Thesis Statement: Although social media leads to higher levels of depression and/or anxiety, schools should allow social media, because they help the school communicate with parents and students, can help school raise money, and social media can help students collaborate with each other. When students are given notes from the school to give to their parents, the child often forgets about the note. Indeed, research has shown that increased parent participation is a critical influence on student success. Social networking is a dicey tool that while allowing teacher to increase the level of communication using a recognizable social media format, possesses inherently a high risk of distraction. As a means for disseminating information and
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Richard J. Light (Harvard School of Education) is a proponent of social constructivism, an aspect of social learning theory. This theory—supported by research identifying factors leading to college students’ success—says that people learn most effectively when they interact with other learners. According to Light, the strongest determinant of students’ success in college is their ability to form or participate in small study groups. Occasional live video podcasts of class activities can make the parent feel more included in their child’s education. This can give the parent first-hand account of how the class is conducted, how the students behave and what improvements could be needed to make the class better. This particular use of technology in the classroom is, however, fraught with practical difficulties. On the technical end is the setting up of a video capture system and transmitting it to the parents, but the more difficult task is to obtain permission from all parents because of privacy issues. Even if such videos are shared only with class parents, there may be objections from the parents, and often even students themselves, which must be taken into consideration. The other side of video podcasts are live chats and video conferencing with parents. Video enhanced chat options are now aplenty and the parents and teachers can set up a convenient time to meet online
Richard J. Light (Harvard School of Education) is a proponent of social constructivism, an aspect of social learning theory. This theory—supported by research identifying factors leading to college students’ success—says that people learn most effectively when they interact with other learners. According to Light, the strongest determinant of students’ success in college is their ability to form or participate in small study groups. Occasional live video podcasts of class activities can make the parent feel more included in their child’s education. This can give the parent first-hand account of how the class is conducted, how the students behave and what improvements could be needed to make the class better. This particular use of technology in the classroom is, however, fraught with practical difficulties. On the technical end is the setting up of a video capture system and transmitting it to the parents, but the more difficult task is to obtain permission from all parents because of privacy issues. Even if such videos are shared only with class parents, there may be objections from the parents, and often even students themselves, which must be taken into consideration. The other side of video podcasts are live chats and video conferencing with parents. Video enhanced chat options are now aplenty and the parents and teachers can set up a convenient time to meet online