There are many social media platforms available for use but choosing one that is appropriate for your students and for use in the educational setting can be tedious. This week we investigated several options and compared them based on these points:
- How the platform can be used for teaching and learning
- The age group the platform is appropriate for
- The cost (if any)
- The concerns or considerations of use
- The benefits of use
- Any other information you deem useful
We compared Facebook to Edmodo, and Twitter to Instagram. We found that Edmodo is the safer choice for classroom use because it is a closed network where the teacher has total control over who can access what content.
Between Twitter and Instagram there is really no significant difference. Both have privacy settings that allow a teacher to restrict viewing of posts but there is still the need for students to have accounts and there is no way for teachers to control what they do with them outside of school.
My personal beliefs on social media definitely get in my way when it comes to planning for use in the classroom. As I have mentioned before, I teach elementary school, so there is a greater risk when my students join a social media network. They are just beginning to understand the nuances of in real life (IRL) relationships. Transferring this IRL knowledge to cyberspace is often difficult for adults and therefore not developmentally appropriate for most 10 year olds.
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