Monday, 5 December 2011, 02:08 PM

I would strongly discourage the use of social media as a platform for student communication in a classroom setting – instead, try to set up a moodle or a third party message board... They are free and easy to set up and moderate.

Websites such as Twitter or Facebook are easy ways for people to communicate but it does come with some attached risks. What if you were to see a picture of one of your under-aged students in a bar? Smoking Drugs? You would be professionally obligated to respond. That is a can of worms that I would rather stay away from. Additionally, if you use your own personal facebook page, students may see pictures of you in an ‘out of work’ scenario that might be professionally damaging; even if you only put up pictures that are clean and safe, somebody else may tag you in a picture without you noticing.

Best stay clear of social media as a form of official student communication in Alberta.