Mentor - Student Interactions Online

[Koko Ed]

I try to remind our kids to be mindful of what you post online especially when it comes to FIRST (one of our students had a meltdown on Facebook and put a very angry status update about another team. I begged her to take it down and had a private message conversation about it so she could understand why it wasn't a good thing to do and not everyone on that team was a bad person). Too many people have worked too long and too hard to have the selfish actions of one person derail our teams reputation because they want to vent online.

[ebarker]

So there you go. Don says in one simple sentence all that needed to be said. I ramble on forever and forever......................

[Nemo]

The main result of this type of policy overkill is to hinder people who have common sense and integrity. As Don said, rules already exist to disallow inappropriate interactions between students and teachers. A strict ban is pointless, because any district can fire a teacher for unprofessional conduct given that it has administrators who are prepared to do their job. All of the social media shenanigans described in the article stand out as quite obviously unprofessional.

At different times I use email, phone, text messaging, and Twitter to coordinate various logistical aspects of the team. A smart school policy allows this type of positive communication to take place. I'm glad I work in a district where the administrators have some common sense about this stuff. Instead of a strict ban on social media use, we have had open discussions in faculty meetings about what types of communications are appropriate. It is something to be mindful of, to be sure.

[ebarker]

The amount of work that a team can get done via texting is simply amazing. Team news goes via email and a private facebook group.

[JohnSchneider]

Actually, I think having to converse with both mentors and sponsors, in a social media medium, teaches the students how to be respectful and cautious in what they say.

[the man]

I feel that all the students are young adults and should be treated as such. I fail to see how any interactions on Facebook or cellphones could negatively affect students. I feel that school districts are afraid of this new form of media interaction. Not to mention the scare the media puts on very selective events. I am good friends with all my mentors I have no problem talking to them online or in person. I dont see any real problem.

[Phyrxes]

Our school district implemented a ban on social media interaction with current students by faculty and staff, and as such our team is limited in communication methods.

Right now we distribute most team information by a Google group e-mail list that both our parents and students are subscribed to. Any text, twitter, or Facebook interaction is student organized and executed.

It is a pain since most of our students do not check their e-mail regularly unless they have a smartphone that it is sent to.