10 "Do’s" & "Don’ts" for more interesting & engaging social media updates & comments

When people think of social media like Facebook, Google+, or Twitter they often turn to thoughts of the cliche update about what someone had for lunch. Fortunately, most of the people I associate with in real life don't write such updates.  If they do I unfollow, unsubscribe, etc. Such updates waste the time of everyone who accidentally stumbles upon them.   When participating in social media, engaging participants take on responsibility to contribute meaningfully to the conversation.  The next time you update your status or Tweet, keep this advice in mind.

Don’t

1. Forget to tell readers what you want them to do as a result of reading what you wrote.  
2. Be boring. If you can’t imagine someone really finding what you have to say interesting and valuable, keep it to yourself.
3. Share a link with no additional information.
4. Forget to tag others who could add value to the conversation.
5. Contribute to a hashtag, group, page or conversation unless you know their purpose and goals.
6. Share your wares without explicitly explaining why this would be of value to others.
7. Forget to include a link to what you are writing about if one exists.
8. Write something that is not worthy of a response.
9. Be afraid to be wrong. You’ll learn a lot if you are.  
10. Forget to show your appreciation for others by commenting on and sharing what they are saying.  

Do

1. Attract attention by being yourself. Know your brand.
2. Know your purpose. What do you want people to know, do, respond to? Include that in your update.
3. Ask a provocative question or make a statement that you know might be challenged in meaningful ways.
4. Embrace the ideas that social media makes us more real and transparent. As a result the lines between personal life and professional life are blurring. This makes us who we are. Own it. Share it.
5. Be the most of something people can come to expect. For example perhaps you are the most likeable, helpful, in the know, controversial.
6. Admit your weaknesses and insecurities and write an update that others might relate to. You’ll both feel better.
7. Share why you’re unsure about something. You’ll learn more about yourself and others when you do.
8. Make sure everything you write is interesting, funny, witty, or challenges the status quo.  
9. Tell others what you are hoping will be gained / learned from an update you share.
10. Know your audience. Develop relationships, just as you would in real life.

Following these Do’s and Don’ts will help make you someone worth listening to. It will also help to make social media are more interesting and valuable place for us all.

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Facebook Timeline: The 21st Century Resume - Available Now!

Educators who are up to the task of preparing our students with the essential tools for success today will want to know that starting now, Facebook Timeline is available to all, so if you haven't gotten it, now's the time to get it. Timeline provides an easy way to rediscover the things you shared, and collect all your best moments in a single place. It is a tremendous resource for any school admission counselor or human resource executive interested in seeing if a candidate is a good match. It's the job of today's innovative educator to ensure their students know how to create an online image that will lead to the school or job of their dreams.  

It is the job of the 21st century educator to ensure students have created a digital footprint that will lead to academic and career success. While controlling your digital footprint is as easy as 1-2-3, unfortunately, rather than prepare students with the tools they'll need to create and develop their online image, boneheads like this teachers' union spokesperson are advising teachers to leave students stuck in the past.

Of course to do that, you'll need to be familiar with Timeline yourself.  To do that, this video provides a useful overview of Timeline.
Once you've watched the video, joined Timeline, and become familiar with it, here are five things you can do to support your students.

5 Ideas for Getting Your Students Started with Facebook Timeline

1. Know your brand - Everything you post online says something about you.  Ensure that is a message you want to convey.  
2. Fix mistakes - Sometimes something is shared that does not represent our best selves to the world.  It this happens, Timeline will let you hide the story, post, or picture shared by you or someone else.  
3. Celebrate what you are proud of -Was there something that occurred that you are especially proud of and really represents the image you want to convey?  If so, Timeline let's you feature it and star your favorites to double their size.
4. Imagine yourself as a historical figure -We know that social media is tool necessary for success in many fields. For instance, if our students choose to run for office, they'll need social media savvyness and a respectable digital footprint.  It is reasonable in fact that any student today could become a historical figure in the future. Ask your students to think about themselves as future historical figures and contemplate what their timeline says about the young version of who they are to become.
5. Tell your story -Have your students think deliberately about their Timeline from the perspective of an autobiography that would be attractive to those considering them as candidates for college and career.  Have them actually write an autobiography selling themselves by pointing out important milestones on their timeline that would make them desirable to those considering them for employment or acceptance into their program.  You could extend this activity by having students write the biography of a classmate to students see how they are perceived by others.  
6. Fill in the blanks -
   As students think critically about their image, they may realize that important parts of their story aren't included on their Timeline. No problem. They can go back to when they happened and add them.

