Social media has become a mainstay in many people’s lives and increasingly has been used to support teaching and learning. Still, it can be a minefield of dangers, real or anticipated, leading all education stakeholders (students, instructors, and institutional leaders) a bit wary of its value or use in a formal learning context. To address privacy-related dangers, one need not avoid social media. Instead, it is important to have a clear plan for how to introduce and manage the technology while empowering students to use it purposefully and comfortably.
In this session, I address several privacy concerns that arise when social media is used to support formal learning and share the PAVE IT framework. This is a framework for addressing these concerns at different times during a course and with different approaches – it paves the way for thoughtful and purposeful integration of social media in the class setting. The framework was developed based on experiences from over 15 years of researching and teaching with social media, with extensive reflective teaching notes providing case examples and guiding the process.
In terms of concerns, the framework addresses privacy-related discomfort, fear, and uncertainty throughout the course lifecycle through consideration of permanence, affiliations, visibility, expectations, identity, and trust (PAVE IT). Concrete recommendations, sample course policies, and a course checklist will all be shared during the session. Additionally, I will share ways to help turn educational use of social media into an opportunity to education students about online privacy issues. In sum, the session will cover identifying potential privacy issues, mitigating harm while maximizing learning, and preparing and empowering students to effectively navigate privacy issues on their own.
Vanessa Dennen