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Social Networking-Mashable: Teacher Guide to Social Media

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Social Networking-Mashable: Teacher Guide to Social Media

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A guide that with useful advise that can be used with any type of social media, I like #2, "don't diss your students."

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Education is a two-way street - oftentimes, those who teach could stand to learn a few things as well.

Social media, for one, is largely dominated by Generation Y. We invented it, we grew up with it and we know it like the back of our keyboard-ready hands.

In some schools, tablets and social networks are becoming primary classroom tools. Even digitally versed teachers need to evolve with the language of their increasingly connected students.

Don't sweat it. Below, we've thrown together some basic guidelines teachers should follow when embracing technology in the classroom.

Are you an educator? Any dos or don'ts we missed? Teach us how you use social media in the comments section below.

1. Don't Post Inappropriate Activities

We've published plenty of horror stories about teachers who've posted NSFW content on their social profiles and have been summarily punished (see: the Aurora, Colo. teacher who tweeted half-naked photos of herself and joked about using drugs on school property).

Whatever (legal things) you choose to do outside school is your business - just be sure to not give your colleagues (and students) a front-row seat.

2. Don't Diss Your Students
GIF: Tumblr, HayleysSavedGIFs
Tommy Mayhem may have sprayed you with spitballs the first day of class, but that doesn't mean you should vent about it online. It looks unprofessional to colleagues, and more importantly, it could get back to the student.

This applies to other professions, too. In February we told you about a St. Louis, Mo. doctor who became the subject of a social media ethics debate after slamming one of her patients on Facebook.

As tempting as it may be, keep the venting for your significant other or barber. Tommy's time will come soon enough.

3. Keep Confidential Information Confidential

Again, pretty obvious. Confidential data, like a student's grades, full name or contact information, should stay within school records.

4. Utilize Privacy Settings
Image: Flickr, Danny Sullivan
If you have a social media presence, on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, your students are going to look you up; if you're not on social, they'll probably search for you anyway.

"Here's the thing about students nowadays: They're really good at Facebook," says Carolyn McChesney, who recently finished her second year teaching middle school with Teach for America at Main Street Academy in College Park, Ga. "They want to know everything about you, and if they can - and they usually can - they're going to find it and bring it to the classroom."

That being known, make your accounts as secure as possible, whether by locking your Twitter account or privatizing your Facebook profile - whatever you feel most comfortable with. It's not to say you need to hide anything, but rather, "it's just something to be cautious about," McChesney says.

Don't view privacy settings as impenetrable walls, though. Most major social networks update you with privacy improvements or changes in conditions, but they're often sporadic and difficult to keep track of. Similar to the first rule, always assume what you post will be seen by colleagues, students or anyone else in your networks. Think of the extra privacy settings as a deadbolt on an already locked door.

5. Communicate to Students on Their Level

Best way to learn to swim is to jump in the deep end, right?

Edmodo, a social network designed to connect students and teachers online, brings both worlds together on an easy-to-use platform. It's free to register and offers an interface similar to Facebook, where anyone can post articles, videos or questions to groups.

Adora Svitak, a 15-year-old author who spoke to 3,000 teachers at a conference in Austin, Texas in October about Twitter and Facebook, says Edmodo is an ideal way for teachers to communicate with students on "their" level.

"No one checks their email as often as they probably should, at least not if there are too many barriers in places," she tells Mashable. "My AP Art History teacher launched [Edmodo] and communicated with us that way, posting due dates, reminders and quirkly links ... For districts with restrictive social networking policies, sites like Edmodo can be incredibly useful."

McChesney used the network during her second year teaching at Main Street Academy. She offered her students extra credit if they signed up, then gave additional points to anyone who posted or answered a question relating to class.

"Students can sign up with their parents, too," she adds, "so if I post something like 'Just a reminder: Assignment X is due on Thursday,' the parents get the notification in their email as well."

