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"Should teachers in the digital age be allowed to Facebook friend and Twitter follow their students? The New York Department of Education (NYC DOE) says no. \nThe city's first social media policy released earlier this week draws a clear line between city employees' personal and professional accounts. NYC DOE Teachers cannot use social media accounts unaffiliated to the school on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+ and Flickr to contact students regardless of the nature of the message.\n\"The DOE strives to create professional social media environments that mirror the academically supportive environments of our schools,\" the guidelines states.\nProfessional accounts for a class may be used, if pre-approved by the school. Communication with DOE students on the Internet is now limited to school-based platforms \u2014 social networks and blogs \u2014 for instructional, educational or extra-curricular projects. \n\nSEE ALSO: 16 Ways Educators Can Use Pinterest [INFOGRAPHIC]\nThe new policy focuses on maintaining the safety of students and the transparency of teachers' work. Text messages and social media connections were noted in many cases of inappropriate teacher-student relationships, according to a New York Times report. \nFrom January to November in 2011, 69 cases of inappropriate behavior between teachers and students investigated by the NYC DOE involved Facebook.\nEvery year, parents will be notified about the academic social media accounts used for classes or after-school programs. These guidelines also place limitations on personal email accounts. Academic social media accounts will only be linked to official DOE emails. \nThese social media guidelines are subject to change every three months, according to the official NYC DOE website. Since new social networks and updates crop up often, the city is prepared to revise their guidelines when necessary.\nDo you think these new digital rules for prohibiting teachers from contacting their students online are beneficial or overbearing? Sounds off in the comments. \nThumbnail image courtesy of Flickr, Barbara.K .\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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