How does your school use social media? Is it accepted and encouraged? Or, is it blocked and banned? Social media is an important part of our world today and can make school-community relationships stronger than ever before. It allows parents to see a glimpse into the day-to-day classroom activities, it allows teachers to reach out to their students and families in powerful ways and it allows school leaders to showcase the best practices that are happening within their building daily.
There are, of course, certain considerations that school leaders should keep in mind before jumping on the social media bandwagon (except, is it really a bandwagon? I don't think so). Privacy laws, digital footprints and the importance of thinking before hitting submit are all factors that can make or break a school's' experiences with social media.
If you are looking to dip your toes into the waters of social media, perhaps consider starting small. Create a school Twitter account or make your school website more active and lively. These are both relatively simple ways of beginning to build your school's online presence. Also, remember to look to those staff members 'in the know', the early adopters of technology, to help guide the more reluctant staff members into this brave, new world of ours. A great resource for training and guidance is your school's teacher-librarian. Chances are, they've already created an online presence and they can help guide your school or classroom into the social media world.
