Research: (Safe Social Media Communtiy Platform)

            In this week’s blog, I had learned about a social media community platform from Mr. Tullock, a Twitter user, called GoBubble. In his classroom, he uses social media within the classroom community for students to learn from one another and to teach students digital citizenship. Schools can use GoBubble to communicate with other children around the world. We need to accept the fact that our kids love social media. For schools to provide students an opportunity to use safe alternative social media to collaborate on school projects and send messages on the app can help teach students the importance of safety on social media. The difference between GoBubble and Facebook is that schools sign students up, with parental approval rather than children signing themselves up. It puts an end to unwanted friend request; cyberbullying and it allows students to take advantage of the benefits of using social media without the negativity. This app was created by a former police sergeant and e-safety guru to develop this safe social media platform in which all post from its users are moderated through the systems safety features. This is so anything inappropriate or messages flagged is removed before going live on the social media platform. This allows caregivers and teachers the tools to deal with this growing trend of students using social media and to get them ready to use it safely when they are older. I have not experienced GoBubble in my classroom yet but I can see myself using this as a way for students in my classroom to collaborate with other schools, share what they have learned or worked on in class and learn about different cultures by making new friends the same age. This social media platform can be implemented in the whole school so students can see what other classes are learning and share all the exciting information they know and work they have completed in school.

             I would use GoBubble to help children collaborate on school projects, learn about diverse cultures, develop pen pals and teach children about safe social media usage. An example of a class assignment I would have students complete with GoBubble is when starting a unit on weather, students can connect to other classes in which they can provide photos or videos about their local weather.  The class can connect with schools are around the world whether it is learning about monsoons or tornadoes, or sunny days. I could also use GoBubble as a way for students to have a debate on a topic. I can post a debate question about a book we read or assignment and teach students how to gather evidence and debate. I would also use GoBubble as a way to show what students already know! For example, if we are starting a new topic I can gather information about what students already know and at the end of the topic see what students learned. This can help support my planning going into a new unit of work. There is really nothing about this app I would change. Allowing students to communicate with others their age around the world in a safe way allows students to learn about collaboration and how to use social media in a safe and effective way. Social media can be used to learn from others and share relevant information that can teach others. I cannot wait to try this app in my classroom!