To get timeline, simply go to the Introducing Timeline page and click "Get It Now." Or you can wait until you see an announcement at the top of your profile.

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Teachers Union Advice Protects Teachers Rather Than Prepares Students to Use Real World Tools

In a recent story on NPR, New Jersey teachers union spokesman Steve Wollmer became the latest to completely miss the point and give bonehead advice suggesting a variety of policies for teachers to follow when using social media.

His advice:

"Don't ever friend or follow your students on Facebook or Twitter, never post during work hours or use  work materials such as a school computer, and certainly never post anything about your job online, especially about students," Wollmer says. "I think that's where some of these teachers have found themselves in difficult situations."

Ignorant advice!!!
Someone needs to educate Wollmer and the teachers he is advising that social media doesn’t cause inappropriate behavior; it catches it.  

The story, Friendly Advice For Teachers: Beware Of Facebook features teachers who were caught being inappropriate. Is the teacher’s union head really suggesting that we don’t want to catch irresponsible educators? Is he suggesting teachers can’t be trusted to act appropriately so they should just stay away from using 21st century communication tools?  

Here is what the teachers were caught doing:

• Union, N.J., high school teacher Viki Knox posted comments on her Facebook page about a gay history exhibit at the school suggesting it should be removed; she then urged her friends to pray and eventually called homosexuality a perverted sin.
• In the Paterson, N.J., case, a judge ruled that teacher Jennifer O'Brien can be fired for calling her students future criminals on Facebook.

Do we really want these people teaching our children? Is the answer really telling teachers not to use social media or is it that teachers, who are intolerant and make disparaging comments about their students, should leave the profession

This is another case of a union trying to protect teachers that are not best for our children. Wollmer is suggesting educators do what will make his job easier rather than doing what is right for students who will need to know how to effectively use social media to succeed in the world.  After all, it’s social media that enabled our president to be elected into office and Egypt to have a revolution.  Social media is the top source for information and current events. It is also one of the most effective learning tools available to young people and teachers. Policymakers and educational leaders must stop keeping students prisoners of the past by disconnecting them from the tools that are a part of their everyday world.

Instead of Wollmer’s moronic advice, how about this advice from The Innovative Educator:

“Your students need you to connect to them in their worlds whether online or face to face.  Accept their friend requests.  Teach your students how to develop an appropriate digital footprint that will lead to their professional and social success.  Use social media during school hours with your students. Work with them to think critically about the message they are conveying online.  Help them use social media to develop their personal learning networks and connect with those who share their passions.  Remember that as a teacher it is your responsibility to serve as a guide and a mentor.  Model appropriate use and behavior online and in life.”

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50 Reasons to Invite Facebook Into Your Classroom

Over at Mindshift Tina Barseghian shares why we should integrate Facebook into the classroom for obvious reasons like it's fun, free, and students are already using it.  Other benefits are that it allows students to connect and easily share ideas with the world.  If you were on the fence about using Facebook for learning these 50 reasons should provide some motivation to leave the 20th century behind and join your students in their worlds.  Read all the reasons here.

