Educator's Privacy Protection

Educators keep reminding students on the right usage of the internet and the importance of privacy protection, however, some educators don’t practice what they teach their students 

Privacy compromise is a threat for both adults as well as teenagers. With the usage of digital media in every work field, having a proper online presence as educators is a very important concern. 

As educators, we have to be more careful in examining our online activities. Sometimes what we post online for fun can backfire and also can impact our career. This is true in the case of 33-year-old Melissa Cairns, a teacher in an Ohio middle school. She was trying to silence her students by putting duct tape on a student’s mouth. What she did in the class was fun and the students were enjoying it. Then she took a photo of the student with the duct tape and posted it on her private Facebook page and captioned it as "Finally found a way to get them to be quiet!!!" A fellow employee happened to see that and reported it to the school administration. Melissa was asked to remove the picture and was suspended from the school. 

There are so many such Melissa’s around us and this incident has also exposed that nothing on the internet is “private” and we have to realize that our social media private accounts are only relatively private. 

Hence educators should be concerned about what type of information can be found about them online to maintain a good online reputation and educators should be aware of the effects of not having online privacy. 

Follow School Educators Internet Privacy Policy: 

Follow your school's educator’s internet privacy. If the school is not having it, propose to the school administration regarding it. Maintaining and exercising educators' internet privacy will help you check yourself and make sure that you are not posting or sharing anything that could affect your reputation negatively so that you can protect your job as well as others from losing their job and reputation. 

Use your social networking skills effectively: 

It’s good to be present on social media. Use the opportunity to build connections with peers, share your viewpoints, know about best practices adopted in other schools, and build a good network of educators. This will help you in improving your performance at school and also set the right example for students. 

Maintain a Good Standing in the Community: 

Educators hold good respect and standing in the community. They are the right people to nurture and bring up children under their guidance in the right discipline and direction.  

In order for educators to keep a positive reputation in their community, it is important for them to maintain some level of privacy and respect others' privacy online.