6. 'Find and Flip'

Teachers can embrace social media through TED Ed, which offers a "flipping the classroom" feature to customize and share video lessons. "Flipping" lets you turn any video, from Khan Academy, YouTube or TED, into a customized lesson. You can share it with students and add context, questions or follow-up suggestions - again, a way to hit the topic head-on and keep your lessons relevant (and interesting) to your students.

Watch the video above to see how it works.

"I really love what [they've] done with social media and educational video content," Svitak says. "Now, a teacher's 'flip' can be viewable to the world through sharing on Facebook and Twitter, making them more easily accessible to students looking for them before their next class."

7. Avoid Chat Roulette at All Costs

Even if you're not a teacher. Just don't do it.

Image: Mashable composite, Meghan Uno

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Education is a two-way street - oftentimes, those who teach could stand to learn a few things as well. Social media, for one, is largely dominated by Generation Y. We invented it, we grew up with it and we know it like the back of our keyboard-ready hands.

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Social Networking-Educators Technology Top Social Networking Sites

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Social Networking-Educators Technology Top Social Networking Sites

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Informative list, includes link to sites.

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Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

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Today's post is about the top educational social networking sites for this year. All these websites have been shortlisted for Edublogs Award of the best Educational Social Networking Websites for 2012.
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This is a platform that helps teachers learn computing and computational thinking. The goal is to increase the amount and level of computing education in schools

2- Edmodo

Edmodo provides a safe and easy way for your class to connect and collaborate, share content, and access homework, grades and school notices.

This is a community of thousands of English learners and teachers. This service is completely free but it does require a sign up.

This is a platform where you can get to ask questions and get help. It is a community dedicated to helping you enjoy your work, a cafe without walls.

The epic-ed community is designed to empower educators such as administrators, teachers, instructional technology facilitators, and chief technology officers as they make the digital transition in their schools and districts.
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6-Ganers Advancing Meaningful Education ( G.A.M.E )\

G.A.M.E is an online synchronous gaming community of global educators . This network of educators helps in developing curriculum, offers online open courses, webinars and F2F presentations on the opportunities and deeper learning that takes place in games.

7- Integrating Technology for Active Life-long Learning

" IT4ALL is a huge network with followers and graduates of Moodle for Teacher (M4T) workshops. The members of IT4ALL contribute to the success of the workshops and the learning community. The workshops at IT4ALL are facilitated by educators who follow a relationship-based collaborative learning approach where participants become active learners. Active learning goes beyond active participation as teachers and students become partners of learning and learn through teaching. The rationale behind active learning is that teachers are expert learners who can facilitate the process of learning.. "

8-Special Interest Group for Visual Environment

The SIG Virtual Environment seeks to explore all things related to education in virtual environments. The Group sponsors some regular events as well as some special events that come up during the year.

9- Level Up Book Club

This is a platform for teachers and learners where they support each other, share ideas for gamifying the instruction and lending a hand for the epic win.

10- Life Pulp ( winner )

This is a social networking website put together to enrich the user mentality via a great deal of motivational and inspirational content. Its goal is to help individuals better their lives and achieve their goals.

11- My Big Campus

My Big Campus gives schools an engaging online environment to promote blended learning with a safe, monitored platform that balances educational use of web 2.0 with network and student safety. Students and teachers can connect with each other and other users via collaborative tools.

This is another social networking website for educators and teachers. Membership of this community is by invitation only.

This community thinks deeply about Problem Based Learning, student centered learning, making the shift to being a connected teacher and inquiry learning. There are lots of practical ideas that someone can take away and immediately apply in the classroom.

14- Challenge yourself to Blog

The challenge is about getting students to blog and develop a world wide audience while doing so, rather than just having their teacher and classmates look at their work.

15- aPLANET

This is a social networking website for language teachers. it also requires a sign up and once you become a member you will get to meet educators from all around the world discussing issues that have to do with language teaching.

16- The Educators PLN

The Educators PLN is probably one of the most known social networks for teachers. This is basically a Ning site dedicated to the support of a Personal Learning Network for Teachers.

