How I Use Social Media for My Students

Aside from our classroom and the daily interactions I have with my kids, and every other building kid within high-five reach, can you think of a more effective method than social media to inform, connect, and celebrate students?

I'm fortunate to work in a district that values teachers' judgement and allows them to balance the freedom of social media with their obligation to model a high level of professionalism. I am trusted to use the creativity that the various platforms offer and keep the student's best interests in mind.

If I taught in Missouri or NYC, I couldn't use social media  platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest to connect or celebrate with students and home partners. That's a shame. I understand the wariness of being online, I really do. Social media can be used to hurt and cause harm. It can be a dangerous and damaging forum. However, it's the user and how social media is used that's the real problem.

It's dangerous for children to cross the street, but we don't ban cars. It's important for adults to teach kids how to cross the street without getting hit. It's the same for social media.

If a teacher can't use social media in a responsible way with school aged children, then I don't think they should be a teacher. Move along Betty, I don't need you staining the profession with your poor choices.

Some of the ways that I've used social media with my students and their home partners.

Twitter

• I often engage home partners and students with the question of the day answer. Fun, mostly meaningless, but usually tied to what we are doing or have talked about in class. Sometimes a little cyrptic to foster the question, "what does this mean?"
• Updates and reminders. Picture day, assemblies, book orders, cookie money, whatever. There is a lot going on in my kid's homes, if a tweet can help my parents remember something, I send it.
• Our class has a 'Twitter job' whose responsibility it is to send out 140 descriptions of exciting or interesting things we are doing in class. 
• I tweet out photos from things that we might be doing in class that day. Reading on the lawn, Science investigations, or Math explorations. Donut parties included.
• If one of our classmates accomplishes something special or receives recognition. It absolutely gets a tweet.
• My kids and home partners get to see responsible tweeting on my timeline. I have a positive digital footprint and model how you can use Twitter, without being a jerk or hurtful to others. That's important to me and important for them.
• Update 10/2014 This year I started our own classroom Twitter account @LaSalleElem216 We now hand the handle to our class Twitter job. It has been a great thing for us. The Twitterer sometimes pokes fun at me, tweets inside jokes, but is almost always student originated. 

Facebook

Facebook is an easy punching bag for the media when the forum is used to bully someone, inflict harm, or characterize it as the starting point for evil. Uninformed or non-involved parents  use the overblown danger as a reason to keep their children from the forum. That's a shame.

I use Facebook:

• To share the great things we do in our classroom. From photos of student projects and mundane classroom going ons to school assemblies and events. Facebook makes it easy to post photos and give easy updates on what's going on in our classroom.
• As another way to send out updates or reminders. The majority of my kid's households don't have internet access or email, but they do have Facebook. (smartphones). Facebook is just another communication conduit into my kids' homes.
• To stay connected to my departing students and to establish a connection with next year's students. I created a page for Mr Johnson's gnome. The 'summer me' could be followed around as he moved through the summer. He kayaked, climbed mountains, ate donuts, helped Mr Johnson study, attended PD, and even walked his dog. Follow his exploits on Twitter as well @MrJohnsonsGnome

• To share our school's first Science Fair and all of the great things the kids accomplished. I posted the events leading up to the exhibition, the exhibits, and the awards assembly.
• To gauge the mood of my kids or gain an understanding of what is going on in their lives. I spend very little time 'crusing' my timeline, but if something comes across in a post that I can use to anticipate problems that might present themselves in my classroom or grade, I bank it. Friction between classmates usually show up on kids' timelines. Problems at home also show up and help me understand when I need to be a little more patient with outward expressions off frustrations that originate at home. Facebook statuses have helped me rearrange science partnerships, seating arrangements, or suggest trips to see our counselor.
• To understand what's important to my students. Softball games, gymnastic meets, volleyball matches, football games, and family reunions. If it is an event that my kids love, they post it, and they love it when I ask them about what they love. I share the photos from those events as well.
• To send a message to an absent student, that we missed them in class that day and that we need them back as soon as possible.
• Share small inspirational quotes or thoughts. 
• To let a student know that they are special and to let them know it's okay to feel bad about a broken heart or a failed athletic attempt. They need to know they matter.

