"The How To" of Facebook and YouTube in the Classroom

The use of social media has infiltrated almost every aspect of society, from the corporate world down to private consumer use. Most recently, the field of education has begun to jump on board, with more and more educators and administrators recognizing the potential benefits of communicating through social media. Although intended to be used as an educational tool in schools, social media policies and guidelines still need to be in place in order to ensure that our students are using it for the purpose of learning. That is why in my classroom I not only encourage my students to use social media as an effective marketing tool, but I also teach them how to use it responsibly and productively by posting the right kinds of material.

Some of the ways in which I implement social media in my professional business allows me to show real life examples of how it can be used to promote an individual or a business. I explain to the students that they should begin their venture into marketing themselves through the use of social media, as the playing field for getting their work recognized nationally has dramatically changed.

I show the students how they can track (see images below) analytics from YouTube and Facebook. We discuss the demographics and playback locations to determine a target audience. I also show them how they can monetize their content and make money from their videos. That often extends into a conversation about copyright laws and the use of others' materials.

I show them the Google analytics for websites and we discuss how the YouTube and Facebook numbers correspond to the traffic they are receiving on the social media sites. We analyze the traffic to determine which is the best way for the particular sample company to attract business. We correlate the traffic the social media sites are receiving to how the content they are posting on their social media sites may help or damage their image and/or reputation (See Digital Communication Tips.).

I find that many students haven’t been taught how to appropriately filter the information they are posting on their social networking sites. I show the students how to create lists of friends and how to post specific information to those specific lists. Often I will review a student's account to show them how much information is public and what a complete stranger can learn from the information they have access to. This is one lesson students can't wait to get home and implement. By the next day, students are eager to show how they have protected their material.

One thing I do not do is interact with my students using uncontrolled social media tools, such as Facebook. I believe regardless of how much personal information I do not have access to, others can post information, pictures, etc., to their wall which I may be able to see. I believe I am protecting both myself and the students by not knowing certain (outside of school) information. Instead we use Ning, which I like to call the controlled Facebook. As I am the administrator of the account, I can control who interacts with the site and what information gets posted. A few rules that I set include: post only your educational/professional work, do not use a photograph of yourself for your profile, and remember that everything you post is public and you should be concerned about spelling, punctuation and grammar.

I believe that by reviewing these social networking sites with my students, I can be reasonably sure that they are using them for productive purposes. I give them something to think about, besides wondering which photos to post on their walls. I teach my students how to protect themselves as well as how to market themselves and their work in ways that will attract positive attention from prospective employers. It’s easy enough to use social media for purely recreational purposes. But appropriately filtering the information that others have access to or utilizing these sites promote oneself are tasks that students need to be taught how to do. Social media is a great learning tool, when it is used appropriately.