Use of Media in Elementary Classrooms

            In elementary schools today, technology has become an essential part of the learning experience. On my first day of placement I was surprised to see the students sharing laptops or iPads as they completed their assigned work. I couldn’t help to think back to when I was in elementary school and the lack of electronics that we had access to. The times have changed since then and so has the curriculum in the schools. Students are now encouraged to use the technology, and more specifically social media to extend their learning capacity.

Social Media in the Classroom       

            Social media can be a great enhancement to a lesson if it is used in the proper way. Below is a video I found that demonstrates the positive use of social media in the classroom. In the video it is a grade one a two classroom that is using social media. The results that these students receive from the use of social media in the classroom is an example as why it is necessary to use media aids in the classroom.

TVO Parents (May 21, 2013). Using Social Media in The Classroom (Video). retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riZStaz8Rno

Safe Social Media

            The regulation of social media and any form of technology in the schools can be hard for the teacher or principle. When I was attending elementary and high schools cell phones or any other electronics were prohibited on the property. While we still used them teachers and other faculty members had a hard time regulating their use within the school day. The regulation of electronic devices that students bring to school has improved greatly. Parents are to sign a permission form that acknowledges the students have brought the device and also gives the faculty member permission to confiscate the device if used inappropriately.

St. Luke Personal Device Policy

This hyperlink is an example of a bring your own device school policy in the Hamilton catholic board. It is the permission form that the parents have to sign. The form also states what is deemed as unacceptable behavior that the parents are to go over with their children before sending them with the device.

Using Social Media as a Teacher    

            As a teacher I would not only use social media to enhance the students learning but also as a communication tool. Social media is a great way to connect with people around the world but also with people that you may not see or talk to every day. Using social media in my classroom would be a great way to connect to parents to inform them of upcoming events but also would allow myself to provide them updates about what is ongoing in the classroom. It is a chance to share the work that the students are completing as well as the progress that they are making throughout the school year. Here is a list of ways that I would possibly use Social media in the classroom.

(May 22 2104). "School Media." Photograph.
  Retrieved from: http://bit.ly/2dJMkHY

Connect to other classrooms          

Create a class blog that parents can access            

Post status updates as a class

Research

Social Media and the Curriculum

            Media Literacy is one of the identified strands in the literacy section of the Ontario elementary school curriculum. Media literacy is not identifying individual words based on the spelling, instead it focuses on the construction of meaning through images graphics, sounds and/or words. Social Media is an excellent way to teach students about the media literacy strand. Social media allows students to interact with each other around the world using images, words, voice clips and much more. Through the interaction on social media students will be exposed to a plentiful amount of different media that all aim to get a specific point across. The student’s ability to interpret the media text is an expectation of the media literacy strand and is something that can be gained through the use of social media in the classroom.

            The use of social media in the classroom has become an integral part of a student’s education. With technology at their fingertips we should continue to encourage the use of social media in the classroom. If social media is being used for appropriate reasons and teach the language curriculum it is great and necessary resource.