Blogger

It can be scary to put yourself and your thoughts out there, but I've found my blog to be a tremendous way to share the great things about kids and the things that I love about teaching and challenges that the profession can provide.

My kids blog too and love knowing that administrators, parents, and friends are their audience.

I write a Science Blog for our kids participating in the Science Fair to help them understanding the phases and have another resource available to them.

Delicious

I share my Delicious bookmarks with students and home partners who might need information and resources to help their students in a particular area. I might not have everything that a student's home might need, but I may help them get started on the right path

Text Messaging

While not technically social media, I started using Remind 101 this year. It is an easy to use, easy sign up text messaging service that I use in combination with Twitter and FB to remind students and parents about important events and deadlines. Check 'em out.

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Homework Stinks #4 - My Verdict

Really! My dog ate my homework.
( “Homework Evidence” Threadless t-shirt by Glenn Jones.)

In the first three (I, II, III) posts in this "Homework Stinks" series, I've tried to cover the major elements of homework and discuss the issues that impact home partners, teachers, and most importantly, students. I appreciate all of the support and encouragement that I have received through Twitter and comments on the posts during this series. Once I started the project, I almost immediately realized that it was probably more than I wanted to take on. However, I felt that I could add something to the long running, and often heated conversations that a great number of teachers have each year. Thanks for sticking with me.

I have read more about this topic than any other issue that affects my kids, and to be perfectly honest, I still don't have definitive advice on homework practices. I want to do what is best for my kids and I think that after reading close to 60 journal articles, innumerable blog posts, and having countless conversations with peers, the only thing I can say definitively is that I am closer to that goal than when I started. This blog series has allowed me to think deeply about the subject and challenged me to think differently, which is simultaneously exciting and confidence shaking. 

Student's Personal Time

I have my students in a facilitated work environment for 6-ish hours a day. Is is okay for me to claim more of their time? Am I using every minute of time that I have with my students effectively? Do I use homework as a 'catch-up' for the time I mismanaged? Is homework assigned to help or is its issuance simply a habit.

One educator that I respect wrote that he gives homework because he believes that learning should continue throughout the day, but that homework is not optional. The teacher tried to buffer their requirement by letting the students choose what  proof of their learning they could submit, but it was still required by the teacher. You can't say that you are respectful of your student's time away from your classroom, but still command their time away when they are away from your four walls. Sure, learning and the love of learning is something that should be nurtured, but I think requiring a student to prove they're learning outside of the classroom smacks of hypocrisy and arrogance. If I can't get a student excited about learning to the point where they want to share with me and our classmates, then that's on me, not a seven or twelve year old. I'm not going to be the one who prevents a kid from letting the figurative apple fall on their head, because they were inside doing a useless worksheet.

My Verdict for students: Pursue what's important to you, that's what's important to me.

District or Building Homework Requirements

Despite the shortsighted philosophies behind the ridiculous policies that require or mandate homework, teachers still have to do what is required of them. Fortunately, I do not live under such a dreadful leaking umbrella of mandated homework. There are many examples of how innovative teachers have effectively dealt with homework requirements, such as homework menus, creativity journals, multi-media, podcasting, and blogging. Do what you have to do, but do it with an understanding that for most students, homework is an unneeded burden that does not contribute to learning. Let your sphere of influence know that issuing homework because 'we've always done it that way' is nonsense. In a vigorous classroom debate I wouldn't accept that type answer from my students and I won't let administrators rest on their power and nameplate when they issue such a lazy leadership directives.

My Verdict: I'll comply, but I'll be creative and do what I believe is best for my kids. I don't think homework issuance can be a proxy for rigor and should not be used to create an illusion of learning. I'll let the learning exhibits that my kids produce impress the onlookers.

