My View: Don’t ban social media from schools
By Steve Nicholls, Special to CNN
Editor’s note: Steve Nicholls is the author of Social Media in Business. He is a social media strategist hired by business executives to teach them how to implement a winning social media strategy into their organization.
The New York Education Department recently stated that in the first 11 months of 2011 there were 69 cases where teachers were accused of inappropriate conduct with students on Facebook. Some were fired as a result, and there is a growing trend by schools across the country to put a ban on social media.
This raises a question: Is prohibiting social media in schools the right way to protect children?
In my view, if the answer is yes then that would mean that as technology grows, schools are forbidden to grow with it, and that would somewhat be of a contradiction to what a school is supposed to be in the first place.
I believe it is critical that social media is allowed in schools as it presents a world of opportunities that far outweigh the risks if it is implemented safely and properly. Social media has become far too integrated into daily life on a global basis; failing to incorporate it into schools would do our children a disservice.
Think of how far the space has grown in just a few years (remember Myspace?) and imagine where it will be by the time your child is out of college. Trying to ban social media will simply not work. Just ask certain autocratic countries that have tried in vain. The question at the core of the issue is: Why ban it?
Concerned parents may point to the potential dangers and risks. What about inappropriate interaction with teachers? Or scams from online predators? Even adults fall prey to human emotion and post things they would love to have back. Why put my 10-year-old in that position?
My answer is to first acknowledge that these concerns are warranted and the threats are real. That being said, while the risks of social media are very serious, the biggest risk of all is not to embrace it. Bad people exist in all walks of life, and while we must protect against them, we must not let them hinder progress. For example, if a pedophile is found near a school playground, would you homeschool your child? I think in most instances the answer would be no.
The fact that the risks associated with social media are real is exactly the reason why it is important to make it part of school teaching. What better place is there to educate our youth about these potential risks so they can avoid them in the “real world?” Ignoring them will not make them go away.
As discussed in my book, Social Media in Business, I have helped implement social media across a variety of business sectors, and the core principles apply to schools, too. The key is to put a strong social media policy in place that identifies the potential risks and mitigates them so you can enjoy all the benefits social media has to offer. In the fast-changing digital world, there is not a “one size fits all” formula, but by adhering to certain principles and putting certain safeguards in place, schools can implement a safe and effective policy that will protect the school, the children and the teachers while maximizing learning.
I believe there are 10 important principles to consider that will help implement a safe and effective social media policy in schools:
1. Bring in experts: Working with both a legal team and social media experts is a good way to ensure the crafting of a solid social media policy, one that takes into account the benefits, risks and fast-changing landscape.
2. Make a clear written policy: The policy needs to plainly inform teachers, students and parents about what is and isn’t acceptable behavior and list the consequences of inappropriate behavior. The policy can be written and reinforced verbally and signed by all to confirm their understanding of every aspect of it.
3. Highlight past transgressions: The best way to connect with people is to humanize the issue. Schools could talk about previous cases of misconduct which led to firing of teachers and expulsions of students.
4. Strive for accountability: Remind teachers and students that they will be held accountable for everything they write on social media sites.
5. Create a classroom page: Teachers could consider establishing a separate classroom Facebook fan page that is safe and secure. By doing so, you are creating a safe environment to facilitate an online community full of learning.
6. Report inappropriate behavior immediately: If somebody writes or does something inappropriate through social media, reporting it immediately is very important. The good news with social media is that there will be electronic proof, and this avoids the typical “he said, she said” scenario found in many schools.
7. Remind students of proper use: On school time, social networking sites need to be used for learning activities and not leisure activities such as video gaming.
8. Assess policy vs. reality: Just because a policy is written does not mean it will be followed. Many “unwritten” rules will take shape, and the school needs to be vigilant and continuously reshape policy to match what is happening “on the ground.”
9. Involve parents and the community: Involving parents and the community is also important as this allows them to “police” proper conduct and keep a watchful eye.
10. Bring the risks to light: Children will use social media outside the classroom, thus the classroom is the perfect place to teach them about risks. Just as teachers tell children not to get in a stranger’s car, talking about the dangers of online predators can be incorporated into school learning and prepare them for life outside school.
I think the topic of social media in schools is worthy of great debate, but ultimately, it is in our children’s and our nation’s best interest to embrace its use as it will only become more of a core form of communication as we move further into the 21st century.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Steve Nicholls.
