Top 10 eLearning Commandments

1. Thou shalt follow thy

acceptable usage policy
Make sure your use of social media
comes within your institutions
guidelines
If your acceptable usage policy forbids
social media its time to rewrite it
Speak to your peers, & other schools &
colleges who are already using social
media successfully; ask them for tips,
advice & guidelines
For full transparency give your
username and password to your Line
Manager

4. Thou shalt not get things to

work first time, every time
Always have a Plan B
Accept that sometimes the best lessons
may not happen
Using IT can be risky, but its worth it for
the gains youll see in student learning

2. Thou shalt practice

what you preach

3. Thou shalt make social

media a meaningful tool

You need to be relatively good with how

social media works

Dont to use social media in the

classroom as a gimmick or to look cool

Everyone is a learner, and we all need

to learn to keep up with the pace of
change in the types of social media
learners use

Use it to aid the way you currently

teach. Give feedback via podcast/
videos, share resources like articles,
videos & pictures, or post statuses to
remind students of deadlines & aims

Part of using social media in the

classroom is accepting that our role as
a teacher is about learning too - what a
great positive role model for students
If you need help talk to other teachers
and your students

5. Thou shalt not think your

learning is ever done
They are the experts of social media!
Show them the same intellectual
curiosity you expect in return
Ask them what apps they are using

Learn with your students! Show that

youre as excited & engaged in the
process as they are; it will help gain
credibility & their respect

Ask them how they are viewing and/or

listening to their favourite things so you
can understand how best to connect
with them, in a way that feels natural
and fun

Trying novelty and fun, new approaches

will buy you goodwill & attention

Follow their lead - get them to share/

show you what they are into

Get students to use these tools to

develop key employability skills like
teamwork, critical thinking, problemsolving, communication, as well as
digital literacy

6. Thou shalt respect thy

students personal lives
Unfollow their posts so you only see
what they share with you/in your group
Many students reluctance to use social
media in class is because they feel their
personal life can be seen by their Tutors
Professional Twitter, LinkedIn, and
Google+ accounts are great ways to
assist your evidence based learning
while simultaneously helping your
students to develop their digital
footprint

Top 10 eLearning Commandments

8. Thou shalt share
You have a responsibility to care for & keep your students safe
Even though youre using social media to communicate with your
students, the same classroom rules & sanctions must apply
Remember the Internet is public; all interactions must be
professional
Safeguard them against harm online by being an ideal role-model

8. Thou shalt share

Find and share articles, videos, images,
and journals to your students
Get your students to use agreed tags,
relevant to what youre studying, to
share cool links & interesting material
Demonstrate how you seek out and
share new experiences
Students want to share the new
thing they find. Connecting with
them provides us with the unlimited
opportunity to collectively expand what
we do and how we communicate (which
is rapidly becoming students preferd
methodology)

Show them how to use social media to connect, promote, debate

& discover - set the example
Show them how social media can enhance their reputation as
connected, tech-savvy, professionals to future employers
Teach them the importance of a strong online reputation - its
your responsibility to make it clear how social media can make a
positive or negative affect on them. Employers will be looking at
how they portray themselves

9. Thou shalt be positive

Its essential to praise, be upbeat,
encouraging, enthusiastic, share cool
things, & extending learning in fun/
humorous ways
If you need to speak to someone about
something you could speak to them
privately; embarrassing them in front of
their peers is perhaps not the best way
forward
Dont call students out online for missed
deadlines, absences, or falling short
of standards; they will usually have a
reason; students wont interact with
you online if they associate it with being
nagged

10. Thou shalt create a Code of

Conduct together
Example Code of Conduct:
Do not abuse the site or others users
Respect each other and their opinions;
everyone has one and has the right to
voice it
Anyone who break the code of conduct
will be excluded from this group and
may be withdrawn from the course
Then ask your students to collaborate
with you (in Google Docs) about what
they think any additional rules should
be, for the use of social media, as
well as for in the classroom e.g. no
swearing, no trolling, no eating etc