By Samantha Schwartz ’16

Social media has begun to run teenager’s lives. They feel obligated to tell the world what they are doing, whether it’s “tweeting” their love for Chipotle or “Instagraming” a quick picture from the party the night before. Many teachers have noticed this technology obsession and opened their classrooms to it.

Teachers throughout Sherwood have been logging in and connecting with students for easy contact to answer quick questions about homework or to inform students of upcoming assignments.

Teachers use sites that they feel are most helpful and accessible. Social studies resource teacher Christine McKeldin has an available Twitter account for her students. McKeldin believes that Twitter is a fast way to share information with her AP Psychology students.

With the choice of many different social media sites, McKeldin chose Twitter over Facebook and Instagram because of its ease and widespread usage.

McKeldin uses her Twitter account to answer students’ questions and communicate with them about the course. “[They have] quick and easy access to me for questions or to share information. My school e-mail does not come through on my phone but my twitter notifications do. I also gain a lot by following and sharing ideas with other teachers across the nation,” said McKeldin. She believes it has made communication easier and hopes that more of her students choose to use it.

English teacher Beth Dibler has the same idea as McKeldin for easy communication with her students, but she prefers Facebook, which allows students to create groups based on classes. Dibler then joins the group and can answer questions, keep students up to date, and easily communicate. She is able to participate in the group and still keep her Facebook page private from her students.

Dibler believes that Facebook is a helpful tool and has allowed students to gain more information that they could not before. “First, [students] can get pretty immediate feedback on their questions. Other students who may have the same questions can then see my response, saving them time as well. Second, I think it helps students gain a comfort level. If they are more comfortable communicating on Facebook, that then translates into more relaxed students, which often means higher quality work” said Dibler.

Junior Abby Palmer has both technology-savvy teachers McKeldin and Dibler. Palmer finds their involvement with social media to be very helpful.

Not all of Palmer’s teachers use the Internet to communicate with students and she believes that “it would be helpful to have teachers on social media because that’s mainly how [students] communicate with each other. It’s easier, faster and more convenient for us to reach them,” said Palmer.

Social media has taken over and impacted many students’ lives. Teachers are slowly but increasingly jumping on the bandwagon, hoping to use social media to advance learning in their classrooms.