17- The EFL Classroom Community

This is a site dedicated to providing/sharing the best resources and methods available for EFL / ESL teachers and students on the internet and around the globe.. A site by teachers and students for teachers and students. The focus is on materials/methods that help language learning and teaching.

18- The Global Read Aloud

" Global collaboration is necessary to show students that they are part of something bigger then them. That the world needs to be protected and that we need to care for all people. You can show them pictures of kids in other countries but why not have them speak to each other Then the caring can begin."

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The Top 18 Educational Social Networking Websites for Teachers

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Today's post is about the top educational social networking sites for this year. All these websites have been shortlisted for Edublogs Award of the best Educational Social Networking Websites for 2012. 1- This is a platform that helps teachers learn computing and computational thinking.

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Social Networking-Edutopia: Social Media for Teachers

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Social Networking-Edutopia: Social Media for Teachers

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Guides, Resources, and Ideas. Covers twitter, Facebook, instagram, pinterest for teachers--and others.

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Although students are evermore connected to the social web, many of these networks remain out-of-class digital playgrounds where students congregate. In a 2014 survey of 1,000 teachers, just one in five said they use social media regularly with students.

Of course, it can be a challenge to incorporate social media into lessons. There are many gray areas for teachers to navigate, like setting guidelines, accessibility at school, and student safety. But to help teachers navigate this ever-changing landscape of social media tools, here are some of the best guides on the web for four popular networks, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.

The Teacher's Guide to Twitter via Edudemic: This is a great guide from Edudemic for all teachers -- both the experienced tweeters and those new to the platform. You'll find everything you need to know about using Twitter in the classroom, including a list of useful education hashtags, search strategies, and ideas for the classroom. Also check out these resources:

Facebook for Educators and Community Leaders Guide: Published in September 2013 by Facebook, this guide is the perfect resource for teachers interested in using the world's largest social network with students. Three main subject areas are covered, including digital citizenship, mobile safety, and guidelines for social media at school. Also check out these resources:

Using Instagram in an Educational Context: The EmergingEdTech blog is a wonderful source for tips, strategies, and ideas for using social media and other new technologies in the classroom. This guide is a great primer for understanding what Instagram is and how it can be used to teach and reach students. " 5 Ways Teachers Can Use Instagram in the Classroom" is another great blog post from the site. Also check out these resources:

The Educator's Guide to the Use of Pinterest in the Classroom: EducatorsTechnology.com published this useful guide for teachers interesting in using Pinterest with students. Here, you'll find everything you need to get started, including tips for building boards, pinning basics, and ideas for using Pinterest in the classroom. Also check out these resources:

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Social Media for Teachers: Guides, Resources, and Ideas

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Although students are evermore connected to the social web, many of these networks remain out-of-class digital playgrounds where students congregate. In a 2014 survey of 1,000 teachers, just one in five said they use social media regularly with students. Of course, it can be a challenge to incorporate social media into lessons.

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Online safety information with movies, games, and quizzes for kids, includes lesson ideas and teaching tips.

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The Internet is useful and fun, but is it safe? It can be, if you follow Moby’s simple tips and learn about digital citizenship and how to manage chat rooms, IMing, and cyberbullying!

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Online Safety-National Children Advocacy Center

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Online Safety-National Children Advocacy Center

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Online safety for kids, teens, parents, and professionals with links for additional information and thorough safety tips list.

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Digital citizenship and online safety. Safety advice and guides

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These rules are aimed mostly at younger children, at oldest pre-teens. Appropriate "rules" for online use vary by age, maturity of the child and family values (updated June, 2013) 1. I will not give out personal information such as my address, telephone number, parents' work address/telephone number without my parents' permission.

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Piracy history, facts and figures, and comments.

