Tips to Integrate Social Media in the Classroom

           With students becoming more and more involved with social media and technology use, effective teachers must learn to integrate social media in their classrooms to keep students engaged in learning.  One school piloted the use of social media sites Hotseat and Purdue Zip Tips, where students went on a virtual field trip and posed questions to experts using Hotseat. After piloting this virtual field trip, teachers got together and reflected on their experiences creating ten tips for teachers to integrate social media in the classroom. These tips were recorded in an article written by Jamie Loizzo and Peggy A. Ertmer titled 10 tips for Implementing Social Media in the Classroom. One of the biggest themes in reviewing these tips is the need for preparation and skill on the part of the teacher. In order to help students be successful in integrating this technology, teacher's must be well-versed in how to use the technology and how to troubleshoot basic problems.  In addition, technology use for a classroom requires a high bandwidth in order to access videos, resources, and allow students to comment on material. Therefore teachers must inquire of their IT personal if the districts bandwidth will allow for social media use in the classroom. In addition, because most social media sites require the use of an email address to hold an account, teachers must ensure that all students have a personal email account. Depending on the grade level, some students might already have email addresses, while others do not. Thus, teachers must be able to help students create email accounts that can be deleted after the activity is completed. One of the biggest obstacles to integrating social media in the classroom is the lack of access to devices like computers and tablets. Therefore, the teachers who piloted this experience recommend that teachers ask students to bring their own devices from home to participate in activities, which increases accessibility. Finally, teachers must encourage good netiquette and digital citizenship by discussing appropriate and inappropriate behavior before beginning the activity.

           I think that social media use can be more effectively implemented in grades 9-12, because students are old enough to adeptly use social media sites like Twitter and Diigo with more skill and safety. I think that the best way to use social media in the classroom is to help students connect to a larger learning community. Twitter is a great networking device that, when used appropriately, can provide useful resources to students. For example, if students create a twitter account specifically for academia where they are accountable to who they are following and what they are posting, they can follow experts in a field and learn from their research and knowledge. Students could explore their interests by following experts of different fields, and be accountable for this exploration through maintaining a blog, or other written documentation of findings. The only danger I foresee in implementing social media in the classroom is cyber safety issues. Because many social media sites are networking sites, it is hard to monitor who students are in contact with and what information is being exchanged. Even with good lessons on digital citizenship, students may find themselves in dangerous situations. This makes the need for good filters and privacy settings a must when implementing social media within the classroom.

The use of Hotseat and Purdue Zip Trips meets the following ISTE Standards: teacher standards 1d and 3b and student standard 2a.  This lesson allows teachers and students to work collaboratively with experts in the field using virtual environments. It also allows students to be more successful and innovative because they can ask questions and participate in online discussions with peers, teachers, and experts.


Loizzo, Jamie, and Peggy A. Ertmer. "10 Tips for Implementing Social Media in the Classroom." Learning & Leading Through Technology : 32-35. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.