This week, what an amazingly insightful presentation on social media and education by Jesse Miller. Jesse’s presentation on social media and education was profoundly educational and spotlighted the reality of social media and mainstream discourse around it; however, I also felt overwhelmed with digesting it all because every bit of it felt so important and helpful.
What stood out for me the most was the importance of digital literacy and how it can help understand social media’s good and bad sides. Social media and the internet are not inherently evil as they offer many benefits, but how people use them determines the positive and negative. Jesse clearly articulated this distinction and gave insights and tools that are extremely useful for making well-informed choices about interacting with social media and supporting children to navigate it safely.
The presentation had me think about how important it is for teachers and parents to have digital literacy to make better decisions for children. It can be hard to make informed decisions if you are not knowledgeable about something. Continuing to be educated about social media is essential to safely navigating the world of social media. Social media has become part of our everyday lives. Jesse pointed out that “children understand social media because it exists” It is true children see social media and adults in their lives using it. Hence, it would be unreasonable to expect them not to use or know about it.
I am guilty of telling my daughter, 11, that she uses too much screen time when I am self-on-screen doing school or work. I realized that it was not good to support my children with healthy relationships with Technology and rethink that approach. I was a good role model and modelled the healthy relationship behaviours we wanted to see. Teaching kids a healthy relationship with Technology requires teachers and parents to have a healthy relationship with Technology.
Using the internet as an educational resource is essential, as Jesse stated, instead of operating on the negative view that resonated with me. Equipping children with the tools to be educated about social media and developing healthier relationships with Technology is paramount to producing better digital citizens. As a parent and teacher in the making, I benefited so much from this presentation about technology and education.
Thanks to Jesse Millier for a wonderful presentation.