Grading

Research indicates that grading homework is an unwise practice, as it decreases student motivation and effort. Think about a homework grade from the student's perspective. You just learned a new skill, maybe you 'got it', maybe you didn't. You're sent home to practice, maybe you have support and have a productive work environment established. Maybe you are asked to learn in chaos. You do the assignment, turn it in, get it back and you receive a poor grade. What did you learn and what are you going to remember?

My Verdict: I think grading homework is destructive to student motivation and its negative impact hurts students who need the most encouragement the most. "Score the game, not the practice" -Tom Schimmer

Successful Homework

A significant of amount of research has shown that homework can improve student achievement. The issue for me, as an elementary classroom teacher is, can I consistently provide the conditions needed for homework to be meaningful? Some of those elements I can control, or have a direct influence on, but many of the things required for homework success are beyond my control.

1. There has to be a classroom culture where assignments are valued by both the teacher and students. If the teacher does not view assignments as valuable learning exercises, by not assessing, commenting, or returning promptly, the exercises quickly become more about compliance than learning.
2. Value alignment of parents, teacher, and students towards homework contribute to positive student efforts, emotion, and learning. When all of the partners agree on the value of the assignment and its completion, students learning and achievement increase, but when everyone is not on the same page, success is diminished. Parental alignment is especially difficult to achieve.
3. The type, quality, variety, and difficulty of homework assignments have to strike a 'sweet spot' with the students. If assignments are too easy/difficult, are of one type (drill and practice for example), or are of low quality (mindless worksheets), student effort, motivation, and emotion plummet. Regardless of  whether these conditions are met, homework issued later in the year receive progressively less effort from most students.
4. Most of the reasons (70%) for issuing homework is adult centered. For homework to be meaningful and effective, it should be focused on how the exercise can enhance student learning.
5. Homework assignments should be  address the different learning needs of the students. Rarely will every student need to practice the same skill in the same way at the same time.  
6. Students should receive prompt feedback on their homework assignments in order to effectively contribute to student learning. Assignments that are assessed & handed back beyond a two day window from the assignment's completion is fairly close to useless.
7. The student should have a designated, clutter and distraction free homework area, that allows the student to become as self-regulating as possible. However, younger students are not developmentally ready to ignore distractions for extended periods of time and even with an ideal environment, cannot successfully focus on a singular task.

Even with all of these elements in place, student learning gains are modest, especially in elementary aged children. The amount of elements required for homework that contributes to student learning are significant. Also, homework is largely a solitary effort and is in contrast with almost everything we do collaboratively in our classroom. Most of my students don't have the technology or financial resources to even attempt collaborative efforts or constructing quality projects away from school.

My Verdict for homework practices: I think my time would be better spent on planning and executing engaging lesson plans that take advantage of the classroom setting where a number of the above elements are naturally in place. I'd like to assign work that is collaborative, meaningful, valuable, while allowing students to choose how they can demonstrate what they have learned. There are simply too many things required for homework to be successful and I cannot ensure that all of those things can be in place for every child. I don't think that homework can consistently meet the learning goals I have for my kids. I'm not a fan of saying never, but I hope that my students will never say "Homework Stinks".

Thanks for reading. Probably the last thing I have to say about homework, unless you would like to keep the conversation going by leaving a thoughtful comment. I'd actually love it.

Feel free to visit my Delicious bookmarks on homework. The collection is not comprehensive, but the articles/blogs I've collected here supported and challenged my thinking. You might find something that does the same for you.

I've updated my Homework Stinks reference page on this this blog. There has been a LOT of recent research on the issue. I encourage you to visit the ERIC database and explore what researchers are finding. Use their hard work to do what is best for 'YourKids'.

Here are some additional resources.
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2009/09/14/the-best-resources-for-learning-about-homework-issues/
http://www.cybraryman.com/homework.html
http://www.endtherace.org/ 

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