In this new series we answer teachers’ and school leaders’ most pressing questions about all aspects of remote learning. Got a question? Contact us!
How can social media support remote learning?
Many schools are using Twitter and/or Facebook as a support to remote learning. There are a number of benefits – parents are generally already using and used to the platforms, they enable dialogue and uploading material onto them is very easy – but there are also a number of safeguarding considerations to take into account:
Photos of work, not of children
If parents are posting pictures of their children, it is very easy for them to be identified . We recommend encouraging parents to photograph and share children’s work rather than the children themselves. Alternatively, some schools are asking parents to email them photos of their children working and then the school publishes a daily ‘showcase’ post from the school account (minus any identifying personal information).
Managing comments
The dialogue capabilities and possibilities of social media have many positives, but it can also be difficult to curate the comments coming from parents. It is important to make it clear to the whole school community what is expected of their online behaviour. Reminding the community of what’s in the school’s acceptable use policy (AUP) and agreements can be helpful here.
If you need to review these documents there are materials available on SWGfL (on policies and agreements in general – as well as some social media checklists for parents) and on LGfL (a prompt guide in case you want to consider an addendum rather than re-write entirely)
Video content
Video as an activity prompt can be a great way to use social media for remote learning. See our Guide to Using YouTube for Remote Learning for more information.
