Are you a student? If yes, then had you ever had a moment where a project would be based on how many likes you get in social media? Or a competition where the number of likes would be determining whether or not you win that? Well, in school, that should not be the case.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) called on teachers to shun giving assignments, school projects, and outputs where the grades would be counted or weighed on the number of likes they will receive in social media.
Eliseo Rio, DICT Secretary explained that this was the most common type of complaint they receive from parents during the Digital Parenting seminars that were conducted by the Department.
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This was the common complaints of parents during the Digital Parenting seminars conducted by the DICT Cybersecurity Bureau. Some projects assigned to students required them to post in social media and are graded on the number of likes they get.”
Why do teachers have this habit?
It is an unknown fact why a lot of teachers bank on the number of likes or views to determine the grades of their students. It might be for popularity and trendy reasons but it should not be, in any way, connected to whatever a student will get.
The number of likes or the popularity of a certain person would not determine whether or not a student learned, right? Yes, it’s a fun way of adding spice to whatever’s happening inside the classrooms but wouldn’t it be unfair for those who are not fond of talking to other people or those who do not like to ramp up “likes?”
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Rio also mentioned that projects that would be posted on social media could easily expose and reveal students a couple of issues like cyberbullying, breach of privacy, and misinformation.
Cyberbullying is one of the top reasons why the DICT urged teachers and institutions to avoid the idea of “likes for grades.” Students can be spammed or commented and this could leave a student traumatized of the experience.
This exposes the students to cybersecurity issues like cyberbullying, getting comments that may undermine their confidence, and worst, getting private details of the minor students exposed to strangers.”
He added that students can be protected from dangers that are deemed unnecessary in social media. Hence, he said that projects like these must and SHOULD be done in a safe environment or platform.
Earlier, the DICT rung teachers to stop using social media to promulgate information about matter and things that are school-related. Meaning, popularity will never be a measure whether or not a student is doing good at school.
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DICT Information Technology Officer Gen Macalinao earlier said that email could also be utilized to be able to disseminate and to find out information.
I experienced this through my 16-year-old [son]… If I tell him to stop on social media, he’ll show me the chat of the teacher and show me that the teacher actually created a group and post the assignments there.”
The technology that we have now is no doubt something to help us. However, some teachers and institutions are incorrectly using them to be able to spread information. Some teachers create group chats and allow students to submit projects and assignments there; some would even advise to use pages and web profiles for their identities and attendance.
Although it’s good and it makes all of our lives easier, the idea of “likes for grades” should never be pushed through because grades will never determine what the student knows or what he or she has learned. This is why the DICT pushed forward in telling teachers that this should not continue.
What do you think about the idea of “likes for grades?” Do you think that this is enough to know if a student is doing good or not? Or is this a ridiculous thing and way to weigh and observe how a student is in terms of his and her performance at school?
