How connected do you need to be?  Is it enough to just have a school email address? Are you ridiculed because youedTech-700x700 still use a flip phone? To Facebook or not to Facebook? It’s 2016. Let’s look at your digital footprint to see if you are “Socially Acceptable”

Lessons Learned

Dennis – Turn it off. Walk away. Turn it back on later.  It works. (Don’t ask me why.)

Chris – Blogging should be reflective, not compulsory or onerous.

Notes & Links

Your Online Presence – What do you really need?

For teaching and working with students – Your school e-mail and learning management system (LMS) should be sufficient.  Make sure you use the announcements, messaging, and feedback features AND that your students know when and when to check.

Your Professional Electronic Communication Policy – Make it clear to parents (and students) when and how often you reply to email. (Often your school will set this for you.)  The immediacy of the Internet sometimes sets up unrealistic expectations.  If you start replying to e-mail at 11pm, you might be setting up an expectation that you will ALWAYS reply  that late.

For Professional Growth – you should have on online presence, a place to connect and share ideas.

Facebook –

  • Should it be Personal Only?
  • Do you Friend students? What is your policy?
  • What if you don’t use it at all?  (Maybe a kid will sign up for you – without your knowledge.)
  • IMHO – (Dennis) I don’t friend students, but if a student were to see my FB there is nothing there that I would be ashamed of.

Twitter – Great, but also not for everybody. Only as strong or weak as the people you follow.

What about LinkedIn and others…?  The BIG thing to remember here is that once you post something online you give up control.  Anyone can see it or copy it or share it. Like Mom always said, “Make good choices!”
Do you have a Smart Phone or a Dumb Phone? Once again, determine for yourself the level of communication that works best for you – but also for your students.