Social Media

Social media is any internet site that allows interaction amongst peoples all around the world. Social media has made a huge impact on the entire world during the past few years. The impact of social media has impacted schools throughout the years. I know, being a student myself, that peers around me are constantly using sources of social media constantly throughout the school days. Because of this observation, I believe that it is important to embrace rather than shun sources of social media. TappedIn is an example of a social networking site that I believe can be vital as a teacher. It is always great to have people working with you who have experiences and advice to give, but with TappedIn, we are exposed to educational professionals from all around the world to get advice from. If I, the teacher, were determined to incorporate an activity into the classroom about a specific topic, I could go onto TappedIn and ask other education professionals for help and advice. Resources are endless with tools like TappedIn. All social networking sites can be used as learning tools when used correctly. I feel that the biggest issue that schools have with social networking sites is that when they discourage them, that discouragement encourages students to use the media even more. Instead of shunning all social networking sites, schools need to be smarter about it. Schools should encourage social networking sites, but encourage using the sites for a purpose. I believe that their are times that no student should be on a social networking site, but it is my (the teacher's) job to establish those moments. Social media is a huge part of the world today, and will continue to be, so instead of acting like it is a bad thing, we need to embrace it and use it to our advantages as teachers.