Post on 17-Jan-2016
What’s the Buzz?Using Social Media to Connect
In a Socially Acceptable Way
Michelle IsingSeneca High School
Where are our stakeholders?
Email* Facebook* Twitter* Instagram* Texting!!!* Snapchat Ask.fm There are new apps for faster texting but I
have not explored them yet- I will go through those with * as the manageable ones for school communication
Email communication
Can use Infinite Campus Messenger
Collect email addresses at registration day or from info sheets
Send emails with news – I used this for scholarship and senior events this year and kept it as a weekly Friday email
Facebook Pages
Easy to create Reach parents easily Students start with Facebook
I use pages for different classes to announce events and post celebrations
Change person
Sample page
Advantages – most teens are on it! Hard to keep track of (for me) Students let it all hang out here - caution Very public for the most part – followers
can retweet anything and/or comment Must have followers who will retweet Start with a core group of students who
have a large following Good for quick communication
Twitter …
Can keep you in contact with Universities
Media outlets and organizations use a lot
Hashtags like #JCPS or #JCCAConf may be listed as “trending” and promote your information if you are part of a group
Sample of retweets
Sample main twitter page
Sample of Trends
Following College Admissions
Photo-centered VERY popular with teens Similar to twitter but with photos Lots of comments available Easier to manage from phone than PC
I’m still working on this… students are teaching me!
Instagram main page
Connect with colleges or other groups
College athletics sample
Bonus – Instagram pictures look better
Things to note:
All three can connect Facebook – Twitter – Instagram (you can also connect pinterest to all 3) If you are posting personal information
and all three are connected, you may accidentally share more than intended
Keep an eye on privacy settings
Text messaging**
Students and most people are constantly connected – they check texts more than any other media
How to connect and keep your number safe?› Dean alert from school› Remind101 - free service for
teachers/educators (thank you MLPo)
Remind 101
Has a smart phone app as well as internet access
Allows you to set a class Students and parents opt-in to receive
text messages Can schedule messages by date/time
Remind101 sample
Message connected to twitter!
Screen shots from phone - caution**All info posted can be copied**
Three newer things commonly used by students
Snapchat Take photo and send – you can control
how long and to whom Can add captions Like texting but with quick photos Photos can be screen-shot using a
smart phone
Facetime
Face – to – face communication Using smart phone or ipad, other apps
available Photos or still shots can be extracted
using screen shots
Ask.fm
Used with twitter and instagram to ask and answer random questions
Students/people send a link and challenge followers to ask a question that may be posted to the social media site
Similar to old inbox-me game from Facebook (give yourself a number and ask a question – I will respond with number and answer for everyone to see)
In conclusion
Technology is constantly changing If you don’t know what is happening –
ask the students! They love helping you learn – being the
teacher Collect and disseminate as much
information as you can – the set up time is worth the benefit of communication