• Which social media platforms are beneficial in education? 

I believe that many social media platforms can be beneficial in education. Social media can help facilitate sharing and communication between students, as well as between students and teachers. It can help diversify education too. Using blog sites like Google Classroom or WordPress can help students communicate with one another and show their learning and growth throughout the year. Blog sites are great hubs of communication and information in education and can aid students in creating their PLNs. They are an excellent way for students to learn with, and from, one another and for teachers to create discourse between their students. Social Media sites like Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube are great resources for diversifying learning. By using these platforms, teachers can bring different knowledge and ways of knowing into the classroom. Twitter provides teachers with a way of showing different opinions and views to their students, while Instagram and Twitter provide platforms for their students to discover others with similar interests, allowing them to learn more about specific topics and expand their PLNs. YouTube allows educators to bring expansive knowledge into the classroom, providing more in-depth learning to their students. Platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok also allow educators the opportunity to learn from one another by learning new techniques and ways of teaching topics to their students, expanding their PLNs too.  

  • When working with the vulnerable sector, how does social media fit into professionalism and regulations? 

The role that social media plays in education is to allow students to expand their knowledge and abilities by viewing, communicating, and sharing information with, and from, others. However, since children are included in the vulnerable sector, there are important rules and regulations laid out by the school so that everyone can stay safe. When using social media, personal data and information become available online that others can find, making it unsafe for some students. Most schools have regulations that teachers must follow that keep their students safe while using social media platforms for education. When using social media, you don’t always know who you are communicating with, or if the information you are reading is true or correct. In these situations, it is important that students have learned proper media literacy skills so they can access, analyze, and evaluate the information they are being provided to assess if it is safe and true. They also need to learn what is safe to share online and what is not. Ultimately, teachers need to follow their school’s policies when using specific platforms for education and provide their students with proper media literacy training before allowing them to use social media platforms for educational purposes. Social Media is a great educational tool, but teachers need to follow rules and regulations in order for social media to be professional and safe.