Related: Student News
CNN Student News is ten minutes of commercial-free, cost free news for middle and high school classrooms. It is available on line on our website, as a free downloadable podcast on iTunes and on HLN at 4:00 a.m. ET weekdays during the school year. Go to www.CNNStudentNews.com@CNNSchools on Twitter
Favorite Videos
Reblogged this on Wilmacaro's Blog.
Hi there, I discovered your web site by way of Google whilst searching for a comparable topic, your website came up, it seems good. I've added to my favourites|added to bookmarks.
How about children interacting with each other face to face? I know this must sound crazy and radical...seriuosly people? Maybe if children actually knew how to behave around people and with other people there wouldn't be so many problems with todays youth. (yes I am aware there would still be issues but teaching social interaction would definitely help curtail it to a degree) When I was in high school 8 years ago we were not allowed to have out cellphones on us and guess what no myspace in school either. If a teacher saw us with a cellphone it got taken away until the end of teh day and your parents got called. I think todays society is definitely too involved in "socializing" on the internet.
Here's what I wrote about using twitter in school http://wp.me/s1N9yC-42
And here's my take on kids living online http://wp.me/p1N9yC-1Y
The very essence of how the social media was founded was for the reason of communication.. therefore whatever will be the stand of the person regarding it.. It will always go back to the root of why it was created. Learning from these is really great! Thanks alot Steve! Cheers!
its a good concept, and a good idea, but it will not work in schools.
yeah. you could include it in schools, but what if students are playing farmville while you are trying to teach a lesson?
this would also infringe on student's privacy.
4. Strive for accountability: Remind teachers and students that they will be held accountable for everything they write on social media sites.
6. Report inappropriate behavior immediately: If somebody writes or does something inappropriate through social media, reporting it immediately is very important. The good news with social media is that there will be electronic proof, and this avoids the typical “he said, she said” scenario found in many schools.
if privacy is gone, then students wouldn't use their "personal" account at school anymore and social media wouldn't be effective anymore
my idea is to make something like facebook, but remove all the distractions. keep chat, keep "class room pages", keep mail, but they can get rid of farmvile, cityville, whatnot ville
then this idea might work
with how many kids have cellphones these days, how is banning this from schools even a practical way of achieving anything?
All they have to do is follow what schools were doing in the 90s. No cell phones in classes. I moved around a lot growing up and even through high school we were given 5 minutes to get from class to class. We weren't allowed to be seen with our phones in class nor during lunch breaks. There are much more important things to do in school than play on facebook or tweeter. Students should be learning and teachers should actually be teaching. There are enough issues with our education system to add more concerns with the use of social media in schools.
There will always be those parents and children who will work together to make the best of this wonderful powerful tool, and they will rule tomorrow. Parents are the first teachers of their children. Parents need schools to guide both them and their children in this challenge. Imagine depriving yourself and your children the right to a good education. Well you have done it and no amount of money will help. Bill Gates knows this yet he funds Khanacademy.com, a free world class education to the world online. But you need to sign in through Google. Why does do this thing many of you do not want for yourself and your children? Because there is always hope and he wants you to have a chance.
Why is the author of this post concerned about "protecting children" within schools if he's in support of social media? Did he at all cite the statistics about the number of stalkings, assaults and murders that occur due to sites like Twitter and Facebook? Until this discussion takes place, I don't want to hear reasons of how schools benefit from social media.
Another lesson I do with my students is to have them view the current events through Twitter. What is being said about Syria, presidential elections, China, etc.? How can we comment in 140 words or less and get our point across? This also shows the students that social media is not just for gossip, the famous, or chatting with friends. Social media is a wonderful news source and should be examined in education.
One of the lessons I teach is to have students read an article online, then read the comments that go with the article and analyze those comments and the article. As a class we discuss bias, truthfulness, accuracy of statistics, and fact vs. opinion. Then the students compose their own comment in a thoughtful and professional manner. I stress accuracy in spelling, grammar and also being concise. This is a very motivating and educational lesson for the entire class and I consider it a social media lesson, because students are sending their opinion out into the internet. I am teaching them to be digital citizens and I believe this is a very important part of a student's education.
Lberal agenda is being tought in our schools, What happened to math, History,Science, English?
do you mean "taught"?... what DID happen to english class?
By Steve Nicholls, Special to CNN
Editor’s note: Steve Nicholls is the author of Social Media in Business. He is a social media strategist hired by business executives to teach them how to implement a winning social media strategy into their organization.
. . . i think you might need to remove yourself form the discussion, as your opinions may be a TAD bit biased, seeing as you make your living through incorporating social media into everyone's life.
SO the social media EVANGELIST says keep social media in schools?!
