Social Media and the Connected Educator

I am finishing up my assignments for a technology class that I have taken; Social Media and the Connected Educator.  One of our assignments was to write a reflection on what we have learned through this course.  To be honest with you I have learned a lot about social media that I did not know.  I have used social media for my personal use (Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest), however I have never used social media in the classroom. 

After taking this class I will definitely view social media in the classroom differently.  Before, I thought that I would never incorporate something like this into my classroom.  The main reasons were that I did not know how to use it in the classroom and I was too afraid of my students using it inappropriately.  Now I feel like I have a ton of new ideas for how my students can use it!  I have really enjoyed using Edmodo in this class and think that this may be something that I will use with my own class.  Not only will I be able to use social media to stay connected with my students, but I am also excited to use it to stay connected with parents and other professionals.  There are so many reasons why educators should take advantage of social media.  It is a great tool to use for collaborating and sharing ideas with others, incorporating technology into curriculum, and providing students with more learning experiences (such as Skyping with an author). 

More than likely I will continue to keep most of the accounts that I have created; such as Skype and Twitter.  I have really enjoyed learning from and about these social media sites.  I still have much to learn when it comes to social media.  It is forever changing and there is a lot more out there than I ever imagined, but I am excited to continue my journey of being a life-long learner.  I ended up getting 7 out of 8 points on the social media IQ test.