Code of Conduct Outside the Classroom – Teachers/Students and Social Networking

Social networking has been an incredible phenomenon within the past decade. The amount of information people are able to put out and also access about one another is unprecedented in history. The consequences of this are wide and varied. For professionals, including teachers, this incredible openness of personal information can lead to problems when the personal life makes the professional seem incompetent. The following article and video try to articulate why teachers need to be careful with what they put out online, and  also the potential consequences of "incriminating" information. 

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Article: Social Networking Nightmares

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Simpson, Michael. "Social Networking Nightmares." Nea.org. NEA, 2010. Web. Feb. 2013. <http://www.nea.org/home/38324.htm>.

• This article outlines why teachers can be fired for online conduct, and cites multiple real life examples, many that might be considered minor in other contexts
• It was written as a warning to teachers; the author is pointing out the mistakes of other educators in the hope that readers will not follow their example
• The author, Michael Simpson is an official of the National Education Association, and is described to be an expert on the First Amendment
• A quick Google search of some of the names in the article confirm the stories, but it would have been nice if the author had cited his sources beyond simply mentioning the publication. Linking is not very difficult. 
• The article was written in 2010, and the information is still very relevant
• I think that the author makes some very good points. Although I may not agree with the concept of using social networks to determine professional worth, it's nevertheless something that we will have to deal with as teachers. Posting photos of drunken shenanigans will simply not fly in today's day and age, and although it may have little to no effect on someone's ability to be a good teacher, it will have an effect on how you are perceived as a professional, and for many schools that's enough to let somebody go.

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Video: How Savvy Are Preservice Teachers...

How Savvy Are Preservice Teachers About Professional Implications of Using Social Network Sites. YouTube. YouTube, 05 Oct. 2012. Web. Feb. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X9nAv1E9MA>.

• This video actually just an audio podcast put out by Illinois State University that discusses recent research conducted at the university
• The host is interviewing Erin Mikulec from the Curriculum and Instruction Department. Mikulec recently wrote an article based on research she did about teacher disclosure on social networking sites
• The study was conducted based on Mikulec's own interest in this growing issue
• She collected the participant's thoughts coming into the study, and then held an "intervention," in which she fed them information and articles about how educators have experienced negative consequences for social network content. She re-surveyed them after the intervention and found that many had become much more wary of social network behavior. 
• The interviewee is citing information from her professional, published study, which was conducted in 2012.
• I think that the study is very interesting. It's strange to think that so many of the participants were not aware of the impact that social networking could have on their jobs, but it's good that the study informed them of the potential consequences. I don't think it's necessary to remove yourself from those activities, but as I said above, I definitely think that new teachers need to pay close attention to the image that they are putting out into the public.