Is Facebook a no-go for teachers? [IrishTimes]
- Published: 17 October 2011
Social networks can blur the boundaries between student and pupil and present serious problems in the classroom
FOR MOST PEOPLE of a certain age, Facebook is one of life’s necessities. It’s how you organise a night out when people are working to different schedules. It’s an easy way to send good wishes and see the photos if you missed a birthday party or a wedding and it’s great for keeping in touch with recent emigrants to Canada and Oz.
According to figures published earlier this year, 44 per cent of the Irish population have a Facebook account. Add Twitter, Linkedin and Google Plus into the mix and it’s clear that networking and socialising have changed for good.
But how does a teacher manage? With so many of your photographs and details going up online, there is an increased risk that a student or a parent will see something they don’t like. There have already been problems in Britain. Six primary school teachers made headlines last May when one posted photographs of a rowdy hen party on the social networking site, without making the photographs private. A parent came across them, printed them out and distributed them in the neighbourhood with a letter that included the question: “What does this tell you about this school and how it is being run?“
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