That's enough to make me want to immediately turn the worthless crap off. Are they getting assignments through it? Are they discussing schoolwork on it?
'Special' Medial has NO business in a school.
I like it how you put this all on the teachers as the only ones who cause the problems (and it clearly shows that you've never taught in a computer based classroom). You would be shocked how much cyberbullying between students occurs not only on Facebook but especially on twitter.
I am a high school student who uses Facebook to organize students for AP and honors classes. For students in the groups, they provide news, study plans, and a place to ask questions that only students of the same class can see. If kids really wanted to use social media for school, they would be doing it outside of school.
Gee, could you have allowed a more biased author for this blog post? Social media has a place, but a controlled one, in the school system. Cell phones should not be permitted during class but some schools allow it – same thing with Facebook and Twitter. My taxes are paying for children to get an education (oh, and the two meals per day) and spending time in an environment that is not focused on learning helps no one – take a look at current graduation rates and convince me otherwise.
Zuckerberg has other things on his mind, so this guy was the next logical choice and a distant third choice was that Tom guy from myspace.
You are right on track, Mr. Nicholls. Anyone who thinks that social media is not impacting the youth of today is living in denial. As a high school teacher, engagement and motivation is critical in teaching any subject and the more we can get students to think and work outside the classroom, the more they will learn. Social media is an excellent way to communicate meaningfully with students outside the classroom. I'm guessing that some previous posters don't have Facebook or Twitter accounts or they would understand the expanding use of social media goes far beyond connecting with friends. Because of the continued use of social media in business and in distributing the news, it is important to teach students how to use ALL types of social media and how to ANALYZE, EVALUATE and THINK about what is being presented. Along with other technologies, students need to understand and properly use social media to be educated, contributing members of society.
*are critical...
You absolutely DO NOT need to use social media to be a functioning contributing member of society.
Like we need more narcissistic twits?!?
Dear author... you are an idiot. And like so many other idiots of your kind, you have co-opted social media to be something it is not. Social Media is pretty much synonymous with Facebook these days. Sorry, but ti's the truth. Facebook was not designed to solve the worlds problems. It was designed to bring that oldest of cultural practices, the caste system, into the 21st century (well, maybe the 20th century). It is designed for people to 'like' something. It is designed for people to engage in narcissim. When it comes to the exchange of information and ideas, 'like' really needs to take a back seat to 'proof'.
Should we allow our kids to exchange informationa and ideas with others? Absolutely. Is 'social media' the way to do that.... No.
If you'd like to carve off a piece of that infrastructure and re-tool it... Fine. That's a workable solution, but please don't call that socail media, unless you have a Sysiphus complex.
Kids are already smack dab in the middle of their social network...IT IS CALLED SCHOOL! They need to learn in school, that's what it is there for.
I think they will somehow manage without is six hours a day...not like they have cell phones or anything..but that's just me
Well written with FANTASTIC ideas Mr. Nicholls. OUR children will become EVERYBODY\'s customers and will need to fully function in our ever changing society whether we like it or not. So why not model how to do it safely, correctly, respectfully and in a way that will be productive for all?
Well written with FANTASTIC ideas Mr. Nicholls. OUR children will become EVERYBODY's customers and will need to fully function in our ever changing society whether we like it or not. So why not model how to do it safely, correctly, respectfully and in a way that will be productive for all?
MY view: Business People need to stay the Hell out of Education Policy. These are OUR children, not YOUR customers, you parasite. Experiment on your own children.
Ban it FROM THE WHOLE WORLD. Abomination.
I have increasing concerns about the push by users and business professionals to integrate social media into schools and companies. It's wonderfully easy to connect and share, but anybody involved in Public Relations, Legal Departments, and School Administration had better think carefully about privacy concerns and liability issues. These are ultimately public spaces. I am always feeling that people perceive that their information is their own and remains so when they use these online applications, but I've never shared that understanding,and I've seen many instances of people getting burned over it. There are things that are not appropriate to "share" with others without having a thourough knowledge of who will hava access to or ownership of that information. Once something is in writing, there is a "record", and unless you have the funds to screen and control the use to ensure illegal comments and privacy infractions are not being "shared" you had better hesitate over facilitating and encouraging the practice within your business or school. I would ten times rather have a high school graduate that can read, and do math then someone half illiterate with not even basic math or decision making skills out in the work world – but that's not what I'm seeing, with the current ease of communication decision making and problem solving are becoming a matter of asking your friends (or finding out what's popular – or if your horomones are really screwed up, what's not popular so you can make a statement), rather than thinking, and that's just distrubing.