Teachers and social networks

The other day I got involved in a heated debate on LinkedIn. I was promoting the interview I did with Marek Kiczkowiak and there was this person was way too aggressive. I decided not to reply anymore given the nature of the arguments, but some great people were willing to take a stand against discrimination and decided to take part in the discussion. Nathan Hall even wrote an article about it! Thank you all for your contributions, you have raised the level of that discussion.

Unfortunately, that was not the first (and probably not the last) time there is a backlash against people who want to advocate for equal rights. Recently Nicola Prentis and Russ Mayne gave a talk at this year’s IATEFL called ‘Where are the women in ELT?’. Two speakers, a man and a woman. Can you guess who had to deal with nasty comments?

I wonder why some people don’t filter out inappropriate comments or actions in social settings these days. This has always been a problem, but in today’s world, this can get you fired.

 Social networks are here to stay and they encourage people to live lives online and it may be difficult to know what to share and what to keep private. How much should we share with students, co-workers and bosses?

In today’s episode I give some ideas about how to juggle your personal and virtual life.

I hope you found it entertaining and informative. What about you? How do you manage your online presence? I’d love to know!

T.