FERPA

Throughout my time enrolled in EME6414 I have been introduced to many new tools that make me excited to to use the classroom. Things were given to us as such speed I was jotting down ideas such as class blogging, a class Twitter or Instagram, but I had not thought about FERPA, or the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, until I read Social Media and Instructional Design in this week's readings. 

After reading this, I thought to myself "how did I not think about FERPA?!", since it has been ingrained in my mind and professional development since I began teaching. As teachers we are warned about FERPA when sending emails to parents or families. Since school email is public record we cannot disclose any grades or other private information regarding the student's education records through this communication format. I am always very cautious of this, therefore, I use the phone as my most prominent form of communication. 

As it states in the article, "Although this act does not altogether prohibit use of

social media for educational purposes, it does limit the types of student information that might be

shared and the types of student interactions that an instructor might conduct in a public, online

setting" (Dennen), teachers do not have to shy away from social media use, but rather be cautious about student privacy. 

I am concerned about students' privacy and do not want their educational materials to be available through a google search.  I think educational sites like Edmodo are a good way to combat this problem to make sure they can interact with the class in an online setting in privacy. In preparation for this upcoming school year I am going to play with some more educational sites that might be of use in the classroom.