Social Networking Reflection

After searching for myself through Google and Pipl, I found very little on myself except for my newly created blogpage, my Myspace page, and me and my husbands wedding registry. I recently got married so my I have a new last name which could have effected the outcome of my search. Since I was in elementary school I have always gone by Dani rather than Danielle which is my legal name. With all these factors it made it difficult to find any information on me. I don't spend a great deal of time on social networking sites so there isn't much information to find in the first place.

Due to the lack of information about me displayed on the web I feel that I must be doing a good job at not making myself overly public. I keep my Facebook and Myspace accounts set to private where only my friends can view my profile. Even if my students or colleagues were able to view my Facebook account or Myspace page I don't feel they would find anything offensive or inappropriate. I definitely will be even more careful now that I see how easy it would be for people to find information on my personal life.

I believe that as future educators it is important that we are always aware that we are role-models, mentors, and leaders to our students. We have an obligation to these kids, we need to lead by example when we may be the only positive role-model that they can look up to. Also I think that everyone is entitled to privacy in their personal lives but realize that when you post photos or blogs about your personal life on the Internet you have made the decision to make it public domain. Parents have the right to know who their child's teachers are and make sure that they are getting the best education possible.

After reading this article I was in shock that people don't make their social networking sites private. Teachers should not be allowing their students to be friends on their Myspace pages. Unless you create a page that is strictly school based that would be the only exception. I understand wanting your students to feel comfortable with you and feel they can communicate their concerns is important in building a positive relationship with your students, there are more appropriate ways to go about this than Myspace. Create a classroom blogpage or webpage where they can go and post their thoughts or concerns. This way the line between the teacher and student relationship does not become blurry.

Having this brought to my attention definitely makes me think about how I will handle this situation when I become a educator. I will make sure that my social networking sites are kept private and always think before I post.