Teacher Treasure Hunter Spring 2015 | Page 27

Social Media

By Katie Ritter

Director of Curriculum & Technology Integration
at Forward Edge, authorized Google Education
Trainer, Passionate about #edtech

Reprinted from Talk Tech With Me

There’s no hiding from it anymore. It’s
either already sucked you in, or it’s
coming for you. There’s even an entire
huge initiative and month dedicated to
using it to connect you with other
educators around the world.
Social media may evolve and change over time, but it is here to stay.

So, if you’ve resisted joining any social media sites (or using them professionally)
until now, you can stop running from them… this isn’t the Walking Dead: social
media apocalypse. All kidding aside, there are some things professionals should
keep in mind when using social media, especially educators because we are
always held to a higher standard in the public eye. I mainly use Twitter for my
PLN (personal learning network), but these tips can apply to any social network.

1.

2.

Don’t be afraid. Being cautious and smart is different than
being afraid. If you’re afraid to even get started and sign
up, or once you sign up you’re too afraid that something
bad will happen to use the account at all, you will never
fully understand or benefit from it. I’m not saying be willynilly and don’t give anything a second thought before
posting, following or ‘friending’. Just be open to it, give it a
try, and don’t over think everything so that you’re keeping
yourself from ever posting or connecting with others.
Only post things you wouldn’t mind showing up on
the home page of your local newspaper… or the New
York Times. It’s way too easy to fire off a tweet or
Facebook post in a fit of anger when you’ve been
wronged.
©2015 Teacher Treasure Hunter