Social Media for Storytelling in the Classroom

Being out of work 12 weeks I learned more about the value of social media as a tool to connect to the classroom community. Whether it was creating a support group on Facebook, making the Wakelet for #positivesignthursday, or Facetiming with former students I was able to continue to build relationships while going through medical challenges. Using social media allowed me to be part of things despite hospital stays.

Often people will tell me they are afraid of using social media when I talk about having professional Facebook and Instagram accounts. They are worried about repercussions from administration. I think the best place to start is a conversation with administration. Show them how educators are using social media for good. Explain the story telling power it has to get in front of information! It is also a great way to connect a community of learners.

Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are all great places to start! Parents love seeing kids in action during the school day, and it provides ways for parents to probe their child about the school day beyond How was your day? What did you do? Monosyllabic answers often follow these questions. By sharing posts of the school day parents can reframe their questioning.  I have had grandparents and extended family members follow our accounts too! Former families can also engage in the conversation of what they remember from their experiences. Our current student population is also engrained in Tik Tok and Snapchat, so those are also tools to consider exploring as the social media platforms evolve. Our class has social media ambassadors for room jobs. Students handwrite posts for me to tweet out or put as a status update.

Adobe Spark is another great tool to create ways to share information with families. Due to data privacy laws my current students cannot use it. But they can help with week in reviews, which are short videos of photos and text about our week for families. They are all curated using Wakelet. I have also used Spark to create advertisements for things going on in the classroom that can be shared on our social media channels.

By modeling how to use social media for good students are learning about the tools and how to use them to tell a story and connect with a global audience. This is engaging, authentic, and promotes student voice. They begin to see the world as their classroom rather than the four walls.