Understanding what is in the existing legislation, policies, instrument and guidelines and how these apply to social media is an important part of being a professional.
The following examples are designed to engage Department employees in schools, both as individuals and as a group, in furthering their learning by considering the implications of using social media.
Each case study can be investigated using the:
- workshop questions
- professional practice considerations
- Department recommendation.
Consider each of these in the context of social media and the existing policies, instruments and resources highlighted within this guide.
The potential for social media to negatively impact on an individual’s personal and/or professional reputations has informed each Department recommendation.
For more information, see
Using social media: Interactive Learning Module.
Workshop questions
- Consider why these examples may be deemed inappropriate use of social media.
- What are the potential issues or concerns with the person’s behaviour?
- Are there any behaviours identified that are NOT an issue or concern and why?
- What is the potential risk?
- Who is at risk? Who is at fault?
- What might be an appropriate response to mitigate the risk?
Examples - inappropriate use
Examples - appropriate use
The following examples demonstrate social media tools being used appropriately with a clear educational context:
- A philosophy teacher sends a weekly thought provoking question to use as a stimulus for a class discussion (Via Twitter)
- A principal reminds students of upcoming events at school such as ‘at this week’s assembly we will announce the school captains and SRC nominees.’ (Via Twitter)
- An English teacher establishes a collaborative forum (set up for professional use only) to discuss issues or share ideas (Via Facebook)
- A primary school teacher asks her students to brainstorm their expectations for using a blog, including rules for online behaviour, giving feedback and the key elements of the post e.g. spelling, punctuation, accuracy of information, etc (Via Padlet or Global2.vic.edu.au)
- A principal establishes a ‘group’ for teachers to share professional learning opportunities, current research documents, meeting times and dates and reminders (Via a Ning)
- A humanities teacher tweets snippets of current events (relevant to the humanities curriculum) and shares links to key websites for more information. (Via Edmodo or Twitter)
Students could then provide their feedback (Via class discussion)
A primary school class is assigned the task of designing and creating an interactive digital poster that demonstrates the students’ knowledge, ideas and opinions of a particular subject under study (Via Glogster).