There are many benefits to using social media for communication and collaboration. As most people are already using social media, what better way to connect the public to the schools? Sharing important information with all stakeholders is important, and sharing that information using a medium that can reach most stakeholders is equally as important. As teachers, we are constantly seeking out avenues and platforms commonly utilized by communities and families to better help the public access important information.
Many times, students are tasked with taking home a newsletter with information on happenings at school and information parents need to respond to in some way. Sometimes, though, the newsletter does not make it home that day or is even lost completely. Using social media to get this information out and to receive the necessary responses allows this process to happen in a more timely and effective manner.
Using social media also allows schools to “go green.” This means using less paper to print out announcements for school activities and less paper for parents to respond to the shared information. Social media platforms allow for information to get to all stakeholders simultaneously and for stakeholders to respond when needed.
Social media also provides a visual medium helping stakeholders to see and better understand exactly what is happening in the school. For example, we can share pictures of the classroom and class projects, highlighting our students’ hard work. In this way, we are able to share information and visuals in order to give the community a glimpse of what is taking place inside the school walls. We are visually opening the doors of opportunity for the community to support the learning processes and allowing transparency between schools and families.