Social Media is a very powerful thing. When used in the right ways it can be fantastic but if it gets into the wrong hands or is mistreated it can become a very destructive material. Social Media presents many opportunities in a professional sense, it allows people to stay connected whilst outside of the school environment and this can be very useful, especially higher up the school. If a pupil is struggling with work social media can allow them to receive help from their peers or teachers almost immediately, rather than waiting until the next day, or sometimes even longer, to ask for help. Using forms of social media within the classroom can also be very effective as it ties the home and school together as social media will most likely be something that the majority of pupils use actively in their life outside the classroom. This connection may engage some pupils very well as it could make their learning more fun and more related to their interests, more than the usual activities used in schools, such as reading and writing. I believe social media should be viewed as a positive aspect of the school system, but this is not how the media portrays it and it is true that if social media is not used in the correct ways it can have some very bad outcomes. Pupils in school need to be educated about the dangers of social media and taught safe and appropriate ways to use these sites, for the safety of everyone. Everyone needs to be extremely careful whilst using social media in both a professional and private way. I believe it is awfully important to have clear lines between personal and professional accounts, and to be cautious of what you are posting on both accounts. Privacy settings need to be monitored on a regular basis to ensure both accounts are safe and only people you wish to be able to interact with you on each account have the ability to do so. If these privacy precautions are not put into place problems can occur with pupils or parents/carers contacting teachers through personal accounts etc. Being aware of what you are posting on your accounts and the effect each post could have is also extremely important. It is vital that you think through a post and double check it before you post it anywhere because once it has been posted it is out there forever, even if you delete it. Any post published in the heat of the moment may come back to bite you later on and it is crucial that everyone remembers this whilst using social media so that it can be used carefully and safely for the benefit of individuals and the progress of education.