We had guest speaker, Jessie Miller, come into the class to discuss how to navigate the evolving aspect of social media and mobile technology. As technology continues to become more ingrained in our lives, its impact on education has increased significantly. This lecture gave me a deeper understanding of how interconnected our would has become with technology and how much communication and privacy have been affected by this.
We discussed how social media often is far from the reality of our lives and how crucial it is for educators to teach students how to critically evaluate what they see online. Social media can have a negative impact on self-esteem and mental health. This made me realize how crucial helping students understand how to use social media responsibly is to their well-being.
Additionally, Jessie discussed the AI 4 C’s of literacy
- Critical Thinking: Evaluate AI generated content
- Creativity: Using AI to generate and refine ideas
- Communication: Practicing effective interactions with AI
- Collaboration: Group activities exploring AI use
These skills are essential for navigating AI tools responsibly, which plays an increasingly important role in education as AI is becoming more popular.
One topic that stood out most to me was the boundaries around the use of social media in schools. Teachers must maintain professional boundaries, especially surrounding the privacy of student information. Digital consent is critical and both teachers and students must understand the ethics surrounding sharing content online. I have always been uncertain about this topic because I worked in classes where the teachers frequently communicated with parents and students via social media or text. While the intention was only to communicate about school, I often questioned if this was allowed or if it crossed professional boundaries. It helps to know that we should steer away from this to prevent any potential issues in our teaching careers.
Overall, the class reinforced the need for critical thinking and clear boundaries surrounding the use of social media/mobile technology. As technology continues to evolve we must equip ourselves and future generations with the skills to navigate our digital world responsibly!