30 Ways to Use Social Media in K-12 Classrooms, Schools, and Districts

Want to start using social media in your classroom, school, or district, but not sure where to start?  Here are some suggestions you can use to get started.  Pick a few items from the lists and add items as you gain confidence.  I've included tips for teachers, principals, superintendents, and other educational leaders.

Classroom Level Social Media Best Practices

1. Poll parents of your students to find out which social networks they use most.
2. Create social media accounts for your grade or classroom.
3. Post pictures of group projects and presentations.
4. Create a class or grade hashtag.
5. Post about the upcoming week's theme and activities.
6. Host Twitter chats with parents to increase parent engagement.
7. Include a photo or video in majority of posts.
8. Use Periscope or Facebook Live to tell parents about classroom learning.
9. Upload class content to YouTube to flip your classroom.
10. Use Edmodo, Schoology, or your own learning management system to create interactive digital activities for students.

School Level Social Media Best Practices

1. Poll school parents to find out which social networks they use most.
2. Create social media accounts for each grade or classroom.
3. Share posts from classroom or grade accounts that showcase student achievement.
4. Have a virtual PTA meeting using a Twitter or Facebook chat.
5. Post about school and student achievements.
6. Post about campus updates.
7. Include a photo or video in majority of posts.
8. Use Periscope or Facebook Live to talk about campus goals, values, and achievements.
9. Use YouTube or Facebook video to feature a teacher of the month.
10. Use Twitter chats for teacher professional development.

District Level Social Media Best Practices

1. Poll district parents to find out which social networks they use most.
2. Create district social media accounts.
3. Use Periscope or Facebook Live to discuss district goals, values, and achievements.
4. Share posts from classroom, grade, or campus accounts that demonstrate student achievement.
5. Use YouTube or Facebook video to feature a campus of the month.
6. Use Twitter chats for parent engagement.
7. Post about district achievements
8. Include a photo or video in majority of posts.
9. Include links to pages you want community stakeholders to visit.
10. Use social media analytics (Facebook Insights, Twitter Analytics, etc.) to determine which posts perform best.

What social media tips for teachers and educational leaders do you recommend?

Let me know in the comments!