"Alexander Barefield, 17, was charged with making terroristic threats on social media Monday night. During his court appearance Wednesday, Barefield was given a $10,000 bond and his case was bound over to superior court.
During his court appearance, the arresting officer testified that a concerned citizen reported the screenshot of Barefield's social media post. The post was made on Snapchat and Instagram.
A screenshot of the message was shared that stated: "I'm shooting the [expletive] out of the school tomorrow don't [expletive] come to Northside it won't be the place to be."
This was the morning news story on Channel 9 in Georgia and highlights an alarming trend among students and their social media habits. The classroom represents a safe place for learning and new technology such as 3D printers, Virtual Reality, Face Time and even social media help to enhance learning by making it more interactive. Students can create, explore and network at the push of button and swipe of a screen. But with all the good this technology introduces, the negative offset is definitely present.
Social media apps are easily accessible and provide an outlet for many, this generation seems to be more online at times than in a line with other human beings. In the above story, Barefield claims that his account was hacked, which is possible, but what about the probability that it wasn't and he used his app to make this threat. The questions remain, what steps can be actually taken to supervise these accounts; Where does it start? Where does it end? How do we teach positive social behavior when students can hide behind an online identity?
As a teacher, it would be my concern that the same tools I can use in my classroom to introduce rural Maine to Frankfort, Germany could be used in hurting a student in the classroom across the hall, as in the following case where a teacher was arrested for using snapchat to engage in inappropriate behavior with a student:
Institutions of learning need to be safe places. Teachers of this digital age must remain vigilante to protect themselves as well as their students therefore when introducing new tech in the class it is ever important to be mindful of the dangers as well as the benefits.
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