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Back to school

Alexandra Rockey Fleming TODAY contributor

13 hours ago

Should teachers and students be friends of the Facebook variety? Should they text, tweet, snap or gram each other?

Parents want to know where the boundaries should be when it comes to educators and students using technology to communicate.

Tara Paige feels fine about digital communication. The Arlington, Texas, entrepreneur and mother of eight says her children sometimes use technologysuch as texts and social mediato correspond with their teachers and coaches. Im OK with texting one-on-one, she says. I believe in writing because it serves as documentation. And social media is a way for teachers to be leaders and role models with their students. It takes a village.

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Teens will text...but should they text their teachers?

Meanwhile, Stefani McNair has tried to think of a reason why her kids and their teachers should connect via texts or social media, but she cant. I dont think any circumstances warrant students and teachers communicating that way, says the Oakton, Virginia, designer and mother of two teens. I think theres great potential for the lines of respect and influence to get fuzzy.

Considering that 95 percent of teens are online, according to the Pew Research Internet Projects national survey of teens and parents, and 81 percent use social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, its understandable that technology is a convenient way for teachers to connect with students.

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Social media boundaries: Should teachers and students be 'friends'?

74 percent of online adults use some form of social networking site, according to the Pew Research center.

Through the use of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, people around the world are able to directly communicate with one another in a matter of seconds, creating closer ties and expanding the amount of connections one has, according to the website.

The average social networking user has more connections with more people in comparison to those who do not use social media, according to the website, and is less likely to feel lonely or socially isolated.

Narissra Punyanunt-Carter, a professor of communication studies at Texas Tech, said social networking websites offer a sense of comfort and security to their users. By expressing ones opinion on an online forum, he or she is able to tailor his or her words to fit a certain Internet persona, which may be a complete fabrication, she said.

Face to face communication allows one to be genuine, she said, because it takes into account all other forms of nonverbal language that communicating via a computer screen does not.

So much of our communication is nonverbal and when we send a text, it doesnt capture sarcasm or humor, she said. People will walk away with different interpretations of the same message.

Adrianna Acosta, a sophomore education major from Andrews, said she has noticed that some students lack the confidence to speak up, and as a result, seem awkward at times.

Websites like Facebook and Twitter can hurt a persons confidence when speaking face to face, she said, because they act as a filter between who a person really is, versus whom they want to be seen as.

Youre hiding behind a computer screen, youre not face to face, you cant judge peoples reactions, and so then you lack people skills, Acosta said.

Desiree Markham, a professor who has taught public speaking courses in the past, said public speaking has always been a challenge for some people, but she has noticed it has become more of a problem for a greater number of students in recent years.

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Social media can affect users social interactions with peers

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National Security Agency (NSA) Director Adm. Mike Rogers said Thursday that his agency's collection of intelligence on the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS, also known as ISIL) could have been "stronger."

"If I'm honest with myself, I wish the transition of ISIL from an insurgency to an organization that was now focused on holding ground, territory, the mechanism of governance....in hindsight I wish we had been a little bit - I'll only speak for me and the NSA - I wish we'd been a little stronger about," he said.

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ISIS' quick rise appeared to take the U.S. by surprise as it swept through northern Iraq, taking hold of vast amounts of territory and virtually erasing the border with Syria. Although U.S. airstrikes in Iraq helped to stem the group's expansion, the U.S. still struggles to collect enough intelligence on the group's activities.

Matt Olsen, who directs the National Counter Terrorism Center, told a House committee Wednesday that intelligence agencies have very little idea where foreign fighters go and what they do once they reach Syria, so they can't estimate how many have joined ISIS or other extremists.

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