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Online music and movie piracy is a real life crime, and with crime comes consequences. The fact is, online piracy is a continuous problem that is negatively affecting the music and movie industry. However, the level at which piracy has affected these industries is still under quite a bit a dispute. The RIAA asserts that piracy has cost the United States economy over $12 billion in total output annually as well as over 70,000 lost jobs [1] . The RIAA has also said that "both the volume of music acquired without paying for it and the resulting drop in revenues are staggering. Digital sales, while on the rise, are not making up the difference. There should be no doubt that piracy undermines the entire chain of creating and investing in music [2]." Conversely, there have been studies done that suggest that piracy has a minimal,if not negligible, effect on music sales, and that piracy can in fact sometimes act as a driving force in increasing music sales [3]. What both sides can agree on is the fact that online piracy is now easier and therefore more prevalent than ever.

One example of a band using file sharing to their advantage is when the band Radiohead produced and released a record on their own allowing users to pay whatever they wanted for the album and then download the album online. In an interview with the lead singer it was reported that the band made more money than all the previous albums combined (Cosstick) [7]. A similar example is with the recent popular computer game Minecraft, which was largely pirated. The creator is not complaining though, instead he looks at it as more opportunity to increase sales. "Treat game development as a service," he says. "Make a game last longer than a week. You can't pirate an online account." [8].

With the increased awareness about the severity of internet piracy in recent years, it is evident in the below graphs that number of people that pirate media constantly increases [5] and [6]:

Quick Facts on Illegal Piracy: (Results from 2007)

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) members received advance copies, also known as screeners, for 30 out of 34 films. (Everything except Click, Monster House, Poseidon, and Black Dahlia.)

31 out of 34 films were released online in some form, including camcorder footage. (Everything except Letters from Iwo Jima, Notes on a Scandal, and Venus.)

24 screeners were leaked online. (In several cases, they were leaked months before Academy screeners were mailed.)

The average length of time between a film's USA release and its first appearance online is 12 days.

On average, a screener appears online 24 days before it's received by Academy members [4].

Sources
Overall, with the graphs and facts shown above, it is evident that there is a severe issue with online piracy on the internet that needs to be corralled. Although the RIAA has made efforts to increase awareness on the consequences of illegal downloading and file sharing on the internet, the fact is, piracy has become a social norm. Whether it be music or movies, the average person has illegally downloaded some sort of media in their lifetime. How can the RIAA and the FBI put a stop to internet piracy? A question that is yet to be answered.

[1]Stephen E. Siwek, "The True Cost of Sound Recording Piracy to the U.S. Economy." Institute for Policy Innovation Policy Report - #181. (2007)<http://www.ipi.org/IPI/IPIPublications.nsf/3939c7c374268af8862567e000204ea2/d95dcb90f513f7d78625733e005246fa?OpenDocument>

[2] RIAA. 2011. 17 July 2011 <http://www.riaa.com/keystatistics.php?content_selector=research-report-journal-academic>.

[3]McGuire, D. (2004, March 29). Study: file-sharing no threat to music sales. The Washington Post, pp. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A34300-2004Mar29?language=printer.

[4] UnEasySilence. 24 Jan. 2007. 17 July 2011 <http://uneasysilence.com/archive/2007/01/9332/>.

[5] http://www.southchinasea.org/maps/modern%20piracy%20statistics%20.jpg

[6] http://torrentfreak.com/images/bogus-figure.jpg

[7] Cosstick, Adrian. "OK, Computer: File Sharing, the Music Industry, and Why We Need the Pirate Party." Journal of Media and Communication. (2009): Print.

[8] "Minecraft Creator Says Piracy Is Not Theft." IndustryGamers. Web. 19 July 2011. <http://www.industrygamers.com/news/minecraft-creator-says-piracy-is-not-theft/>.

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Online music and movie piracy is a real life crime, and with crime comes consequences. The fact is, online piracy is a continuous problem that is negatively affecting the music and movie industry. However, the level at which piracy has affected these industries is still under quite a bit a dispute.

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Examples of piracy, ethical considerations, and consequences.

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While much of the content on the Internet is free to download, that does not mean that downloading it is legal. Illegal downloading is obtaining files that you do not have the right to use from the Internet. Copyright laws in the United States prohibit Internet users from obtaining copies of media that they do not legally purchase. These laws exist to prevent digital piracy, much of which is conducted through Internet file sharing.

