Involving Students in School’s Use of Social Media

As ubiquitous as the term social media now seems, it has only been around for 30 years, used initially to define a platform on the “almost-as-new” Internet. Originally it described just one platform, one developed in Japan called Matisse, but like so many aspects of our technological lives now, was soon joined by others. Most of those, like GeoCities, MySpace and SixDegrees, have long ago disappeared or been swallowed by newer, better, easier-to-use sites. Some of the originals have survived, primarily by having a very specific niche that they cover well – Classmates.com comes to mind. Rare is the person who is not “on” at least one social media platform now; however, like so many human activities, some users rarely reach out to others through those platforms while others seem to be constantly connected.

Given that current high school students are part of Generation Z (Gen Z) and have always had multiple social media options, it is no wonder that schools are now required – or even forced – to deal with both the power of this type of technological connection, but also its effect. Gen Z students, while seemingly identically tech-savvy to Gen Y (Millennials) individuals, are not simply comfortable with online learning, but now require that a significant portion of their educational opportunities be technology-driven or produced.

As a result, more and more schools are looking at ways to harness the power of Gen Z’s use of social media to meet that demand and turn what has been considered a negative into a positive. One of the challenges is that there is a generational difference in both which social media platform is used and how it is actively accessed.

As a Baby Boomer, my research has been primarily website- based as my social media platform, FaceBook, is not where you will find many current high school students. As a high school teacher, the challenges and power of social media is evident every day in the classroom, even though the use of cellphones is prohibited. A school’s use of social media should enhance the learning, and like any teacher’s curriculum, must therefore include multiple manners of delivery. Have no fear, Gen Z students in those classrooms have the technical dexterity to manage and respond to a variety of inputs and information sources.

The key for successful and safe social media use that all schools hope for is three-fold: 1) the right platform for the type of message or conversation needed; 2) the maintenance of a safe and secure account on that platform; 3) and the prudent and justified use of that account for the purpose intended. One should consider all of the available possibilities in aligning the right platform with its target intent, but asking the students what would work best for them would be the best way to start that process. The message will be missed if the audience isn’t listening. Carefully consider the primary characteristics of each platform; message limitations (or not); how the message is created and how it is received; and what devices/apps can be used to do both.

The “adult in the room” should not use his or her personal account but create one to match the role or responsibility to the audience. The recipients’ list should be properly and constantly maintained to ensure that the right students are receiving the information. The best would be a one-way communication where the recipients cannot respond or can only do so with an acknowledgement that the message was received (something that can be automatically done by the platform). However, if a response or two-way communication is needed, make sure that all communications remain fully public and that individuals cannot use the group to communicate to just one member. All communications from the adults must be to everyone and should always include at least one other adult (even if just a courtesy copy to the athletic director or principal).

Many of the current social media platforms can be connected to other sites and platforms that then make distribution of information easier, quicker and more accurate. Some calendar programs, for example, can send out an alert to the group anytime a change is made to a scheduled event. So, when the time or location of a practice or game is entered on the calendar page of the school website, all of the athletes involved are automatically notified.

Regardless of whether a school uses one or multiple social media platforms as a communication tool for their students, its use needs to be carefully planned, properly managed, and important enough to ensure that the audience remains engaged. A school’s social media should be public, important, timely – no matter the method.