Safe And Smart Social Media Skills

Instructional technologist Steven Anderson, and technology facilitator Sam Walker, from North Carolina have created a program for school kids, aimed at teaching safe and smart social media skills. Their goal is to establish an environment within schools that is able to teach students how to behave, and survive in the digital world.

Roughly three out of four teens use social networking sites – it’s imperative that this population knows how to utilize these sites safely and effectively. These social networking websites include Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. These programs are aimed at teachers as well as students. They believe that social media should be integrated into lesson plans, and that educators should teach social media skills to their students.

Some of the guidelines that they teach include:

• Don’t share secrets
• Protect your privacy
• Be honest
• Respect copyright laws
• Think about the consequences

These are pretty basic rules we all generally try to follow, but that kids may not have thought of. If a majority of young people entered the social networking world at 13 or 14, while their navigating skills may have improved, their social skills may not have. Learning these skills at a young age will be beneficial to them when they become post-secondary students, and adults.

Technology in the classroom is becoming used more and more. As social media becomes more prevalent in our lives, it makes sense that students are taught how to use it properly. What do you think about teaching social media skills in the classroom?