Digital Piracy

Digital piracy involves illegally sharing copyrighted media such as games, music, movies, TV shows and software. It does not matter whether you upload the content to share with others without permission or whether you download it for free or for a bargain price. Anyone involved in this type of operation is breaking the law.

Examples of Piracy

If you are a member of a website that shares music files without permission from the recording labels, you are involved in piracy, even if you pay a fee to the website for downloading them. If you are able to access and download movies, TV shows or movies for free or at extremely low prices, these are usually illegal copies. To avoid downloading media illegally, obtain it from reputable dealers that have the rights to sell it to you.

Ethical Considerations

Although it seems easy to share media files, downloading illegally copied media creates major problems. Producing media costs money; when people copy and share it illegally, the producers lose money. Record and movie studios, artists and other media producers have lost billions of dollars because of digital piracy. When they lose money, it becomes more difficult for them to continue producing quality media for you to enjoy in the future.

Consequences

Aside from the ethical considerations behind digital piracy, you could face legal consequences if you participate in it. You could, for example, spend up to five years in jail and pay up to $250,000 in fines. You may think that no one will know, but Internet Service Providers track and report users who download files from illegal websites. Furthermore, by accessing and downloading content from illegal websites, you expose your computer and personal information to viruses, malware, spyware and other harmful software.

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Define Illegal Downloading | Techwalla.com

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While much of the content on the Internet is free to download, that does not mean that downloading it is legal. Illegal downloading is obtaining files that you do not have the right to use from the Internet. Copyright laws in the United States prohibit Internet users from obtaining copies of media that they do not legally purchase.

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Illegal Downlading-Recording Industry of America 

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Illegal Downlading-Recording Industry of America 

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Piracy resources for students and educators.

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About Piracy

Music theft-or piracy-is constantly evolving as technology changes.

Many different actions qualify as piracy, from downloading unauthorized versions of copyrighted music from a file-sharing service to illegally copying music using streamripping software or mobile apps. Read on to learn to distinguish between legal and illegal practices.

To report piracy, please click here.

The Law
Unauthorized Copying is Against the Law
Copyright law protects the value of creative work. When you make unauthorized copies of someone's creative work, you are taking something of value from the owner without his or her permission. Most likely, you've seen the FBI warning about unauthorized copying at the beginning of a movie DVD. Though you may not find these messages on all compact discs or music you've downloaded from the Internet, the same laws apply. Federal law provides severe civil and criminal penalties for the unauthorized reproduction, distribution, rental or digital transmission of copyrighted sound recordings. (Title 17, United States Code, Sections 501 and 506).
What the Law Says and What it Means
Making unauthorized copies of copyrighted music recordings is against the law and may subject you to civil and criminal liability. A civil lawsuit could hold you responsible for thousands of dollars in damages. Criminal charges may leave you with a felony record, accompanied by up to five years of jail time and fines up to $250,000. You may find this surprising. After all, compact discs may be easily be copied multiple times with inexpensive CD-R burning technology. Further, when you're on the Internet, digital information can seem to be as free as air. U.S. copyright law does in fact provide full protection of sound recordings, whether they exist in the form of physical CD's or digital files. Regardless of the format at issue, the same basic principle applies: music sound recordings may not be copied or distributed without the permission of the owner.
What the Courts Have to Say
A long series of court rulings has made it very clear that uploading and downloading copyrighted music without permission on P2P networks constitutes infringement and could be a crime.

Common examples of online copyright infringement:

You download an app on your smartphone that allows you to 'strip' the audio from any YouTube music video and permanently keep that audio in your music collection.

You make an MP3 copy of a song because the CD you bought expressly permits you to do so. But then you put your MP3 copy on the Internet, using a file-sharing network, so that millions of other people can download it.

Even if you don't illegally offer recordings to others, you join a file-sharing network and download unauthorized copies of all the copyrighted music you want for free from the computers of other network members.