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10 Ways Facebook Strengthens the Student - Teacher Connection

In our data driven world of education today, we often forget that behind all that data real students whose hopes, dreams and desires are often left behind or unnoticed. Don’t be fooled by the data that points to success by numbers rather than faces.  When you scratch past the numbers, you’ll find many real kids who know these tests have been politicized and that what is most important is their connection with adults who care about them.  This was evident during my recent trip to Educon where I had the pleasure of attending a panel featuring students who shared the importance of, “teachers relating to them as people, not just students”  For them this helped develop a deep level of trust with their teachers who they knew really cared about them deeply and were looking out for their best interests.  


Some students told stories of running a marathon with their teachers, others shared how great it felt for them that their teacher who coached them in a sport or activity saw them shine in a particular area of their life.  The students also explained how the use of Facebook has help strengthen their connections with teachers and their principal.  They also shared, that, they don’t “expect” their teachers to be friends with them on Facebook, but appreciate it when they do.  Below are ways that they, their teachers, their principal and others have have found Facebook to be an effective tool in strengthening the educator / student bond.  

1. Reaching out to a student in need
   Students shared that sometimes it’s hard for them to approach a teacher or even really reach out for help face-to-face.  Sharing a disappointment on Facebook can be easier. Students shared how touched they were by encouraging words from a teacher either on their page, or as a face-to-face follow up.
2. Getting a peak into the lives of students
   Facebook provides a window into the worlds of students.  A look at a student’s Facebook page might explain a little something about how or why a student may have reacted to something on a particular day.  As one student said, “We are people, not just students. Facebook is a great reminder of that.”
3. The family connection
   Students at the Science Leadership Academy explained the great importance of their peers and staff as family.  Facebook is a terrific way to share and keep up with family.  They appreciate having that opportunity.  
4. Instant learning and homework support
   A student might notice a teacher online and use the pop up chat to ask if they mind giving advice about a topic they were studying. If their teachers (or principal) is available s/he can offer support. Luna, a student at SLA explained it this way, “We can still get teachers to help us while we’re at home doing our homework instead of having to wait until the next day. Teachers feel a lot more accessible and also approachable.”
5. Snow Day - Update!!!
   Not sure if school will be open or closed on a snow day?  Check it out on your teacher and/or Principal's page on Facebook.  You’ll find the answer and a whole lotta comments.
6. Facebook lets teachers create a no excuses environment
   This came directly from a student who shared that she liked that Facebook kept all students accountable.  When you’re friends with your teachers and students on Facebook, you generally best really be sick on a sick day, or you’ll be outed.  Furthermore, students like the idea that if you get stuck with school work you can always post it on your Facebook wall and tag some friends and teachers who will be able to chime in with advice.
7. Snow days and sick days don’t hold you back
   Just because students are home doesn’t mean they can’t participate.  During a recent snow event teachers and students connected on Facebook about assignments and assessments, barely missing a beat.  For a student who is sick, she can post that on Facebook, tag key people, and get filled in on what she missed in real time.  
8. Using facebook teaches you how to deal with the world and the way it works
   Students like the fact that adults are connecting with them using real-world tools that they’ll need to know how to use effectively to be successful.  At the writing of the article, Egypt’s Facebook revolt was taking place.  Kids are keenly aware of the power of social media and want to be empowered and trusted to operate in such environments.  They feel neither a school or government should ban them from using powerful tools to communicate and connect.  
9. Facebook as a Learning PortalMore and more students are using Facebook for learning and not just to talk to others about what they’re working on.  One Science Leadership Academy student shared that for physics a group of her peers created a Facebook page about motion.  They created it as a learning portal that contained, definitions, photos, videos, articles and discussions.  Not only was this a learning portal for these students, but it remains on Facebook as a learning tool for others studying the topic. 
   
   Librarian Michelle Luhtala helped break the ban on social media in her school. See what happens when students are given the trust and freedom to learn using Facebook.
   Facebook Group  as Collaborative Research Log from michelle luhtala on Vimeo.
   
10. Mobilize in an instantWhen Science Leadership Academy students found out that a snow day was declared on the first day of their Educon conference for educators, they jumped into action on Facebook where their principal shared a note as well as words of encouragement to all students. The principal shared this status up date at 10:45
    Chris Lehmann There's going to be a horde of kids at SLA tomorrow. This is EduCon, and this is *their* school, and a little snow isn't going to stop them.

