety use of social media in the educational field. Of course, each school should create their
social media policy to mimic their policies, but this gives an idea of how to
effectively establish a social media policy.
However, if your school does not have a social media policy in place,
what should you do as a teacher or admin to protect yourself from social media
blunders? Follow these simple steps, and
most concerns can be covered to ensure that your social media rights and posts
are protected.
1. Do not friend,
follow, connect, like, share, or communicate with students using your personal social
media platforms. If a school wants you
to communicate using social media, like Facebook, then the school should
establish a Facebook page or group that allows students and teachers (or
admins) to communicate on a professional level.
Never under any circumstances should a teacher or admin communicate
socially with a student (or parent) using private social media platforms.
2. Do not post anything that your mother or
children wouldn’t want to see. Yes, it
is true that most people on Facebook are friends with their parents or children. Has this ever stopped you from posting
something inappropriate? Honestly, if
you do not want your mother or child seeing a picture of you intoxicated on the
floor, then use common sense and do not post it.
3.
Make sure all your platforms like Facebook are private. This will save your rear end time and time
again. When your social media platforms
(with the exception of Twitter) are open to the public, John Q. Public is going
to view your profile. This means
students, employers, creepers, and more can see everything that you post. If you would like learn how to set your
Facebook to private, just click on the cool Facebook icon to the left.
4. Research social media policy trends. The saying “Knowledge is power” is true. The more you know, the better you can protect
yourself from future issues.
5. If your school does
not have a social media policy in place, request one. As an employee, you have the right to be
protected and protect others. If your
school or business does not have a social media policy, request one. I guarantee you; this is a win-win for
everyone. This will allow your school to
set the rules and regulations of social media so that all students, parents,
teachers, and admin can follow the same rules.
These five steps will
better assist in keeping bad social media blunders away. Even though this is good advice for all
professionals to take, it is up to you to learn the do’s and do not’s of social
media to protect yourself. Because
social media is social, you have to stop and think what you really want the
world to know about you before you post or say anything. This may very well save your career and
reputation in the future.
Brandy Vasquez
