Linkedin App: The power to share to many at one time

Linkedin App

Category: Community & social media

Uses: Sharing blog posts, discussions and multimedia

One of the most important skills that a student must acquire is the ability to communicate with others. A student especially after high school or college must be able to connect with those in the work force that can hire them for a potential job. Fifteen plus years ago before the use of technology, this would had to be done by the old fashion method of going from business to business building a connection for potential employment. Now in 2019 you have the ability to connect with potential employers from all over the country with the use of technology. One of the greatest hiring apps is called Linkedin, which connects an individual with employers seeking out the correct person to fill an employment position.

Linkedin allows you to create a profile to be displayed online, that can be viewed by employers that shows an individuals skills to past employments. It also allows you to display your education and location. One of the best features of Linkedin is the ability to connect with others through people that you have already connected with on Linkedin. For example I am connected with a man named Frank Smith who is a teacher at an elementary school and he is connected with a principle from a different high school which I am not. I could then be connected through Linkedin to that principle because I was connected with Frank Smith, which could ultimately lead to that principle seeing my profile resulting in a connection.

Check out this video below, on how simple and great Linkedin can be with finding a teaching position…

IN THE CLASSROOM

Linkedin can be difficult to base lesson plans around in the classroom as it requires the students to use it heavily outside of the classroom. This being said it can still be taught in the classroom, but you will see this more in high schools or colleges then at the elementary school level.

Here is a sample lesson plan that can be used in a education setting with helping students connect with professionals in their desired field. Check out the link here: http://www.irsc.edu/uploadedFiles/IAE/LinkedIn-Lesson-Plan-Handout.pdf

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It appears that there is a weekly firing of a teacher somewhere in the United States for violating a law or rule in relation to technology. Almost always these same cases also result with criminal punishment. How can parents feel their children are safe where almost every person in the classroom has some form of social media technology? Even at the elementary school level you can find students who have some form of social media or technology. Teachers can’t avoid technology it is virtually impossible, but in this blog we will explore ways on how teachers can avoid the negative sides of it’s usage.

So here is our first thought…..

Why can’t technology (Such as Social media) be used as a learning platform?

Here is a video of a case from New Hampshire where a teacher was terminated for not willing to unfriend students from her Facebook account. Take a look.

Long-time teacher Carol TheBarge added many of her former and then current students as friends on the popular social media website Facebook. The administration told her to either comply by unfriending the students or should would be terminated. TheBarge did not comply so she was ultimately terminated from her job. She believes that social media websites such as Facebook can be used a way to connect with students positively and as a learning platform. The superintendent said she was terminated because the school has a policy in place where teachers can not interact with students over any social media platform.

Should TheBarge been fired? Should she have known better being a long time teacher? At her age shouldn’t she just comply?

Lets look at one more case of just how dangerous social media can be. Here is an article and video that shows a case of a teacher being terminated for using the social media platform Twitter in a way that you would never imagine.

See the article here: https://nowthisnews.com/videos/news/teacher-is-fired-for-white-nationalist-twitter-and-podcast

25 year old teacher Dayanna Volitish created a separate Twitter account under another name where she tweeted racist and extreme views. Although she did not use her own personal account and made a different account under another name she was still terminated. This case does even involve the classroom, but shows how teachers can still be affected by social media when outside of school.

Should teachers not be watched more closely by administration after seeing this case? I would say that schools should really put a close look into who they hire. It is almost impossible to watch every teacher’s movements on social media, with the number of platforms there are today. Especially when it comes down to making fake accounts to hide different sides of the teacher.

How To Avoid The Teacher Technology Firing Epidemic

Here is a great article on how teachers can be fired.

Read the Article here: http://www.nea.org/home/38324.htm

My way of summing up this entire article is: USING COMMON SENSE. If teachers would just use common sense (Granted not everyone has it), they would avoid the majority of these problems. Here are my Tips to Follow by, with doing the opposite of these will most likely get you terminated as a teacher….

Tip #1: Do not use social media to interact with students

-If you absolutely have to wait until later in life. You do not need to be friends with your students on Facebook or any other social media website while they are still in school.

Tip #2: Do not use social media to express thoughts or emotions about your school environment/Watch what you post

-There is always a parent or student who will take the lead in searching a teacher on social media websites. The article shows that teachers who post pictures of drinking alcohol or at a party can result in negative reactions from students and parents. Even if you set your account to private there is still ways for these posts or pictures to be reached.

Tip #3: Know and obey your administration’s rules & policies with social media/technology

Tip #4: Know FERPA

-FERPA is the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. FERPA does not allow third parties to access important or private information belonging to a student. The student must give consent for any information to be released. Teachers can avoid this by making sure there is no possibilities of private student information to be accessed by teachers or other students in the classroom.

Tip #5: Cooperate

-If a teacher or anyone in society cooperates, then the chances of being successful in life is that much greater.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @CoachKTech1