Policy?

Through all of this I had set out to do one thing: look at social media policies which are in place for local high schools. And by local I mean Oakland and Macomb county in Michigan. The thing is, there aren't any. I conducted a survey of teachers/student teachers working in these areas and they tell me the same thing. None of the survey participants know of a social media policy that their district or school has put into place for the staff or students.

Many of those who took the survey also said that while there are no social media policies in place, they still had to sign a form saying that they would not engage in social media while at school, for personal use that is.

Teachers can decide for themselves how they want to teach in their classroom and what, if any, social or new media technologies they want to use. As long as they do not engage on their personal social media accounts for their own pleasure, then they are allowed to use the sources for teaching purposes.

This makes me wonder. With all of the hype on social media and the ever increasing popularity of new media technologies, when will we create and implement these policies. Or will we stay without them?

What it all comes down to is deciding where we are going and how we will get there. If we choose to stay on the path of new media entering into every aspect of our lives, then we need to make sure we set goals, policies, and whatever else it takes to maintain the balance we need and the education that some may say we deserve.