Teens and Social Media

 

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Being new to the world of middle school teaching it was important to me to dig into what influence social media has on todays’ teens.  To try and understand the effects of social media and reasons it is so widely used, I read a few articles.  In the articles I read, there were things that both surprised me and gave me hope.

In both Lucy Handley’s article and Taylor Fang’s article the fact that many teens keep their accounts on private and are only friends with people they know was comforting to me.  In our digital citizenship lessons, we put such an emphasis on internet safety and not giving out personal information online.  I hope that like the teens interviewed, my students are being cautious with who they share their information with online.

I was also surprised to learn that a lot of teens, after the initial excitement of posting, have let posting to sites like instagram fall to the wayside.  They are still communicating via Snapchat or WhatsApp, but aren’t posting in order to get likes.  Taylor Fang, a senior in high school, said,

Yet by high school, this cycle of presenting polished versions of myself grew tiring. I was tired of feeling like I was missing out. I was tired of adhering to hypervisible social codes and tokens. By 10th grade, I was using social media only sporadically. Many of my friends were going through the same shifts and changes in their ideas about social media.

I can relate to this sentiment.  I am currently in a period where I am taking a break from social media.  As a new mom, it gave me too much anxiety to have so many people giving input on my daughter's life.  It was comforting to read that teens are coming to the same conclusion.  I worry about the kids who are not able to step away and are feeling pressures of social media however.

Fiza Pirani’s article What is a ‘Finsta’. Highlights that teens are aware that the images and personas they are putting out on their instagram are not realistic portrayals of their lives. Teens are even creating fake accounts to be more real with their friends.  The trouble with these fake accounts is this is where a lot of the online bullying is taking place.

The biggest conclusion I can draw from these articles is that I will continue to instill the values of integrity and compassion in my students and hope that spills over to their online habits.  I am also clinging to the hope that social media will burn out by the time my daughter is at the age my students currently are.

Final Thoughts

To be honest, I was hesitant to even sign up for this masters after using nothing but technology the past couple years of Pandemic teaching.  Hence Ron Swanson.

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Throughout the past eight weeks, I have taken a deep dive into all things Ed Tech.  I have reflected on my use of technology both personally and professionally.  Looking closely at how and when I use technology has allowed me to be much more thoughtful in what I choose to use with my students.

I feel like the best way to reflect on my time is by revisiting the SAMR model of technology use in education.  This model has been helpful in driving my technology choice for students.  While I still do use substitution in my classroom it is for environmental purposes, not due to just wanting students to be on a device.  I am much more thoughtful in the choices I give students when using technology.  One of the lessons I have created with my team since starting this class was a research project on a National Park.  Students were able to access resources online through the National Park Service Website, National Geographic, and Epic Books.  After researching, students were given the choice of using Google Slides, Adobe Spark, or Canva to create presentations on their National Park.  The final step had students publish their projects on a shared Padlet and comment on whether or not they would want to visit parks other students had researched.  Knowing different sites to use with my students as well as new ways to facilitate their learning helped drive the idea behind this project.

Overall, I feel like I am in a better place with technology in education.  Instead of being sick of it, I am rejuvenated and ready to implement new ways of teaching.  I must say I do feel like Ron Swanson when a student brings me an uncharged Chromebook, or asks me why their mouse isn’t working, but beyond that I feel like the Gif below is a much better depreciation of technology and me now.

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Digital Tattoos

 Digital Tattoos

In today’s digital world, some people have made careers out of their online personas.  My sister and I tease my husband for being a “finfluencer” posting all his fishing pictures and gear and some of my students want to grow up to be YouTube or Instagram famous.  Whether or not we are on a mission to be internet famous, we all have an online presence.  I decided to take dive into what my digital tattoo actually is.

