It is hard to imagine a world without social media.  According to the Office for National Statistics, 90% of households in Great Britain have internet access, and the number of people using internet for social networking continues to increase annually.  Teachers are a group of professionals that have greatly benefitted from using social media sites.  We can now communicate with educators around the world, share ideas and insights, and enhance students’ educational experiences.  However, access to these resources also comes with a certain amount of responsibility.  It is important for teachers to monitor their online behaviour and reputation, even on personal social media accounts.  Working as a primary school teacher, I had to make several decisions about my online presence.  In this blog post, I would like to share some things I have learned over the last few years about maintaining professionalism in the social media world.

1. Check your privacy settings

Take the time to periodically review the privacy settings for each of your social media accounts.  You can customise who has access to your profile, personal details, photos, videos, and posts.  Try using Facebook’s “view as” option in order to see how others, including strangers, see your profile.  Consider setting your privacy settings in such a way that only friends can view the content you post.  It is important to remember that even though you may have strict privacy settings, your friends may not.  Be aware that anything you post on a friend’s social media account might be viewable by their friends or members of the public.  Also, remember to make sure your profile picture is clean and appropriate.  Potential employers, school administrators, parents, and even students might search for you on different social media sites, and often a person’s name and profile picture can be viewed by the public.

2. Know your school’s technology guidelines

Many schools have social media guidelines for employees.  These rules might have to do with post updates, uploading photographs and videos, and interaction with students and parents.  Look up your school’s technology and social media policies and follow them.

3. Think before you post

Teachers should never post photographs of students on their private social media accounts.  Some parents post lots of photos of their children, while other do not post any.  It is up to the parents to decide which photos are shared online.  If you post a student’s picture online, you are violating their privacy and could be breaking confidentiality rules.Think carefully before making comments about your school and do not discuss or criticise your school, colleagues, parents, or students online.  Even if you have anecdotes from your day at school, don’t share them on social media.  It is best to leave these stories at school and protect student privacy and maintain confidentiality.

4. Use pins, passcodes, and passwords

Many teachers have smart phones, tablets, or computers that they use at school.  Ensure that your devices are protected by a pin or passcode and remember to logout of social media accounts on your devices.  This way, if one of your devices is mislaid, your social media accounts are inaccessible and your accounts are protected.  Make sure to choose strong passwords and keep these passwords private.

5. Do not friend or follow students and parents

While some teachers choose to friend or follow students and/or parents, it is best to play it safe and avoid doing this.  You can also block students from following you on Twitter.  This will allow you to maintain professional relationships and avoid allegations of inappropriate conduct.

We hope you found these tips useful. Get in touch with Shake if your school needs any advice or training on social media use.