Both his note and status updates were met with plenty of comments from spirited students and educators.  

There are more and more educators and students like those at the Science Leadership Academy who are harnessing the power of social media to connect more deeply with students.  Unfortunately for some it’s an uphill battle, but one they plan to fight none-the-less in today’s 21st century world, we know life doesn’t just happen face-2-face.   

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Share your thoughts:  Librarian Michele Luhtala is one such teacher who does a good job of capturing the sentiment of students where Facebook is blocked in her post 'Tud-ish but true.http://bit.ly/yfilter and teachers can visit http://tinyurl.com/yfilter .

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Lessons I Learned about Web 2.0 Technology Working with College Students

by Jacob Gutnicki

This past summer I taught a graduate course that uses technology to support math instruction. Over the course of 5 weeks, my students created lesson plans using Google Docs, developed their own blogs, designed Web Quests powered by Google sites, published podcasts, and produced other educational projects. As always, I warned my students about the dangers of the Internet. However, this time was different. A number of informal conversations revealed that they understood the power of the Internet; both bad and good. Students were already aware of how to make their postings non-listed, how to use privacy settings, as well as other precautions. This might not sound significant. However, I assure you it is. I have taught this type of course various times over the past 7 years and previously, the students’ lack of net awareness was frightening.

However, these teachers were different. When they were in High School, the Internet was already a common household name. More importantly, their Internet experience was not dictated by restrictiveness. Rather, it was used to promote research at their fingertips. At the same time they were made aware of the dangers the Internet can pose if not used judiciously. This has tremendous implications for pedagogical practices in the 21^st century.

It is no secret that in the past 5 years web based applications have dramatically matured. Think about how cell phones, Facebook, Wikis, Twitter, You Tube, Google applications, and other Web 2.0 applications have transformed how we communicate. Today we can receive instant weather reports, traffic reports, and other vital information with our handheld devices. Simply put, Web 2.0 applications is the push technology of the late 1990s reaching its true potential. In five years from now, the next generation will laugh at us, as these devices will continue to revolutionize how we communicate and conduct business.

Yet despite it all, some educators fear the cell phone, are frightened by social networking tools, and as such have banned its usage in educational settings. In fact, it seems that our fears have been growing by leaps and bounds. For this reason, observing the first net generation was very telling.

In watching them use technology, I understood their awareness of safe technology usage was due to their High School and college experiences during which they experimented with all kinds of technology applications under the watchful eye of a knowledgeable teacher. Similarly, the students of today desperately need this training and exposure to both computers and handheld devices. Why you may ask? Like it or not if your students are not using cell phones currently, they will use it soon enough.

Will they know how to use it safely? Will they know about on-line predators? Will they know about privacy settings? More importantly, will they know when it is not appropriate to use the cell phone? This will depend on whether we teach students about proper usage and provide them with ample opportunities to use computers and smart phone technology in a classroom environment where they can share their successes and learn from their mistakes.

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Facebook Doesn’t Get Teachers Fired - Inappropriate Behavior Does

Today’s New York Post story, "Teachers fired for flirting on Facebook with Students” chronicles three educators who were fired for having inappropriate dealings with students on Facebook. The Post plays up the sensationalism of the story by making it seem, the tool is in part the culprit, further spreading the fear so many adults already have of the digital worlds in which their students thrive. While ,”They threw the Facebook at 'em!” makes for a nice headline, it was the teacher’s behavior, not the medium that is at fault.

According to the article, one of the teachers had been cut loose because of the social-networking scandal. The reality, is this is not a social networking scandal. It is an inappropriate conduct scandal, like all the others we’ve seen for years...pre-social networking. These teachers would be fired regardless of whether they were acting inappropriately online, on paper, through email or via face-to-face conduct. In fact, in most cases, these teachers also engaged in inappropriate activities off line as well.

