Silencing the Social in Social Media

("Quitting Social Media" happenings.Ipn.in)

Over the last two days I have tried very hard to not use social media and to shut it out of my life—completely disconnecting—and it was practically impossible. Not only could I not see things posted that other friends were talking about through text messages, but I had to hear about things much later than I otherwise would have. I’ll be completely transparent here… I didn’t make it through a full 24 hours, which made me realize how deeply entrenched I am in the world of social media and its prevalence on each of my devices. My failure at the social media shutoff got me thinking about those I know that do not use any social media. Surprisingly…. Not my grandparents! My brother. Therefore, I asked him several questions about why he chooses to not use social media.

Why do you not use social media? Do you feel a social media shut off has benefitted you and why? How do you connect with others online, or keep in touch with those in certain networks? Is there anything specific that you do use?

By shutting off social media, I have regained the lost art of interpersonal communication. That’s my secret! I was spending the bulk of my day hunched over my device viewing life’s experiences through other people’s lenses. I value my privacy all too much to post my life for the world to see. Social media makes life’s moments seem artificial… idk living a life without social media works for me, and I speak on my behalf only. I understand pro-social media advocates’ perspective(s), I was one for a long time. To each their own.

(Chase Elder, personal interview, 2018)

While I found the task of shutting social media off a challenging one, my brother finds it an easy one. I appreciated what he had to say about viewing life’s pleasures through the lens of others, rather than living and experiencing life through our own… sparking the connection to when I go to concerts and find that more and more people are recording the concert(s) through their phone cameras connected to social media, rather than actually experiencing and appreciating the moment for what it is. I would agree that social media does have its benefits, but it is also important to live without constantly trying to represent a moment in a solitary image, but rather, letting it live on its own as a fond memory or passing fancy. I, personally, love being able to simultaneously share in the lives of everyone I know and have known, but can see how privacy goes a long way when you do not want people to know everything about you and what is currently going on in your life.

Social Media, New Ideas, and Moving Forward

(novarecoverycenter.com)

I still believe social media is an excellent tool for learning and should be utilized to a certain extent in every classroom—that limit being students must also be dedicated and committed stake-holders in class discussion, which means just as much face-to-face interaction. It has been so nice having technology resources in the classroom because students are more excited, engaged, and willing to contribute, no matter their ability level.

While I do not have any children of my own, I do feel that by reading my classmates posts and other articles for parents and children safety online, I would offer this advice: don’t try to over-control. Our kids need their friends and sometimes for those who feel alone, can find others like themselves online to talk to, find support, and confide in. The important part is allowing them to forge their own way in a manner that is ethical, safe, and will not negatively represent them in any way. Eventually, when I have kids, I want to do as Jennifer Smith suggests, “Children who are taught early on how to digest and use social media in a healthy way are children who can be more likely to use it responsibly in the future.” By educating your children and taking the time to show them both the positive and negative elements of the internet, the more likely they are to be open about sharing with you, and possibly, letting you share and partake in their online network(s).

It definitely depends on what age my students are, acknowledging my experience both at the secondary and primary levels, because when students are middle-school ages and above, then they are cognitively more capable to think critically about the content they are consuming. The process of using technology with children in the lower age ranges need a lot of more handholding when exposing them to new software and learning applications, but also nuancing that learning with something non tech-related… For example, my school teaches kids coding at very early ages (starting in 1^st grade), so there is a lesson where they cut out arrows and symbols to demonstrate the direction they would have to travel in order to get to a desired object, which helped them conceptualize the way the little BeeBot robots would move based on the “code” they build for it. 

We have very useful tools available to us in the tech world, but we cannot lose touch with the real world. As the famous Spiderman quote goes... "with great power, comes great responsibility," so we must work to become responsible digital citizens, ourselves, and work tirelessly to inspire future generations to use tech in a responsible way as well. 

