The Social Media Dilemma

     As a 7th grade teacher and a parent of two teenage
daughters  (not to mention a son who will turn 13 this summer),
I get it.  I know all about adolescents and their social tendencies.
I have policed my own kids' Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts...just to make sure they were following the rules.  The problem is, I am very conservative by nature so the thought of turning my kids out into the World-Wide Web was a little scary.  As a parent, however, I feel better about things because I can check up on them.
     Using Facebook, Twitter, or some other social device in my classroom is just a little too risky for me yet.  Those social networks still feel like I'm crossing the line between student and teacher.  I don't "hang out" with my students in other social situations, and I don't want to hang out with them online either.
     I do, however, see the appeal.  Kids want to be social.  They love Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. because they provide a real audience for their thoughts, pictures, etc.  Kids will actually have discussions on these sites...in writing...so naturally we teachers see a real opportunity for higher-order thinking and authentic assessment.  I'm not ready though for my discussion about the character traits of the protagonist to somehow be on the same Facebook feed as someone's breakup with her boyfriend.
     The compromise for me at the moment is My Big Campus.  It has a Facebook look to it and students can be social on it, but it is easily monitored and regulated by a classroom teacher.  It definitely provides a more secure environment for us conservatives to bring social media into the classroom.