Digital Mining

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Content as well as Confused

Overall I was not surprised by the information I found.  As I have mentioned before, I do not have a strong online presence.  While in the past, I was on social media I am no longer an active user.  I have not deleted my accounts, but they did not come up on any searches.  I was especially happy I didn’t have to relive my MySpace days. Completing a simple Google search of myself even took some digging to find the real me.  Who knew there were so many Rachael Hofmanns in the world?  Eventually I came across the YouTube channel I created to post my Trends in Ed Tech video, basic information on the White Pages, my school website, and the obituary for my husband’s grandmother from 2016.  Even my deep dive didn’t yield that much more information.  I checked Peek You, True People Search, Truthfinders, and Radaris.  On each of these websites my name, age, and known family members we given.  A few had my current phone number which I didn’t love, but I did find it funny that one of my known phone numbers was my husband’s house phone number from growing up.  I did not find any of this information too shocking or scandalous.  I honestly thought I would find more information.  I was glad that my daughter’s name was never associated with mine.  I don’t need my 16 month old having an online presence yet.

There were a couple things that did surprise me however.  The first was that I only found my most current address on one of the websites.  I moved in June and it seems like records haven’t been updated which I found interesting.  I was also surprised to see that all the sights listed Charlotte, North Carolina as a previous address for me.  I have never even been to North Carolina, but it is where my parents met so somehow that got connected to me.  The other surprising piece of information was a known associate I had on the true people search.  True people listed the most known relatives of any of the sites and in the possible associates list it included my father-in-law’s ex wife (not my husband’s mom) whom I have never met.  

Digital Tattoos and Education

It is important for our students to know that their information is out in the world and how it can be used.  At the beginning of the year, we complete digital citizenship lessons and one focuses on phishing scams.  I had conversations with my students about the type of information that gets put out just by logging into different websites (birth year, name, etc.) and how that information could be used.  I was pleasantly surprised that many students had clearly had conversations with their parents about the risks associated with this.  I think starting in upper elementary, possibly third grade, we should start talking with a smart online presence with our students.  We could invite their parents to complete a digital mine to start the conversation and continue the conversations as we explore new websites and log into new places. 

Assistive Technologies

 Universal Design for Learning

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After discussing how different teaching Gen Z as a whole is last week, it is important to now think about each individual student and their unique learning needs.  This is where Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can offer what students really need to be successful learners.  Upon reading the article from The Understood Team, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I am using many UDL principles in my teaching already.  While I definitely don’t use these principles in every lesson every day, I especially try to incorporate this during science and social studies.  I have also found math lends itself to a UDL model.  Some of the UDL principles that I often use include flexible seating options, presenting material in different ways (text, slides, videos, pictures), and student choice in presenting information in final projects.  

UDL and Assistive Technology

One aspect of UDL that I can do better at is allowing all students access to accommodations that students with IEP’s and 504s have.  One way I realized I can do this is by looking at the assistive technology my students have access to on their Chromebooks.  While there are many Google Extensions that are available to any device, the Chromebooks have their own accessibility features.  I have created an infographic to highlight a few of these features.

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This infographic just scratches the surface of accessibility options available to students with Chromebooks, especially if you include Google Chrome Extensions like Co: Writer.  I think that while there are many options out there, it is important to determine what is appropriate and useful for each student in your class.

I appreciated taking the time to create this infographic.  This gave me the motivation I needed to explore my students' chromebooks.  When my district went one to one I was working with primary students that were given iPads.  I feel like I have not had the opportunity to explore and learn all the features of my current sixth graders devices.  It is useful to know what is available to our students and how to set them up for success!

References

Blog, I. T. S. (n.d.). Universal Design for Learning: Practical Suggestions - Carleton College. Carleton. Retrieved October 5, 2022, from https://www.carleton.edu/its/blog/universal-design-for-learning-practical-suggestions/ 

Free design tool: Presentations, video, social media | CANVA. (n.d.). Retrieved October 5, 2022, from https://www.canva.com/ 

Google. (n.d.). CO:writer Universal (app). Google. Retrieved October 5, 2022, from https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cowriter-universal-app/lahlmdogjpblkonckkgbljegkiijjbag?hl=en 

Google. (n.d.). Google tools for special needs*. Google Docs. Retrieved October 5, 2022, from https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J2Lve_Ta8t22UDFvAlG5mW8WLxXP0BIMwabWJk7FhI8/edit?usp=sharing 

Team, U. (2021, November 19). The difference between UDL and traditional education. Understood. Retrieved October 5, 2022, from https://www.understood.org/en/articles/the-difference-between-universal-design-for-learning-udl-and-traditional-education 

UDLCAST. (2010, January 6). UDL at a glance. YouTube. Retrieved October 5, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDvKnY0g6e4