Social Media Club Education Connection (aka #SMCEDU) is a national initiative whose goal is to unite educators, students, and professionals to further the development of social media curriculum in our schools, enabling a wider network of learning and workforce preparedness.
#SMCEDU is a part of Social Media Club, a nonprofit organization that is working to promote media literacy and connect people to share what they are learning about social media.
Privacy, always one of the primary concerns when dealing with online interaction, has been making headlines recently thanks to Facebook’s devolving policy on said issue.
In the world of education, where so many students are equipped with a Facebook account but little to no understanding of the desirable/undesirable outcomes of using it, it’s important to address those concerns and what educators and students can do to work in a world where one’s public persona can be found by everyone, from parents to professors to future and current employers.
Our #SMCEDU chat on Monday attempted to explore this complicated issue, and below are a list of resources shared during the conversation.
- Blog post on privacy training
- Examples of how Facebook can hurt you
- Educator’s blog post on students’ views on privacy
- Data visualization of Facebook privacy
- Ning group that connects media professionals and academics
The prevailing consensus during the chat is that context is everything. When is it ok to share class content (such as a class blog) with the rest of world? What about being Facebook friends with your professor?
Despite the context, addressing privacy and the many layers underlying this issue is something that must be learned through experience. As expereince is a product of action and observation, what better environment to do this than a classroom?
I’m not arguing for a class on online privacy; rather, the lessons to be learned about sharing content are learned as a direct result of using it during a course. It’s another reason why ignoring social media in schools, especially as younger generations naturally adopt online habits, will be do more harm than good. If we want a more responsible online community, let’s start teaching it in the classroom.
Full transcript of Monday’s chat here.
