What's your purpose with social media?

I joke that I am addicted to Twitter.  And I might be... I check it multiple times a day and spend at least 5 minutes scrolling, reading, bookmarking each time I open the app.  I check Facebook daily, even though most days I get upset over something posted.  I have Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest accounts, but they aren't so important that my notifications aren't even turned on.

Recently I read an article on scarymommy.com called "This Is What Social Media (And The Selfie Generation) Did To My Teenage Daughter".  And it got me thinking... what is the purpose of social media?

Or rather, what is my purpose with social media? Do I need it if I am not using it for my intended purpose?

With Twitter, I feel that I am definitely using it for my intended purpose - my purpose is to learn. There are so many educators who share their ideas, lessons, and observations on Twitter - and I want to soak up each one.  I have learned about Flipgrid and Desmos, found more ways to use G Suite apps, and discovered a few podcasts to educate me even more.  I guess that is why I joke I am addicted - because I use it to learn and I want to keep learning.

Facebook is where I go to check in my friends - new and old, close or an acquaintance.  I love seeing what everyone is up to, but sometimes I feel like it can limit me when I run into someone in real life.  Because of FB, I already know what is going on in their lives - so they have nothing new to share.  It has helped me start conversations ("I saw that you __ on FB"), but more often that not, I feel a little restricted...

I used to love Pinterest... and I still use it to bookmark things like travel ideas and stuff for my house, but I don't use it as part of my job anymore. Once I left the classroom, it didn't seem like the best place to get new ideas.  Instagram is fun, but most of my IG friends are my FB friends, so I see their stuff twice. And Snapchat... well, I don't really have any friends who use SC regularly.

But now the question becomes, what do I do moving forward?







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Math Icon Board

Image
In my job, I am always looking for new ideas to share, whether it is a new activity or a new twist on an established one. Recently I got an email from Matt Miller at Ditch That Textbook with this idea -   an icon board for visual thinking.  I really got me thinking about how it could be used... and what other icon boards could be created. Since I am a former math teacher, that is where my mind heads - to math.  I started looking at the icons in the Insert Icons for Slides add-on, and sure enough, I found plenty that apply to math. So I started adding them, and thus creating my Math Icon Board My goal was to add icons that could be utilized in a variety of math and science classes. Obviously I do not have everything, partly because I couldn't find it or it didn't come to mind during my creation. When students use this, my suggestion is that they copy the icon (either by right-clicking and choosing copy OR hitting ctrl and C keys at the same time) and then pasting it
Read more
Image
Math is Real Life!  It is the first Wednesday of November, which means it is time for Math is Real Life! I actually had an recent experience in my house that I shared with my students how my husband and I used the skill they were learning to make waffles. On Saturday morning tradition is to have waffles or pancakes for breakfast. A couple weeks ago, my husband and youngest daughter decided to make waffles and to use what pancake mix was left in the box.   I was in another room, but when I heard my husband say " 2 times one and a half equals 3", I ran into the kitchen and said "What did you say?" He replied "The recipe calls for 2 cups of mix, but there is 3 cups, so I figured out that 2 times 1 1/2 equals 3, so I will multiply my other ingredient amounts by 1 1/2 to determine what I need".  Well, I was a giddy mess, because in my ACCEL class I was introducing Multiplication of Fractions on Monday.  This is a topic that the kids always question me wh
Read more

Remote Learning Recommendations, part 1

Now that many of us are in the thick of remote learning, or for those of us in my district, where we are preparing for remote learning, I have come across some great resources that I wanted to share. I am sure that throughout all this that there will be more, so that is why this is part 1. First, I have to say, I love Slidesmania . Her templates are amazing and I am constantly recommending her site to everyone. Right now, her Weekly Planner template is a must for teachers teaching remotely. Check it out! Second, I have seen a lot about educational technology companies reaching out to teachers, schools, and districts with free offers of normally paid versions.  On one hand, that is really cool, but it can be really overwhelming to teachers to decide what new tools to try in their classes.  Edweek  even wrote a very good piece on it. Based on what I have seen, planning with teachers and instructional coaches for remote learning, my recommendation is for teachers to generally use wh
Read more