At the eTech Ohio Educational Technology Conference, I talked to K-12 administrators, teachers and technology coordinators. I heard a mix of thoughts regarding social media in the classroom. Some were saying:
"If we allow social media in K-12 schools then we are opening ourselves up to liability issues."
"Its not safe for our kids to use social media."
And others were saying:
"If we do not teach our kids how to use social networking appropriately, how will they learn?"
"We need to engage kids with the tools they are most comfortable using."
Allen Shaffer of Bricker & Eckler LLP assists K-12 school districts with social media issues. Below is a podcast of Allen describing how schools can safely use social media. Allen maintains (as do I) that as social media becomes more and more ingrained in our culture, schools must take on the responsibility of teaching our youth how to use social media responsibly.
