Social Media and Digital Literacy in the Classroom

     I have been using various social media platforms since I was 13 years old. That was the age dictated by Facebook, so that was a good enough guideline for my parents. Prior to joining any of these apps, I learned about my Digital Footprint. I was told that everything on the Internet stays on there. Forever. Needless to say, I was excited to share my thoughts with the world, but aware of the potential risks that these posts would have on my future. I also believe that social media can be harmful to people's mental health but that it also provides an opportunity for connection. In my lifetime, I have taken short social media breaks and found that my general mood increases and my anxiety decreases. However, without these apps, I missed out on opportunities to connect with my friends and family and missed news updates related to politics (both in the US and internationally). Social media is so engrained into our society that to be fully without it leaves you out of the loop.

    For this reason, I think that the use of social media in the classroom needs to be monitored and intentional. When I was in high school, I was given a project to tweet as a historical figure. When I did this, however, my account was immediately flagged as a bot and taken down. I was in constant communication with the Twitter IT department to get my account back up until the project was completed. In my current classroom, I would not have students join many of the more popular social media apps (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr) but would instead focus on ones where students can learn the rules of social media in a more monitored environment. Although I did not see it listed, Google Classroom has the capability for students to create posts and comment on each other's posts. I believe this would be a good starting point. The comments would only reach members of the class and I would act as the moderator. 

    Additionally, my district gives each student a Gmail account for their single sign on. I have had students practice emailing me their projects. While I have not gone as far as teaching students how to write emails, this would be a good time to do this. The likelihood of students sending a letter is very small. I only send letters to family members or when sending an absentee ballot. Sending inappropriate emails could ruin opportunities at work or school, and proper email etiquette should be taught. As well as practical skills like how to save documents/images and attach them to emails.

    I have also used Google Docs as a collaborative 

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