Follow me on InstaFaceSnapTik… No.

All these new Apps and terminology that we’re being bombarded with these days reminds me of George Carlin’s skit on the Modern Man *contains coarse language, viewer discretion is advised.
Which brings us to the issue of using social media in education. Web 2.0 is all about user-generated content and many educators have consider integrating it into their courses. This is more evident in higher ed where more courses are starting to promote students form PLN (personal learning networks) through social media connections, or contribute to content online such as through blogging or discussions. Yet for the public K-12 school system, things are a lot more complicated. Take for instance, the list of FOIPPA compliant vs non-compliant services:

While it may seem counterproductive to have such an exhaustive list of unapproved services, there is some sensibility behind it as we strive to protect student (and teacher!) privacy. The main issue behind why most of the listed items are not FOIPPA compliant has to due with how they handle customer’s data; where information is stored outside of Canada and thus not subjected to the same legal protections. Companies would then be free to sell this information to third parties without the consent of the user (remember, K-12 students are children) or their guardians. Another issue would be security, which most people have noticed to be somewhat important as they are inadvertently ZoomBombed while they try to host meetings in our Covid-stricken world. Another thing to complain about is the moderation, or lack of, in using social media as a teaching tool. Asking students to create and upload a video to Youtube (not FOIPPA compliant) or Vimeo (unlisted?) may align with multiple curricular competencies, but there is the struggle between asking students to disable all comments or ignore the ratio of like/dislike. Granted, the majority of the students would probably be mature enough to deal with those, since they already have an online presence outside of school. But then there are those who would are not, or are vulnerable or at-risk individuals, who don’t need that extra drama in their life. Lastly, parents may choose NOT to have let their children have a social media account for their own reasons, which us educators respect.

At the end of the day, I feel like it’s a tad early to “necessitate” use of social media in K-12 education, especially if the district is still struggling with the establishing guidelines for online conduct (still waiting on information on how to “invigilate” online tests).
CAN it be used? Absolutely. As long as the teacher has considered all the downsides, navigated through all the regulations, and are tech-competent enough to operate the platform in a safe and productive way.