I work with social media daily in my job, so I was very excited when I saw this recent Mashable post on How Twitter Can Boost Classroom Engagement. (Sidenote: Mashable is a great website overall for Social Media information. I’d suggest a bookmark.) I was happy the article not only talked about how students are using social media, but how faculty was effectively using social media as well. See, it’s painless!
Then today, I saw this headline about a professor who has been placed on leave for comments on Facebook that can be considered threats against students. The line between personal and professional use of social media is blurry, but the best analogy I have heard is this, “pretend [your social media profiles] are like a billboard your grandma drives by everyday.” Also, read your privacy agreement and know your settings. The professor in the above article would have saved herself a lot of grief had she taken time to be informed.
