My Study:

How can schools public and private use social media tools to increase communication and collaboration and maintain a safe environment for all members of its community, students, faculty, administration and parents? The school I work at is beginning to look at these tools and what they can provide for the school community. There are many questions they would like answered before they embark in this arena. One of the purposes of this action research is to develop a school policy regarding the use of social media tools with an emphasis on Facebook, Twitter and cell phone texting and cell phone use. The main concern is the appropriate interaction between the following: teacher/student, teacher/parent, student/student. This question is being asked by many, should social media tools be incorporated in education? In my preliminary research I came across an article online that asked this very question. The author mentioned the findings from a recent report that stated the importance of Internet safety lessons being taught in context. This presents a problem because most schools block social media sites and do not allow use of web 2.0 tools in school. (Callow, June 17, 2010) Another article that I read summarized the findings of a McAffee report on youth online behavior, which stated that kids are more cautious that once thought. (Magid, June 2010) Both of this articles, have reaffirmed my thought that an action research in this area is much needed to seek out truth and understanding concerning the role social media has in education.


Callow, R. (June 17, 2010). Should social networking be permitted in schools? http://www.sync-blog.com/sync/2010/06/should-social-networking-be-permitted-in-schools.html .

Magid, L. (June 2010). Study has good news about kids online behavior. Safekids.com http://www.safekids.com/2010/06/26/study-has-good-news-about-kids-online-behavior/ .