Lee’s most recent blog post.. Private Becomes Public, Once Again!

Facebook has changed the way our kids interact, keeping in touch with alumni [critical for the club I run] is easier than ever, kids are talking to each other, even across the borders of rival districts, a mere 2 miles that seemed like the iron curtain when I went to the universally reviled ‘neighbor to the north.’ Why shouldn’t facebook change the way our kids interact with us?

The biggest reaction I get is from my middle schoolers who, among other fantastic notions believe that the internet is created for them (perhaps for the sole purpose of evading their parents notice when they get into mischief) , and that someone of my advanced age (27) has no business using online networking sites.

My only concern is when my personal life, mundane as it may seem, spills over onto my facebook, blog or other aspects of my online presence. The persona I take on when blogging the wonderous events of my new daughter on our family wordpress.com page are tempered by the thought that it is linked to my facebook. Posting my twitter to facebook means that I may not be able to be as candid as I might like about conditions in my school, problems, frustrations, and other aspects of my professional life that may be misinterpreted.

Final note: I strive to represent myself well no matter where I do it, be it online, in the grocery store, if I go out for a drink in the neighboring restaurants (shock - horror!), and in my online life. This isn’t really a new phenomenon, teachers have always been held to a high standard, and there have always been teachers who do foolish things as there are in every profession. Today we just have more opportunities at our disposal to act stupid.

A podcast created by an instructional technologist, addressed to other educators, and including numerous references to the person’s employing school division is different. Explicitly advocating the use of tobacco goes well beyond the right to have a life. This guy is linking this to his role as an educator. NASCAR, tennis, soccer, everyone has decided not to advertise alcohol or tobacco products so kids won’t get the wrong idea from their role models. Why shouldn’t this apply to this educator, the most obvious role models?

Please don’t take this as an attack. I used to be way more permissive before I had kids. Now I always see things through my eyes, then re-evaluate trying to see how they would see and what they would understand from it.

Then, it’s time for choices. I don’t think I’m with Sue on the single online identity — I have different names I use on different networks and sites, to separate the personal from the professional. At the same time, I’m aware that such a system is not infallible — it’s more for my convenience than security.

The other choice is how much to let others see. Like Steve says, we must be deliberate in what we post. I tend to be more liberal than most, plus most of my students are legally adults. I might do things differently if I taught young children. But I have a right to an online life, and if I posted a photo of myself doing something odd, I’d expect questions and be open to that very issue. Why am I smoking? Because I’m addicted. Let’s talk about addiction….

I also like the idea of discussing such profiles with our students. I think it’s good for adults to make mistakes, then correct them. I think that’s often a better model than being a goody-two-shoes to start with.

Last note: I can run into my students anywhere — so can you. If I’m in a bikini at the beach (hah!) or am seen at a party, it puts me out of the usual context and students get confused anyway. But I have a right to be in a bikini or go to a bar. Online is another place where I have the option to be who I want to be. I’m just more acutely aware that anyone can connect what they see with who I am in my job, that’s all.

Because if I don’t own my profile, maybe someone else will?

I always started the school year teaching my students about responsible internet behavior. It is important for them to understand that what they put out there is out there forever (even if they delete it later, they don’t know if someone might have already posted it elsewhere). My last employer did a search for my name before I even came in for an interview and boy, was I glad that I had kept everything appropriate out there!

I basically told the kids - don’t put anything out there that you wouldn’t want your grandma to see. I also told them that 10 years from now, when they are trying to get a job, are they really going to want to have to explain the naked spring trip pictures to a potential employer?

P.S. one thing I was shocked to see come up on Google searches were posts to private Google groups - so everyone should also be aware that even those are accessible by the general public.

I think when you become a teacher or accept any role that involves helping children you give up some things. Both your public and e-life should be pretty clean and tight. It’s part of making this a “real” profession. How many of us had the professor that hung out at the bar. How was he viewed? How would the parents view me if I roll into the lot with music and smoke pouring out of my car?

Do what I say and not as I do is a tough way to teach. The very least you could do is publish under a “pen name.”

I’d be curious to hear other people chime in on this one.

Having said that, I do have a Facebook profile, and I spend a lot of time there. I’ve reconnected with my high school friends and will see many of them this summer when I travel to Colombia. I don’t have anything questionable on it, and removed the FunWall application after a distant relative posted some unsavory pictures there. I know we are educators, but we are people, too.

Now, if you want to see an inappropriate example of educator online presence, take a look at this guy’s podcast about educational technology. It contains a segment to review and recommend cigars. Yep! Good ole cancer sticks…I’m so embarrassed to say he’s from Virginia.

Yeah, we start our new teacher and student teacher training by suggesting everyone removes their “naked beer-bong” pictures from MySpace!

I suggested these blogging guidelines for teachers (and these will appear in an upcoming L&L Bloggers Café column).

http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2007/1/26/blogging-and-a-little-common-sense.html

I like your use of “deliberate.” I think that clarifies the issue a lot!

All the best,

Doug

In my presentations about Facebook safety, I try not to tell people “Don’t put ‘bad’ things in your profile or keep it completely sterile. Make it whatever you want it to be. However, do so DELIBERATELY. If you’re going to put a picture of yourself drinking in your profile, go right ahead. But be sure you’ve admitted to yourself that some people may judge you based on that photo, you could possibly have action taken against you because of it, and have to be held accountable for it.” If you’re fine with those things, then do what you want! I 100% respect people’s rights to do what I think might be bad decisions, because ultimately they are the ones who will have to deal with the consequences.

The shame in it all to me is how many people are surprised by who is finding their information online. “I didn’t know students could see that” is a phrase no teacher should ever have to utter. A much better answer would be, “I knew students could see it and posted it anyway because it is my right to do so.” While I may disagree with the content posted, I would never disagree with ones right to post it.

Personally, I hope all teachers blog, keep their blogs public, and model some of these principles:

- responsibility of course
- asking open and honest questions about education
- that ALL people have first amendment rights, including teachers and students
- that no one should be content with the status quo
- that everyone has the right to be controversial
- that everyone should be brave in their ideas, in their writing
- that we talk about how and why we make the ethical decisions we do.

I am concerned that we will cow teachers into either not sharing their ideas or only publishing those things that are completely “safe.” That would be a detriment to the field of education and society.

All the best,

Doug