An Educators Privacy and Social Networks Essay -- Education, Technolog

This document â€Å"An Educators Privacy and Social Networks† will discuss educator’s privacy, due to the incidents that have been happening in today’s society. With technology taking over the world, writing letters and making phone calls have been replaced with social networks. These sites allow a person to socialize quickly with one another by posting comments about anything that is on his or her mind. However, with this comes the thought of what should and should not be commented. Does society believe that teachers’ First Amendment rights regarding Freedom of Speech protect them in every situation? Many school districts and teachers are now moving into the 21st century by using more technology and social networking to teach and communicate. The positive aspects of using social networking allow educators and students to broaden their knowledge in social learning. On the other hand, the negative aspect is that there is a larger gray area regarding the clarification of professional conduct. The fact is that technology is growing quickly, and districts need to find a way to maintain awareness of the new technical information. However, with all the positives aspects also come negatives with social networking. The case study chosen is a true story that happened in the state of Connecticut. The article â€Å"Courtside†, by Perry Zirkel on the PSEA website, explains the case regarding Jeffery Spanierman versus Connecticut Technical High School. Mr. Spanierman is a second year teacher and had created a Myspace page. Myspace allows users to create their own profile page about his or herself, and includes photographs (Zirkel, 2009). This website page was created by Spanierman so that he could communicate with his students about their homewo... ...ucators and students using it understand how it should be used (Klein, 2008). As educators, we need to come to the understanding that technology has grown and is effective. Instead of trying to teach around technology, educators should learn how to use it correctly and in a meaningful way. Being a second year teacher, I had the opportunity to take classes on different ways technology can be used in the classroom. This allowed me to understand that technology helps students bring out their ideas differently and in a useful manor. I do think that Spanierman was really trying to be a part of his students’ lives. We forget that as teachers we’re not just there to teach, but to understand and help our students grow. It seemed like Spanierman was trying to be there for his students. However, the way he presented himself online was unacceptable to any professional.