Active Versus Passive Learning and the Power to Transform Civilizations

Adrienne Rich (1961) reflects:

The first thing I want to say to you who are students, is that you cannot afford to think of being here to receive an education: you will do much better to think of being here to claim one. One of the dictionary definitions of the verb “to claim” is: to take as the rightful owner; to assert in the face of possible contradiction. “To receive” is to come into possession of: to act as receptacle or container for; to accept as authoritative or true. The difference is that between acting and being acted-upon….

https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/05/21/claiming-an-education-adrienne-rich-1977-commencement/

This quote sheds light on the nature of learning and how we must actively apply ourselves in order to become ethical learners, seeking education for ourselves, rather than it being passively received, and us—merely receptacles. While we engage online it is important to be the type of learner Rich describes here because in an ever-changing world, one must strive to keep up and stay engaged, fervently fighting for the truth, when often times truth is not blatantly evident. I hope that by the time my students are done with my class, they are able to walk away with a renewed sense of power in their own learning, continually inspiring curiosity, and therein, giving them a sense of devotion to their own practice while learning. If more people examined and critically thought about the media they consume, I know “people can transform civilizations” Rheingold 2010).

(Photo Credit: inform.tmforum.org)

In Howard Rheingold’s piece, “Attention, and Other 21st Century Social Media Literacies,” he writes, “In the Japanese language, one pays attention with ki, which means life energy,” which reminded me of reading Rich’s work in college and reconsidering the way that I learn. I try my best to think critically about everything that I view and contribute online. The Japanese tradition of practicing ki illuminates the need for students to partake in their own learning with their full selves. Technology, I feel, has made this difficult because of the omnipresence it has in our lives. For example, my apple watch is probably one of my favorite pieces of smart technology, however, it doesn’t let you skip a beat—I have suddenly become an accessory to my smart-phone, rather than the other way around. When it is on me I get every buzz and notification to the wrist, which I have noticed, still sometimes can pull me away when actually trying to engage and apply my everything to a given learning moment. Sometimes we must limit the amount of technology that we consume, before it consumes us.

Legislating our Students' Internet Usage: How much can we actually protect them? Or do the laws we push ignite resistance?

(High Country Press)

In the youtube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lzu2XSSevPU) discussing legislations made in order to keep children safe as they use the internet, the presenter makes a point regarding educators making their classes more engaging so students are less likely to engage in unwanted behaviors online, such as trading nude pictures of minors via cellular devices because it is considered trading child pornography. While I do think this is incredibly important, I think that sometimes what our students do on their phones is out of our hands because their use of cell phones is often hard enough to control, let alone the content they are viewing on them. Therefore, I think it is essential that schools work to implement the use of service interrupters so that students cannot access and post or send content to social media, sms, or other web platforms while in classes. I remember having these in my high school and not being able to access or send information while in certain classrooms with the jammers nearby. Individual schools' wifi networks may be provided, but students' cellular data and service providers operate on their own platform outside of what the school provides. This reminds me of an article I recently read on NPR: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/12/12/570145408/france-moves-to-ban-students-from-using-cellphones-in-schools , which discusses its move to ban the use of cell phones in schools, effective next year. Outside of break periods, students will have to turn in their cell phones to the school so that they will not become a distraction during classes. When I worked with high schoolers, I constantly fought for something similar in my school, but administration continually told me that they wouldn't try to do something like this because taking student property from them was "too much of a liability" and they "didn't want to have to be responsible for student belongings" in the event that anything were to happen. However, I would argue that this actually did more of a disservice to the learning environment (not to forget to mention I worked in an alternative high school where student engagement was already lower than other schools).

Aside from this, Danah Boyd's comment regarding COPPA teaching children to lie because "on the internet all children are 14," I would agree. Age verification processes and online auditing is very lax. It only takes figuring out the appropriate birthday(s) in order to figure out how to gain access to online resources that they otherwise would not be able to access. The internet is a phenomenal tool and resource, yet can be incredibly dangerous if we do not take the time to educate our children. This is kind of a double-edged sword because sometimes the more we attempt to keep children away from material online, the harder they will work to figure out how to access it.

Leaving our mark on the internet: Pieces of our past

(ProfitableSocialMedia)

The internet can often prove threatening to some who have a trail of wanted-to-be-forgotten pasts, yet their digital tattoos permanently follow them. This may result in a negative digital presence and inability to appropriately connect with others because of the information previously put out there, which cannot fully be replaced even if it is erased.

While reading  from http://www.developinginnovations.org/ , I found the way students were helping others thrive, by lifting them up and promoting the wonderful successes of each other a call to action for meaningful social media change! By this, I suggest more students reach out to one another and make their thoughts regarding positive influences known. People involved in different platforms online must be aware of the impact they have on others. The Digital Citizenship Utah page uses the hashtag #usetechforgood, which is something I most certainly can get behind and start using in my own classroom and online learning place for the network obtained in my professional and personal life. The advent of new digital platforms and online forums has allowed us to grow in ways that are historically incomparable in the amount of online resources and instant, constant media at our disposal with the swipe of a finger tip. Therefore, the internet should be more positive and fruitful in regards to its content, making us more aware of what's happening around us that is not jaded by bias, fake news, and unnecessary advertising.

