Leadership Academy
Identifying Best
Practices Regarding Activities And Participation Of Social Media Throughout
K-12 Schools In Alabama’s Montgomery Public Schools District
Study Submitted By:
TaKecia Barlow
Joshua Farrow
Tori Infinger
Sheri Merriweather
John Mull
Dr. Victoria K. Reese
Tamika Townsend
Introduction
Doreen Moran (2011) suggests that
social media is a collection of online platforms that people use to share
content, profiles, opinions, insights, experiences, perspectives and media
itself, while facilitating conversations and interactions online between groups
of people. Social media enriches the educational learning cycle by allowing
students and teachers to connect and interact in exciting ways. Websites such
as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram provide a platform where users
can communicate, exchange ideas, and find answers to questions. These sites are
designed to foster collaboration and discussion; however, there can be pitfalls
if they are not managed or monitored properly.
In order to counter the negative
impacts of navigating social networks in an educational environment,
facilitators must routinely monitor the established social media forum and
model appropriate use to prevent misconduct and/or possible cyberbullying from
occurring. When proper professional development is provided for educators and
expectations are established for students, social media offers positive opportunities
for students to learn interactively through the use of technology.
Social media provides students with the
ability of becoming actively engage in their learning process while connecting
with peers, teachers, as well as classrooms and students around the world. This
research project will explore methods in increasing positive use of social
media and the best practice approaches of navigating the negative impacts of
social media for student learning.
Background of the Population
Montgomery is the capitol city of the
State of Alabama. It is the second
largest populated city and county in the state.
Montgomery Public Schools (MPS) cover the entire county of 785 square
miles with 232,000 people living in urban, suburban, and rural areas. MPS is the third largest employer in
Montgomery County and the third largest school system in the state.
The school system has an enrollment of
more than 30,840 students representing nearly seventy percent of the school-age
children in the city and county. Of the
students residing in Montgomery County, seventy eight percent are African
American, thirteen percent are Caucasian, four percent are Hispanic, three
percent are Asian, and two percent identify themselves with other
ethnicities. According to the U.S.
Census, Montgomery County’s median household was slightly above the state
average of $44,587. At least twenty
percent of the families in the county are living below the federal poverty. Prior
to the implementation of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the
Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act provided during the 2014-2015 school year, nearly
seventy-three percent of MPS were receiving either free or reduced lunches.
Currently, students and staff attend
classes in fifty-four separate school buildings, thirty-four elementary
schools, eleven middle schools, and nine high schools. Ten schools are identified as magnet schools,
two are alternative schools, and one is for students who are severely
cognitively and physically impaired. The
system also operates an Arboretum, an outdoor classroom, a Pre-Kindergarten
Center, and serves school-aged children who are incarcerated in the Montgomery
County Youth Facility (Public Schools K-12, 2015; Montgomery Public Schools,
2015).
Use of Social Media by Children and Adolescents
Social media websites are among the
most commonly used by today’s children and adolescents. The use of websites
such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and blogs providing entertainment
and communication has continually grown exponentially in recent years. Social
media is not only changing how we communicate, but our interaction in everyday
life (Georgia College, 2015).
Georgia College also found a
significant relationship existed between children and adolescents and the use
of social media. The average age of a child using social media is 8, although,
the minimum age requirement on Facebook
is 13. There are more than 5 million users on Facebook under the age of 10. Children and adolescents between the
ages of 8 and eighteen spend ten hours and forty-five minutes per day online,
while twenty-five percent of the population log into social media sites ten or
more times a day. Thus, eighty-eight percent of children and adolescents value
social media because it helps them connect and stay in touch with peers.
Specific use of social media for
Montgomery County’s internet usage is unavailable; however, it is estimated
that sixty-five percent of the population of the state of Alabama are internet
users and about forty-five percent of the state has Facebook accounts
(Statista, 2015).
Best Practices of Social Media in Education
In today’s culture, it is impossible
for teachers to ignore the use of social media in the classroom and in
education organizations. Social media and current uses or usage of technology
is outlined in the 21st Century technological competencies needed to
enhance student achievement in the State of Alabama’s College & Career-Ready
Standards (CCRS). Social media has the
capability to assist low-income children to overcome the digital separation by
teaching them how to communicate properly and effectively online (Davis, 2015).
