Twitter Gets Senior Accepted to UCLA

WHDH-TV 7News Boston Bernie Zak believes his Twitter campaign (using hashtag #ACCEPTBERNIEUCLA) helped him get into UCLA,the dream choice of colleges for this senior of Brooklyn High School. UCLA officials say not so much. Regardless if Zak’s social efforts had any real impact on UCLA’s decision, the university says they were aware of his tweets (he scheduled a 50-tweet blitz but after only 18, he received his acceptance notification from the Bruins). This is yet another example of how your students are taking to social media to do things that we never did at their age. Here are 5 questions you should ask:

  1. Are you helping your students navigate social media OR are you so mystified by it that you offer little leadership?
  2. Are you teaching your students how their social profiles impact college acceptance and future job hirings OR are you ignorantly letting them leave your school with profiles that will potentially ruin their chances? (here’s an important article “Three Recruiters Reveal Surprising Observations About Social Media“)
  3. Are you using social media in the classroom to instruct, inspire and engage OR are you defiantly refusing to adapt your teaching methodologies to fit your students’ needs?
  4. Are you able to market your school as an institution who leads their students in technology OR are you content with being behind the times?
  5. Do you have a Twitter account yourself? (if not, get one!)

If you need help navigating social media for your students and your Christian school, let me know.
-Randy
(*UPDATE* – saw this on Twitter from @bcroke: “Facebook as an Educational Tool” – one way students are using Facebook to continue the classroom discussion)

 

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