In order to gain access to copyrighted music on the computers of other network members, you pay a fee to join a file-sharing network that isn't authorized to distribute or make copies of copyrighted music. Then you download unauthorized copies of all the music you want.

You transfer copyrighted music using an instant messaging service.

You have a computer with a CD burner, which you use to burn copies of music you have downloaded onto writable CDs for all of your friends.

Someone you don't know e-mails you a copy of a copyrighted song, which you forward to your friends.

When It Comes to Copying Music, What's Okay And What's Not:
Technology has made digital copying easier than ever. But just because advances in technology make it possible to copy music doesn't mean it's legal to do so. Here are tips on how to enjoy the music while respecting rights of others in the digital world. Stick with these, and you'll be doing right by the people who created the music.
Internet Copying

It's okay to download and stream music from sites authorized by the owners of the copyrighted music, whether or not such sites charge a fee.

Visit www.musicmatters.com for a list of a number of authorized and safe sites where permission is granted and content is available for downloading and/or streaming.

It's never okay to download unauthorized music from pirate sites (web or FTP) or peer-to-peer systems, such as BitTorrent.

It's never okay to make unauthorized copies of music available to others (that is, uploading music) on peer-to-peer systems.

Copying CDs

It's okay to copy music onto special Audio CD-R's, mini-discs, and digital tapes (because royalties have been paid on them) - but not for commercial purposes.

Beyond that, there's no legal "right" to copy the copyrighted music on a CD onto a CD-R. However, burning a copy of CD onto a CD-R, or transferring a copy onto your computer hard drive or your portable music player, won't usually raise concerns so long as:

The copy is made from an authorized original CD that you legitimately own

The copy is just for your personal use. It's not a personal use - in fact, it's illegal - to give away the copy or lend it to others for copying.

The owners of copyrighted music have the right to use protection technology to allow or prevent copying.

Remember, it's never okay to sell or make commercial use of a copy that you make.

Are there occasionally exceptions to these rules? Sure. A "garage" or unsigned band might want you to download its own music; but, bands that own their own music are free to make it available legally by licensing it. And, remember that there are lots of authorized sites where music can be downloaded for free. Better to be safe than sorry-don't assume that downloading or burning is legal just because technology makes it possible.

Enjoy the music. By doing the right thing, you'll be doing your part to make sure that the music keeps coming.

* This site is intended to educate consumers about the issues associated with the downloading, uploading and consumer copying of music. It is not intended to offer legal advice or be a comprehensive guide to copyright law and the commercial uses of music.

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Unauthorized Copying is Against the Law Copyright law protects the value of creative work. When you make unauthorized copies of someone's creative work, you are taking something of value from the owner without his or her permission. Most likely, you've seen the FBI warning about unauthorized copying at the beginning of a movie DVD.

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Internet safety and cyberbullying resources for parents, educators, teens, and kids.

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Stats, resources, downloads on cyberbullying.

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Resources for bullying prevention and response.

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Basic membership is free, premium is $14.95 per month. Checks plagiarism, spelling, grammar, and makes writing suggestions!

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Free Online Proofreader: Grammar Check, Plagiarism Detection, and more

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PaperRater uses Artificial Intelligence to improve your writing. Includes grammar, plagiarism, and spelling check, along with word choice analysis and automated grading.

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Searches online content for plagiarism. It's FREE!

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Plagiarism Checker Tool Online | Copyleaks

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Copyleaks plagiarism checker is the best free online plagiarism checker tool, that lets you detect duplicate content easily & protects content originality. For one of the most accurate and advanced plagiarism detectors available online, be sure to check out Copyleaks very own plagiarism tool!

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FREE anti-plagiarism software. Registered users (it's free to register) can use up to 50 searches a day. Unregistered can use 1 search per day.

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Plagiarism Checker - Free Online Software For Plagiarism Detection

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Free plagiarism checker for avoiding plagiarism, best anti plagiarism detection tool for detecting plagiarism online.