The problem here is that the media is confusing the issue and policy makers and school administrators look like they’re doing a good thing when they take the easy way out enforcing bans and mandates in the name of child safety. The reality is that when we remove the ability of adults to exist in children’s worlds, we are doing just the opposite of keeping students safe. Enabling students to operate in online environments devoid of the watchful eye, guidance and advice of adult family members, teachers and mentors, is not in the best interests of children.

These teachers weren’t behaving inappropriately because of Facebook. There have always been inappropriately behaving adults. Facebook, in the case of these adults, didn’t cause their behavior, it just made it easier for them to get caught. The danger we run in to when we ban the tool rather than address the behavior is that without teaching students to appropriately harness the power of communication and technology tools available today, we aren’t preparing them for the world in which they live and not only survive, but also thrive.

We all know that the U.S. President wouldn’t be in office had he not had social media savvyness. Don’t we want our children to be educated in a way that would prepare them if they one day wanted to run for office, start a movement, change the world? You betcha! And, adults shouldn’t fool themselves that one must be of a certain age to harness the power of social media to make a difference. Kids around the globe are using social media to affect positive change today.

Fortunately, more and more adults see past the media hype and are not falling prey to the sensationalism. Instead they are harnessing the power of online media to connect and engage with students in important ways. In fact, I was recently mentioned in the New York Times after they came across a post I wrote about Friending Students on Facebook. In the piece they shared how Facebook enabled students and teachers to make meaningful connections with each other. Or, take for instance first grade teacher Erin Shoening who helps her elementary students harness the power of Facebook. You can see how she and a colleague do this in the below video.

The answer is not to follow in the footsteps of reactive states like Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Ohio who have ordered or urged teachers not to "friend" students on social-networking sites. While it may be an easier solution for schools, it is not what is best for our students. If we want to ensure students are empowered to successfully communicate, operate, and make a difference in the world, we need to stop trying as The Post suggests, “to find policies that address teacher-student communication on Facebook” and instead enforce policies that address appropriate and inappropriate behavior regardless of the medium. That doesn't mean removing adults from the online worlds of students. It means ensuring that adults and children interact in safe and appropriate ways regardless of the medium that empower them to be self-directed, globally-connected learners and leaders.

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Using Facebook with Students Becomes A Global Conversation via CNN

While some educational leaders are putting out a call to action for parents to ban their students from using social media others are working with students as early as 1st grade to help them use social media responsibly and connect with parents. In my widely popular post this summer, I shared 8 Real Ways Facebook Enriched Ms. Schoening’s First Grade Class. The post received thousands of hits and was featured on the Facebook in Education page. While initially Ms. Schoening was a bit concerned that Facebook would be upset that she disregarded their policy of users being 13 years of age, she was ecstatic to find when she was contacted by the social media Goliath, that not only did they applaud what she was doing, but they were thinking of how they could revise their policy so other innovative educators could follow her lead.

Since then she has been contacted by educators and media across the globe and recently wrote thanking me for the blog post about her project. She shared that she couldn't believe how many people had contacted her about trying it out. She also applauded me for helping to turn what she was doing remotely with my first grade class in Nebraska into a global conversation!

Well, global it really is now, as the story was just featured on CNN.



The story was initially picked up a few days prior by the local ABC news affiliate in this piece Facebook In Bluffs Schools Keeps Parents Updated.

While Ms. Schoening is lauded both locally, nationally, and even internationally, it is disappointing that not all teachers are able to work under such enlightened leadership. Unfortunately there are still educational leaders like the one below who are creating artificial school and home environments for their students and banning them from using social media. Sadly, students under such leadership won't be armed with the skills they need to succeed outside of the fabricated school environment...thank goodness the word is spreading, that there is another, better way to prepare our students for success. Embrace and empower leadership is more effective then the block and ban mantra observed in many districts.



Which school district would you rather have your child attending? One that bans their students fro using social media or the one that empowers them to harness its power?

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