Vicki Davis (2015) discusses twelve best practice approaches for teachers to
use in implementing social media in the classroom. The suggestions are:
- As a class, Tweet or post status updates. Teacher should encourage students propose tidbits of their learning.
- Write blog posts about what students are learning. The teacher should blog reflections for parents to read each week.
- Let the students write for the world, not just their local peers. Students are able to write reflections about learning and classroom happenings.
- Connect to other classrooms through social media. Teachers can use social media to connect his or her classroom through a variety of media.
- Use Facebook to get feedback from your students online. Also share classroom discussions, upcoming events, projects, homework, classroom tasks, etc.
- Use YouTube so students can host a show or podcast.
- Create Twitter accounts for special interest projects.
- Ask questions to engage your students in authentic learning.
- Communicate with other classrooms.
- Create projects with other teachers.
- Share your learning with the world. Students can use their creativity to create meaningful projects to share with others.
- Further a cause that you care about.
Social media is the current trend
around the world, and everyone is tapping into this style of connecting by-way
of technology. Educators should not see social media as a distraction, but a
way of building a more efficient approach between the classroom and home
relationships. Social media is a tool educators can use to make classrooms and
content more engaging, relevant, and culturally diverse.
Negative Effects of Social Media
Researching the effects of social media
will benefit both students and educators. To strengthen positive use of social
media, schools as well as parents must be aware of the negative effects of
social media if it is not monitored and/or facilitated properly. A few negative
effects of social media are: 1) students often post very detailed and specific information (i.e. phone numbers, addresses,
class schedules, social plans); 2) inappropriate post on social media can have
severe repercussions; 3) compromising and inappropriate pictures, statements or
other information on student social networking accounts; and 4) Social media
can expose students to cyberbullying and depression (Pacific University, 2015;
Paddock, 2011).
Positive Effects of Social Media
While being aware of the negative
effect of social media, there are numerous positive effects it has on children
and adolescents in accommodating the learning process. Social media is a good
way for students to make connections with people with similar interests and
goals. It encourages students to engage with each other while expressing and
sharing creativity. Social media can
facilitate students in developing leadership skills, from low-level planning
and organizing to activities that promote social change and democratic
engagement. Social media not only teaches students how to interact with others,
it teaches them to use basic and complex functions to do so (Baker, 2013). The
process of using social media engages learning at a higher level by giving
students the ability to assess, analyze, retain and share information without
realizing they are developing these skills (Stylus Press, 2011).
Local Findings of School District
Montgomery Public Schools (MPS) is
working to meet the needs of stakeholders through social media by establishing
a Facebook page, Twitter account, creating YouTube
videos for instruction, and their continuous efforts to maintain up-to-date
websites for individual educational facilities. They also hired an additional
staff member in the Communications Department to enhance and direct the
district’s use of social media (Manning, 2015).
Although, the district has outlined
concerns and consequences of poor use of social media in the Code of Student Behavior; they fail to
provide an additional manual for proper use of technology. There is no evidence
where provisions are designated for the professional development to enhance the
best practice use of social media in
the school’s district.
Recommendations
Research and proposal of this study
will assist Montgomery Public Schools (MPS) establishing an action plan to
address the best practices and proper
use of social media in the school district. The district must understand that
the use of social media is an imperative function of getting students in
schools to learn not only the knowledge of facts, but knowledge as something is
produced. In the 21st
Century, technology is being produced in a more collaborative method. This
approach produces productive life-long learners, while placing them in a world
of becoming thinkers and problem solvers.
It is suggested that the school
district provide best practice training
with suggested instructional ideas and use of social media for its educators,
so that it is properly transferred in the classroom. The professional
development must be provided in an explicit and efficient manner, and monitored
access to the technological resources should be available to all stakeholders.
Thus, the guidelines and expectations of technology and social media use must
be identified in a Technology &
Social Media Handbook outside of the current Code of Student Behavior. The implementation of these
recommendations will support a healthy learning environment where social media
is used to positively facilitate the learning process.
References
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