I hope to be able to use my blogs and online platforms for good, looking back on some of the posts and information I shared when I was young and ignorant of how information may follow me, I realize that while the internet may potentially prove harmful depending on what we share-- it is an amazing resource to us and should be used with care/caution. Not only are there things that I've posted that looking back on it, I probably shouldn't have, but there is nothing I can do besides attempt to change my online presence and be aware of what I say to others and post online. I feel that these ethics need to be shared with student so that they do not make the same mistakes. For example, after regrettably adding former students as friends I began seeing posts of them involved in precarious situations that I wish I had not. Some of these were shockingly violent or abusive as they rant about their lives or others they find distasteful, which is an example of how the internet can be abused, becoming a tool for hatred and intimidation. These pieces of my past and all of our pasts will follow us and come to represent us-- whether that be negative or positive, but after reading through the ways that students are working to empower one another and shine light on their learning, they are becoming digital leaders, working to make the digital environment a healthy one where we can thrive and share together, rather than tear each other down and distance us from productive avenues to channel our creativity.

The items and content people choose to post come to represent them like a tattoo may symbolize certain things and remind individuals of a story, or treasured belief, or icon. Posts follow us and what others have to share and say about us also remain available for others to see. We must choose how we we want to be remembered.

I have never considered how early we begin building a child's online media presence through picture sharing and other posts. Times have definitely changed, making children more vulnerable and parents more lax and flippant. When using technology in the classroom and amongst others, it is so important to be respectful, represent what you believe in and how you hope others will see you, and always promote kindness and attempt to use social media for good.

Digital Tattoos made me think about my own tattoos and why I chose to get them.

The activity that I chose to do for this week was considering my own social media privacy settings and why I have them set that way. First off, my Facebook privacy settings are private. A person must be my friend in order to scroll through the content on my page. A limited number of pictures are made available, and my bio is brief-- only revealing my location and hometown. I choose to have it this way because I don't want random people to be able to see what I post and my conversations with those on my inner circle. I also don't want students or specific coworkers to be able to see certain areas of my life because I work to uphold an heir of professionalism.

My instagram is public.  I have made it public because I only post pictures of myself, where I travel, and sometimes edible goodies. I don't see too much harm coming from viewing my golden retriever and some sweet clips I captured during an amazing concert.

Tech Savvy Young People Push Us to Keep Up: Adapt or Struggle in the Digital Age

(SafeGuarde)

As a teacher in the digital age, it is hard for me to imagine what life in the classroom would be like without technology. Project Tomorrow reports that 68% of teachers report being better able to differentiate in their classrooms. This is definitely a statistic that I am not surprised by because technology has better allowed me to provide resources for students at varying levels who occupy the same class time. In the first school that I worked in I had students ranging in reading levels from 2^nd grade to 12^th grade that were placed in the SAME test prep class. By providing them with different online learning programs, I was able to move from group to group and focus my instruction based on results collected from online learning platforms.

Technology certainly allows students to apply their learning in new and meaningful ways. I have also found that students are more likely to want to engage in the work if there is a technology-based element.

One statistic that strengthens my aforementioned thought regarding differentiation points out how blended, flipped, and virtual classrooms better allow the instructor to provide students with individualized attention. This is so important for student growth. Students that must complete assignments, interact with others online, and engage in virtual domains cannot hide from having to participate, and in turn, students that normally might not engage as much as others in the classroom are able to flourish because they can participate freely as they choose without the stress of on the spot thinking and cold-calls.

K-12 Students’ Digital Learning Infographic reveals “2x as many students w/Chromebooks now vs. 2014,” which is a huge growth in young people having access to technology in only a three-year span. I don’t remember being on a computer until much later in my academic career, and when we did use computers it was only for brief amounts of time and for short projects. It is so exciting to see how tech savvy people are getting at younger and younger ages. As a result, that means it is teachers’ responsibility to learn these emerging technologies and implement their use within the classroom. Traditional modes of learning are still useful, but should be used in conjunction with applications and other mediums for students to explore and further their education.