Jesse Miller, from Mediated Reality, is a nationally recognized speaker, consultant and educator for internet safety, social media, and digital literacy trends. Today, our class the wonderful opportunity to listen to his presentation on social media awareness and safety centered around the role of technology used by educators personally and in the classroom. This engaging presentation explored a variety of topics associated with social media use, the evolving climate surrounding tech integration and hyper connected spaces and its effects on our community. I particularly enjoyed the format of Jesse’s presentation –  he started his talk by providing a background of his job (about its rapidly changing nature and the opportunities it has given him to travel the world) and then opened the floor to the class to ask any questions we had about technology use and the (often negative) portrayal of social media and gaming towards mental health in the media. Throughout the two-hour session, Jesse allowed us to interact with the material by having us google different phrases related to teachers using social media and its possible implications and encouraging us to ask questions.

Some of the highlights I took away from his presentation included the idea of networked citizenship and using a holistic approach in addressing issues surrounding technology use. On this topic, Jesse discussed the following ideas:

  • digital identity, rights and literacy
  • use of communication networks – social, professional, personal
  • safety – networked connections
  • security of self

I found it interesting how Jesse mentioned that the conversation surrounding technology is a a large encompassing topic and not just an isolated activity. The advancement of tech has greatly influenced how we communicate, relate and connect with others at home, work and school.

Towards the middle of the presentation, Jesse guided us through a Googling exercise using phrases such as “#teacherlife,” “#teacherproblems,” and “teacher fired social media” to see how the search results varied. From this, we opened a discussion around teachers should use social media responsibly. On Twitter under the hashtag “teacherlife,” I saw many teachers posting pictures of their classrooms with identifying factors visible such as student faces and school logos. This prompted a conversation about the importance of teachers obtaining informed consent and protecting private information. Upon searching the phrase, “teacher fired social media” in Google, I saw articles of teachers being dismissed due to surfacing of publicly posted images deemed ‘inappropriate,’ or posting controversial opinions about certain students or schools, which emphasized the possible consequences related to the failure of upholding professional image/perception online. To combat this, teachers should always think about what, where and when before they post and decide whether or not it is appropriate to do so.

Jesse also discussed some of the primary concerns for mobile tech use by educators. Throughout their practice, teachers should be mindful and aware of the following expectations:

  • teachers must not share student image/info on personal social media accounts
  • balance professional expectations
  • understand consequence in the online sharing of personal information about students
  • assess ethos of care in social sharing
  • challenge co-workers to open dialogues

To end his presentation, Jesse offered some book resources for further reading: