Sad face! Now teachers banned from sending emoji messages to their pupils
TEACHERS have been told not to use emojis when messaging pupils and families during online home learning.
New guidance warns against using emojis and other ‘casual dialogue’ when communicating with students or their families because they can ‘blur traditional boundaries’.
Staff have been urged to maintain a ‘formal, professional tone’, to build professional relationships and ‘maintain appropriate boundaries’.
Emojis, text-speak and gif moving images are widely used in digital messages. Popular emojis include smiling, sad, surprised or embarrassed faces and they provide an easy shorthand for conveying the sender’s emotions.
But teachers have been issued with an official guide to online etiquette, advising them to be careful what they say on their personal social media accounts – and to monitor what friends and followers post. The four-page document published by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), entitled Engaging Online, suggests teachers make accounts private to prevent ‘curious’ pupils and parents seeing what they say online.
It warns their work and home online activity should demonstrate ‘your commitment to the professional values of integrity, trust and respect, and social justice’.
With most schoolchildren learning at home, and the date of a full-time return to class uncertain, the majority of communication with teachers is electronic.
The guidance says: ‘Online communication can encourage casual dialogue – think emojis, text-speak, gifs – and can often disarm inhibitions as it brings a new dimension and ‘feel’ to relationships.
‘As a result, the traditional boundaries between teacher, learner and parent, can quickly become blurred.
‘Teachers need to be alert to this; maintaining a formal, professional tone online and communicating with learners and parents only through a school account, will help build professional relationships and maintain appropriate boundaries.’
The guide adds: ‘While you may think it helpful to offer your professional view in online conversations, it may not be the right forum for discussion.
‘Even comments which may seem quite innocent can be misconstrued by others or carry a different
impact and meaning depending on the context.’
Teachers are warned against venting their frustrations ‘in the heat of the moment’ as messages may remain online in some form permanently even after the original post has been deleted.
The guide states: ‘Engaging safely online isn’t just about what you post, it’s also about who you follow and what they post. Comments from family or friends may not be appropriate for teachers to share.’