During this week’s class, we had a guest speaker talk to us about social media and privacy within the education system. I learned so much, to say the least. We learned about how teachers are responsible for keeping their students safety in mind whenever we are taking pictures, videos, or using our phones in the classroom. In my Wednesday visits, my mentor teacher used a website for the student’s families to use. Within this website my mentor teacher posted videos and pictures of the student’s progress, keeping the families updated and involved. I think that this is really important to do and creates an important sense of community. With this being said, I also remember sorting paperwork and seeing one about this website. My mentor teacher made sure to create a paper to be signed on if the parents wanted their children’s picture taken and to be included on this website. I think that this website is really important but also needs to be done properly, as my Wednesday teacher did.
I currently work at a job in child care and I had no idea even taking a video of something and having their voices in the background was a violation of privacy. It was really eye-opening to fully understand the privacy and the expectations that are set for teachers to keep our students safe.
We also learned about what we as educators on social media looks like. It was really interesting to learn that we will definitely be looked up on social media by families and future employers. This was a reality check that I need to make sure my social media is secure and appropriate. It was also interesting to know that whether or not it is private, students, coworkers, employers, and their families will be searching for us on the internet. As I googled myself, I was surprised to see that a few of my social media accounts came up. I will definitely be taking this into consideration for my future.