What Does Your Online Image Reflect About You?
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Public education has always embraced advances in technology. Some of those technological milestones would include the invention of the moveable-type printing press, erasable blackboards, dustless chalk, mimeograph machines, ballpoint pens, photo copiers, dry erase
boards, laptop computing, interactive “smart” boards, proliferation of internet resources…
The impact of each of the above is incalculable on the past, present and future of education, including the advent of social media, which commonly includes web- and mobile-based technologies used to turn communication into interactive dialogue among organizations, communities, and individuals. Examples of social media may take many different forms including magazines, Internet forums, weblogs, social blogs, microblogging, wikis, social networks, podcasts, photographs or pictures, video, rating and social bookmarking. A popular online resource which is constantly seeking to update and find the definitive “truth,” yet is inherently fraught with inaccuracies, Wikipedia reports “In the year 2012, social media became one of the most powerful sources for news updates through platforms like Twitter and Facebook.”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media)
Does the growing and pervasive use of social media impact education? As a safety and security issue, it has the potential to derail a discussion on its attributes in lieu of its often hidden land mines. In the article Like it or Not: The Impact of Facebook and Social Media on Litigation (The Counselor, Summer 2012, p8) Cheryl Howell Oswalt, a lawyer with Sirote & Permutt, PC, asserts that “…social networking sites are shaping daily business operations as businesses and employers use social networking sites to
screen potential employees, monitor the activities of current employees, market their businesses and products, and keep an eye on their competitors’ sites.” In light of this, as students routinely use social networking, what is posted on their sites becomes more of a concern.
Jesse Morehouse, a high school teacher in Colorado, writing in the International Society for Technology Education (ISTE) online Journal (Learning Connections: Students Dig Up Dirt to Learn about Internet Safety) says that “…when I voice concerns about internet safety to students, their teenage sense of invincibility keeps them from truly comprehending the impact of an inappropriate entry on a personal blog, social network, or Twitter account. The idea that such actions could adversely affect them when applying
Image: 'Webtreats Glowing Neon Social Medi Icons'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44071822@N08/4195686254
Found on flickrcc.net
Digital Citizenship Focus