In my last post Getting Ready for a Job Interview I almost jokingly suggested (although you should) Google stalk your prospective interviewers. Whilst this is a great idea, it does bring to mind that you are likely to be “Googled” as well. One thing you can guarantee, particularly if you teach from about Grade 5 is that your students will look for you. They will do a search on Google, they will look for you on all the social medias etc. I know you will have had this drummed into you via university and your employer but let’s take a look at some social media strategies.
Policies.
Every sector has its own policies in regards to your use of social media.
Department of Education Social Media Policy
Brisbane Catholic Education Code of Conduct
Anglican Schools Code of Conduct
All of these policies outline specific regulations in regards to use of social media, what you post, “friending” students and when you can add people to your accounts.
A quick summary across all the policies would suggest caution is your friend. There are some examples of teachers using platforms such as Facebook as class pages etc. In that case, you need to be very careful about the delineation between professional and personal.
I don’t intend for this post to be unpacking policy and things you already know. Rather, I’ll throw some advice at you of lived experiences from a range of teachers and what they do to remain professional online.
Some advice
1) Your name: Some teachers I know make themselves almost impossible to find by adding characters to their social media name. For Example I could make my name: J0n Hard1ng, the o and i substituted with an 1 and 0. This makes the ability of students to easily type your name impossible. On the flip side, it also makes it impossible for people who you may want to find you, impossible as well.
2) Your profile picture: Some teachers make their profile something unrecognisable. For a while, I simply had a picture of my dog. Another friend has a little wellbeing saying in regards to students with Autism. This again, can make you difficult to find by the students and also ensures that they cant grab your picture and use it for other purposes.
3) Cover Photos: On Facebook your cover photo is visible as well. Although its lovely to have a nice photo of your family or you and your friends at the most recent music fest, again it is easily identifiable.
4) Settings: Its no secret that its all about the settings. Make sure you lock down on all platforms everything you can. Instagram should be one that you are particularly mindful of, and the intricacies of Facebook mean that you need to check regularly. The key photo pics you can add into the “about me” section are visible.
5) Tags: Being tagged in social media posts can be difficult. Friends can tag you and that gives access to the pictures to their networks. For example, my son finished Year 12 in 2019, as he graduated he made lots of posts with grad pictures in them. Obviously as Dad I was included which meant that his friends could see pictures of me with my family, but also were able to see my user name and easily open my profile.
6) Acquaintances: One of my colleagues allows ex-students to connect via Facebook. His trick is to allow them the connection by instantly make them “friends but acquaintances”. What he then does he makes sure any post and his controls are set in such away that all post are shown to “friends except acquaintances”. One to consider if you cant bear the thought of disappointing ex-students who want to connect.
Considerations outside of security
Think carefully about posts that you hit “like” on. We can often quickly throw a like on something that we read or see, but remember that is public. If you “like” something controversial that either goes against the school code or standard, then you can be called into question. Similarly, posts that you like may be seen by your students and parents. How do you want to represent yourself to them in you social media world (read my next blog: Once a Teacher Always a Teacher).
The same can be said for comments you make. What you say online is reflection of your thoughts and ideas. Even something said in jest, can be interpreted differently to how you intended. As a rule, I intentionally don’t comment on anything that is even remotely political.
What tips do you have for keeping yourself protected on Social Media? Add a comment below, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Further Links
QCT guide on Social Media (page 6)
Queensland Teachers Union (page 2)
Toowoomba Catholic Ed
Australian Early Career Teachers Association 