Anyone who follows Alice Keeler, the education technology guru, knows the power of Bitmoji for connecting and communicating with students. Bitmoji is a free mobile platform that allows your to turn yourself into a customizable cartoon avatar. With the addition of add-ons Bitmoji for iMessages, GBoard (Google's messages keyboard), and Bitmoji for Chrome, connecting with students  on a more personal level becomes even easier.

Sample Bitmoji uses in the classroom:

• Teachers can insert Bitmojis into digital student work to provide feedback
• Teachers and students can attach Bitmojis to digital communication to better convey correct emotions that may otherwise get lost or misconstrued in the digital environment
• Teachers can use Bitmojis for classroom handouts and assignments to add another level of engagement
• Students can create Bitmojis to add a layer of annotation while critical reading

Social media in education is not a new concept by any means. Schools have created social media accounts to share events with the community, remind students of the bell-schedule changes, and even start friendly spirit battles between other schools. Districts have created social media accounts for many of the same reasons and to inform communities about upcoming educational propositions and bills that require their attention. Even classroom teachers have created social media accounts to increase parent communication or to display work for a current unit of study using a unique hashtag. Social media in education is just another way to invite the community into our schools and classrooms to see what amazing things our teachers explore with our students.

The February/March 2018 edition of CTA's Educator magazine provided this wonderful resource for teachers or schools who have been tossing around the idea of using social media in an education setting. Maybe you've seen your colleague posting the innovative things happening in their classroom, or have seen a hashtag take off and become a viral sensation.

Sam Demuro, storyteller and activist for Italian American Women, explains that having an active social media presence for your school, classroom, sports team, or even the local chapter of your union "can provide quality connections and great audience engagement." However, before you decide to jump in with both feet running, she provides a few considerations.

1. "Don't do it just because everyone's doing it." Use social media because you are self-motivated to share information with a larger audience or give your classroom a voice.
2. "Pick one or two platforms and do them well." Ask your students and parents what social media platforms they use most frequently and begin there. Some of the most popular are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
3. "Think about your goals." What is the purpose for your social media account? Before you being, determine your purpose or goal for using social media. Is your goal to spread awareness,  or open lines of communication, or reach out to parents and the community? Once you have established a goal, use that as a guide to shape your content. This will ensure that you find the appropriate audience and that audience comes back for more.

 
To get started with Twitter, check out the "Education Twitter Rockstars" in the Presentations section. For more practice, you can also check out CTA's webinars and shared resources for social media skills.