There is no doubt that social media offers new opportunities how, when, where, and with whom teachers and students learn (Greenhow et. al, 2019). However, I argue that even though there are benefits of integration of social media in learning environments, there are also concerns and ethical challenges of such integration, especially for the K-12 educational settings with students who aged from 9 to 17. In terms of the benefits of SNSs, Asterhan and Rosenberg (2015) underlined the merits of using social network sites (SNSs), particularly Facebook, for the secondary school students and teachers. The suggested that (2015) integrating Facebook into their learning environments (mostly after school hours) support academic and instructional practices of teachers and students by expanding their learning beyond the classroom, monitoring students’ well-being, and deepening student-teacher relations. Greenhow et al. (2019) also concentrated on the role of social media in education by unpacking its impact on student and teacher learning and scholarly communication. They pointed out the integration of social media can foster students’ active learning, collaboration skills and may help them to connect with the communities beyond the classroom (Greenhow et. al, 2019).
Even though, use of social media has big takeaways for students and teachers’ educational experiences, I would like to focus on the other side of the coin. There are several ethical concerns of such integration, especially when this integration occurs without questioning the following issues: information (student and teacher) privacy, anonymity, surveillance, and online safety (Asterhan & Rosenberg, 2015; Regan & Jesse, 2018; Weeden et. al, 2013).
The first concern of adoption of SNSs is the collection of information about students and teachers which is the classic information privacy concern. With big data (the data that SNSs are using) there is more collection of information which is mainly about different aspects and details of students’ life (Regan & Jesse, 2018). Not only is there more information collected from more sources, but much of the data collection takes place without the individual’s awareness (Asterhan & Rosenberg, 2015; Regan & Jesse, 2018).
The second concern about the privacy is that teachers and students should be able to remain anonymous or obscure if they choose. However, with big data, anonymization of information about individuals becomes more difficult, since big data makes reidentifying data rather easy (Regan & Jesse, 2018). Here, the concern is for protection of teachers’ and students’ own privacy. Additionally, as Asterhan and Rosenberg (2015) pointed out that some teachers expressed concerns about students gaining access to different aspects of their private lives, and they have a lack of control over which aspects they can and want to expose to the public.
Another concern is about SNSs’ surveillance or tracking systems which are working to get more and more detailed information about students’ preferences and activities. From the big data perspective, these social media outlets are monitoring students and teachers’ activities by analyzing their activities to determine likely future activities (as recommender systems). From the educational perspective (through teachers’ practices), Asterhan and Rosenberg (2015)’s piece also makes an important point. The authors (2015) suggested that teachers are using FB for psycho-pedagogical purposes by monitoring students’ well-being. Here, Facebook is used as a source to monitor and obtain insights about students and to intervene when necessary. I believe that monitoring and patrolling students’ action can be seen as a part of a teacher’s responsibility and pedagogical tool to intervene dangerous online situations (such as cyber-bullying, exposure to sexual content) especially for the little kids (through K-8). However, it can be also seen as a surveillance system which is problematic in terms of students’ privacy. Monitoring and tracking each conversation and action that students take may limit their participation in learning event and that may make them feel unsafe to take ownership for their ideas. Finally, integration of SNSs in learning environments can be also problematic for students who are underaged (aged from 8 to 12- as K-5 level). Weeden et al. (2013) argued that there are concerns about use of SNSs in terms of online safety, sexual solicitation, online harassment and problematic contact and content.
When we consider all the benefits and challenges of the integration of SNS in education (for K-12), I believe that the problematic nature of SNSs should be explicitly addressed and explored in policy discussions.
Selin,
Thank you for your extremely thoughtful and nuanced post, which raises a number of insights for all of us. Thank you! Given the concerns and ethical challenges you mention: privacy, anonymity, surveillance, and online safety, how might an instructor manage all – or at least one – of the concerns you have raised? For instance, let’s say that you have an instructor who teaches English to 10th-graders (ages 15-16) in high school. The teacher is constructivist and she’s read Asterhan and Rosenberg’s study; she seeks to build on the ideas and interests her students bring into her classroom and situate discussions of a poem in an ‘authentic’ online platform (Facebook group) where students can connect with resources and people (e.g., the poet and her fans, other poets) beyond the classroom. What pedagogical strategies might she take, or what can she do to manage (or decrease) at least one of these challenges, based on the research? Walster’s (optional) article: https://www.dropbox.com/s/k1v5rvsm2net4z3/Walster_2017.pdf?dl=0 or others for this week list might help.
I look forward to your thoughts!
Selin___The concerns and ethical challenges you raised about the use of social media in the context of K-12 classrooms are very compelling and really call into question whether the learning benefits gleaned from such sites outweigh the potential problems that such sites pose to all members in the schooling community (students, teachers, etc.). The points that you have raised here really made me think about a conversation that I had with some of the elementary education interns in my field instruction group following a convocation that they attended a few weeks ago called teachers and the law. During this convocation, all the interns were given an outline of how they should and should not be using their social media accounts in both their personal and professional lives, what they should/should not post, and when/when not to interact with parents and students on social media platforms. The overarching takeaway was that social media should not be used in educational contexts and when it is, it must be methodically and intentionally created, such as the creation of a Facebook page for class/school-sponsored activities and the distribution of assignments, strictly limited to educational purposes related to class, limits on who can join and post, limiting post and content so that it is all school related, and not putting class-related posts on personal social media even if encouraged by administration. The issue my interns raised was that private/professional lines are not so neatly demarcated on social media sites and raised concerns about privacy issues on social media like the ones you alluded to in the context of K-12 education. You noted that, “it can be also seen as a surveillance system which is problematic in terms of students’ privacy.” The interns also felt the same way about their personal social media accounts as they were warned that (1) 70% of employers are snooping candidates’ social media platforms; (2) employees may be disciplined and/or terminated based on materials and content posted on their social media accounts before they were hired into a school district (the example given in the presentation was a young teacher who had been fired due to a picture of her posted at a college spring break party where she was doing a keg stand prior to employment); (3) academic freedom does not apply to K-12 teachers as they are public employees; (4) they must be careful what they “like,” “retweet,” or post and what they have liked, retweeted, or posted in the past as it can result in disciplinary action and termination; (5) not to friend or follow colleagues, parents, students, and/or administrators; and (6) not to list their school or job on their personal social media pages. As such, this convocation was met with a lot of resistance, questions, and concerns from the interns as they were left feeling that they would be better off not having any social media in both their personal and professional lives as they are going to be under constant surveillance from their employers. In some senses, I think that many of the concerns that you have raised also ring true to the concerns that the interns have in terms of how, when, and if they should engage in social media both personally and professionally and how to mark the boundaries between private/professional lives when they are not so clearly defined on social media sites where anyone’s life, thoughts, posts, and information is one click away for students, parents, teachers, administrators, employers, or anyone interested for that matter. While I do think that there are affordances of social media/social networking sites that can be beneficial to the learning environment in terms of co-constructing knowledge, facilitating collaboration, and relationship building amongst members of learning communities, there are also many drawbacks that you point to that must be considered and handled carefully, intentionally, methodically, and ethically in order for such integration to be beneficial.
Selin,
You raise many good points, especially in relation to the ethical concerns of social media. I remember having a conversation with a peer this summer about using social media for a class she once taught. She required students to download and use a platform, until one day a student said that they didn’t agree with the terms and conditions of the platform. It made me wonder, “People actually read those?” This however is a real concern more than what the students are actually putting out there for the general public or their followers to see. It extends into how companies use and keep our data. Is the company ethical in practice?
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