D300 Addresses Social Media Presence

At D300, social media is both a blessing and a curse.

At the Nov. 22 school board meeting, Assistant Superintendent Sarah Kedroski and Communication Services Supervisor Allison Strupeck delivered a presentation addressing the challenges that 21st century technology is bringing to the district for students and teachers alike.

In the presentation, Kedroski and Strupeck said that in the past, educators found it problematic that students were visiting social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube among others during school hours.

To combat this, the district blocked student access to Facebook on school computers. But D300 high schools were not alone. Kedroski said that according to district research, 45 area high schools have also blocked Facebook on school computers.

Kedroski and Strupeck also said that cell phones are banned not only because they can be used for cyber-bullying, but also because they take away from the overall learning environment.

The faculty was also reminded in the presentation that they are prohibited from using social media during the school day for non-educational purposes.

But there is room for social media outside of the classroom, Strupeck said.

She said that an increasing number of teachers are looking to create Facebook pages for their classes to better engage students when they are not in school. Strupeck discussed the new policies for this to occur, which include teachers registering their pages with the district and following standards for privacy and appropriate content.