Blog Post #6 - 2016
Finding a balance between what is too little or too much leeway
for use of social media or electronic communication devices (cell phones, lap
tops, etc.) in academic settings is a struggle every school and its
administrators is facing.
Teachers don’t want to outright ban such devices as they
realize they have benefits to student learning and development. For example,
the opportunity for students to collaborate with one another and for
communication between students and their teachers is made much more accessible.
Furthermore, a student’s ability to multitask, research, and practice their
right to freedom of speech is greatly improved.
However, the distraction, implications to privacy, and
negative affects on personal or face-to-face relationships social media imposes
makes allowing these devices within classrooms and schools a bit more
difficult.
“The need for up-to-the-minute updates is negatively
impacting a younger generation’s ability to mature socially and could be
stunting academic growth,” says Kathryn Gregory in the Sunday Gazette Mail.
There is no doubt that these devices have impacted how we
communicate within our every day lives. The need for face-to-face communication
has drastically reduced as many people choose to text something they
would have previously waited to say to someone in person.
As a result, the very dynamic of social interaction has
changed. Being friends with someone online that you have never met in person is
now a commonality and people are able to create personas on the Internet that may
not completely coincide with how they are in person.
It is a newfound freedom today’s youth can benefit from.
However, with electronic communication replacing a lot of face-to-face
communication, impacts to all types of relationships, whether with parents,
teachers, or peers, is undeniable. Even an individual’s relationship with
himself or herself can be affected based off of how they believe others view
them on the Internet.
That being said, please consider and respond to the following questions regarding the
policy of electronic/ social media devices in schools and how they affect
relationships:
How do you believe social media and electronic communication
devices have changed a variety of relationships you have in your life (with friends,
parents, teachers, etc.)?
Do you believe these changes have altered these relationships
for the better or worse?
What are some things you do/ can do to make sure these
relationships aren’t hindered by the constant use of such social media devices?
Do you believe such devices should or should not be allowed
and/ or incorporated in academic settings such as schools and classrooms?
What are some rules and regulations school administrators
could put into place to ensure these devices do not detrimentally affect the
students within their school?
