Last spring, I was invited to join the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council's Social Media Committee. We meet for a half day monthly to discuss issues pertaining to Social Media use from a community perspective, and work on related initiatives. It is a positive and energetic committee and although I am the newest member, I am already feeling valued as part of the team.
In the month of November, our committee, in partnership with both the public and catholic school boards, is launching their #think campaign. More information can be found here > http://www.preventingcrime.ca/think.
My contribution to this initiative was in putting together a Teacher Tool Kit, with classroom activities and resources for Gr. 4 - 12 teachers and support staff in schools. I did this in collaboration with committee members, classroom teachers, the Digital Literacy Support Teachers, and 2 amazing CYWs who work in our secondary schools. I am grateful for their contributions and am proud of the package we have created.
The majority of the activities we added to the Toolkit involve students engaging in purposeful use of Social Media. There is no better way to prevent the ABUSE of Social Media than to provide opportunities within the classroom setting to USE Social Media meaningfully and responsibly. Students who have learned to blog, tweet, chat, instagram, post videos and share other creative content online within their learning environments are building a solid digital footprint and are learning the value of these activities. These students are unlikely to be the ones abusing these same tools in their personal lives. Our greatest strategy against the misuse of the Social Media is the use of Social Media.
In the month of November, our committee, in partnership with both the public and catholic school boards, is launching their #think campaign. More information can be found here > http://www.preventingcrime.ca/think.
My contribution to this initiative was in putting together a Teacher Tool Kit, with classroom activities and resources for Gr. 4 - 12 teachers and support staff in schools. I did this in collaboration with committee members, classroom teachers, the Digital Literacy Support Teachers, and 2 amazing CYWs who work in our secondary schools. I am grateful for their contributions and am proud of the package we have created.
The majority of the activities we added to the Toolkit involve students engaging in purposeful use of Social Media. There is no better way to prevent the ABUSE of Social Media than to provide opportunities within the classroom setting to USE Social Media meaningfully and responsibly. Students who have learned to blog, tweet, chat, instagram, post videos and share other creative content online within their learning environments are building a solid digital footprint and are learning the value of these activities. These students are unlikely to be the ones abusing these same tools in their personal lives. Our greatest strategy against the misuse of the Social Media is the use of Social Media.
- Follow the THINK campaign on Twitter using the #think hashtag.
- Try some of the classroom activities, soon to be posted to the THINK link on the WRCPC's website.
- Share with others how YOU are using Social Media in the classroom. We have so many ways to share, and so much to learn from each other.
- Encourage your colleagues to jump on, join in and sign up!
RSS Feed
