Thing #18

  I have a Facebook account, and created a Twitter for this class a few weeks ago.  I do not want to post my Facebook profile on a public blog however, as I have everything on my page set to private.  I am a member of the College of Education group at AP, but I still only share any information with people I add.  As far as Twitter, I just really can't get behind it.  I resisted the masses up until now to not join at all, and honestly I will more than likely either end up deleting it, or at least never really using it.
  It is imperative for educators to keep their social networking sites very private, and to monitor everything that is posted by them or about them.  This includes photos and statuses they are tagged in by others.  If a teacher does choose to set up a public page for their class to join, it would likely be best that it be kept completely separate from your personal page, and that it is monitored just as closely and kept a private group, especially because the students will likely be under age 18.  Which brings me to a side note, in that as an Elementary teacher, my students will not be old enough to join Facebook, if not just because of the terms of service, but also because it is my opinion that an 8 year old, for example, does not need a social networking page of their own.  It opens a literal Pandora's Box that I do not want to create within my classroom.
  On that note, I can see that there may be some uses to a classroom Twitter or Facebook, but I believe there are much more private, and therefore safer, options available for teachers, students, and parents to communicate and collaborate.  My apologies if that got a bit "rant-ish."