Netiquette of Teachers
Online tools and interactions are becoming increasingly prevalent in classrooms and among educators and students. While these tools and interactions can be valuable ways to further the education of students and help them easily access educational resources online, they can also be a problem when used incorrectly. The first step to healthy online interactions between teachers, their colleagues and students is proper netiquette.
Other People Are Reading
-
Identification
-
Netiquette is a portmanteau of the words "Internet" and "etiquette." The term refers to the standards of behavior on the World Wide Web that are commonly seen as polite or proper. Netiquette can apply to any type of online interaction or communication, including email, Facebook and behavior in online forums. With Internet used more prevalently in classrooms and by teachers as an educational aid, proper netiquette when dealing with colleagues and students is essential.
Email Netiquette
-
Teachers should keep emails short and to the point. Sending long or off-topic emails to colleagues using work email accounts is considered rude and a waste of time. Even worse, sending rambling emails to students about assignments or deadlines can create confusion in the classroom. Emails should always have a descriptive subject line that tells users exactly what they will be reading when they click on the email. Avoid including any sort of spam links or links to suspect websites in email communications.
-
Typing And Tone of Voice
-
Teachers will likely have many opportunities to communicate with colleagues and students in emails, on social networking sites, and on online forums or message boards. Because these interactions take place via lines of text, an appropriate tone of voice is needed. It is considered bad netiquette to type in all capital letters. This communicates anger at the best of times, and is extremely rude at the worst of times. Teachers should also consider their typed messages to colleagues and students carefully; things like satire and sarcasm don't translate well via text. In a sensitive environment of a school, that can get teachers into trouble when their communications are misinterpreted by colleagues, students or parents.
Privacy
-
Privacy is a huge part of netiquette for teachers. Sensitive information emailed to a teacher by a student or colleague shouldn't be shared. Log in addresses, email addresses and other contact information should also not be distributed freely, even to trusted connections. To do so is bad netiquette and can cause real damage. Teachers should only distribute this information if the sender requests it. In addition, teachers should be careful what they post online and send in emails. These communications are rarely private. Speak only as you would in public when communicating online.
-
