NYC's social media guide for students, by students
Students helped to shape the New York City Department of Education's guide on social media for students. Kids around the country are asking for this kind of guidance, how will other administrators respond?
An image from the social media guide for New York City school students, published by the New York City Department of Education with help from the students.
schools.nyc.gov
The New York City Department of Education has published a聽聽鈥� one for which, very wisely, it got student input. And apparently students were asking for guidance like this. Jane Pook, DOE executive director for digital communication policy and strategy, told the聽聽that demand for the guide 鈥渃ame from students.鈥�
Across the river in New Jersey, teacher Kevin Jarrett told his professional network on Facebook that it鈥檚 鈥渙ne of the best guides of its kind I鈥檝e seen, and should be required reading at districts anywhere that truly embrace social media in the classroom.鈥�
As for New Jersey itself, the state Senate just passed a bill that "would require middle school students to take a course on how to use social media responsibly," the Huffington Post reported. Let's hope it will be taught well.
Digital literacy聽and聽life literacy
So this bears out what we鈥檝e been hearing from social media scholars for some years now 鈥� that 鈥渄igital natives鈥� aren鈥檛 just born digitally or socially literate. Even the digitally literate, like everybody else, are figuring out how to navigate life in the very social media of this networked world of ours. So, it鈥檚 to their credit that young people themselves are seeking guidance.
There鈥檚 digital literacy and there鈥檚 life literacy, which blends social literacy and media literacy. Both are needed, and 鈥� when you really think about it 鈥� the latter is nothing new, has been taught to all of us from birth, and is just given special names such as 鈥渕edia literacy,鈥� 鈥渟ocial-emotional learning,鈥� and 鈥渃ritical thinking鈥� once we鈥檙e in school.
What鈥檚 newer is digital literacy, but that鈥檚 changing too. When our so-called digital natives are parents, they will probably need to consult with their children about digital media less than we need to now, but the digital kind of literacy will probably always be more dynamic and different for each generation than the social and media literacies into which it鈥檚 getting folded.
New York schools鈥� good example
The one thing that鈥檚 clear right now is expressed by New York City teacher, Jennifer Gunn, in the Huffington Post article: Digital media is here to stay, it鈥檚 鈥渞idiculous鈥� to act as if the media students are using all the time doesn鈥檛 have a place in the classroom, so let鈥檚 get on with both helping them navigate it and using it in everyday classroom instruction.
We have an opportunity to honor both what students already know and what they鈥檙e seeking to learn, and we鈥檒l be able to take advantage of that opportunity when we stop creating fear and fear-based policy about digital media and start working聽with聽our children聽in聽digital media.聽
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