Emergency & Disaster Planning Summit - Post Conference Workshop

How and why schools need to use social media to interact with students

Students today are wired. That is no surprise. But that means schools must adapt to the way students prefer to communicate. Students are much more accessible, and open, to communicating through social media. This means teachers and school boards can be more effective at stopping bullying and other forms of violence by engaging students electronically. This requires a rethink among schools boards; however, as this workshop will show, the outcomes will change the way you think about social media in a school environment. You will take away first hand knowledge – and examples – of how social media has prevented violent incidents. You will also:

• Reenact how social media was actually used in a school shooting/lockdown situation
• Walk through the pitfalls and tricks to using social media to the benefit of students and schools
• Learn how your school can use simple solutions like Facebook crime stopper apps
• Analyze why school policy must change to adapt to how students communicate

Take away valuable insight into how social media can be used to prevent and mitigate school violence.

Scott Mills, Social Media Adviser to IT Committee at Crime Stoppers International, Toronto Police Services