Social media is very close to our social sphere in general, and students in particular, became a starting point for me to think about something that was very urgent to do. As a teacher, I cannot deny the fact that I cannot limit students' movement in the digital world. Especially for those who are very well facilitated by their parents. So often there are many things that teachers at school have not sent, Students already know and even master it. At SMPIT Ummu'l Quro Depok, Students are not permitted to bring cell phones, however, they are required to bring a laptop/tab that can only be used during each learning session. Not infrequently we also find those who steal time to surf in cyberspace and do things that are not good for Muslim students, such as dancing., video call with the opposite sex, and others. When it happened, Usually this is handled directly with personal coaching sessions. Basically, Many students have great potential for creativity, but they still need a filter so they understand what they should do and what they shouldn't (do’s and dont’s), to be wiser in utilizing information and communication technology.
Most of the time my students are at school, starting from the hour 06.45 until 15.30 from Monday to Friday, This is a challenge for me to make school the most comfortable place for them to explore so that boredom doesn't arise., It is also a challenge to spend their energy at school on positive and contemporary things. Another challenge is due to the transition during the pandemic, namely that students become less confident/PD crisis, insecure, afraid and embarrassed to speak in public, lack of motivation when appearing in public, to the impact of behaving and communicating well formally with the public. Whereas, These abilities are the main supplies that are really needed (included in century skills 21) in their lives now and in the future.
Starting from the use of school social media, Coincidentally, at that time I was also entrusted as school public relations staff who managed social media and as a bridge for information and communication within the school.. I also use this as a bridge for my actions with potential students so that they can form a sense of belonging to their school. First, I formulated the School Media Team program, sub-teams and required performance arrangements, as well as the selection plan. Then I socialized it to the school management. Alhamdulillah, The school management is very supportive of the program I initiated. For, I will continue with socializing and open recruitment through selection. Because this is still the first time, so the technical selection is not complicated, so that many students are interested and motivated to take part. After the selection session “fit and proper test”, I give selected students initial socialization in the form of targets, objective, program, division, performance, and others. I also involve them to organize and plan the program. I also provide direct actions that they can use as examples such as interviewing, live coverage of school activities, organize data into the data bank via google drive, evaluate performance, mini radio broadcast, selecting song attention, and others. Some of the actions that my students and I have carried out can be accessed on school social media: bit.ly/MediaSosialSMPITUmmulQuroDepok
On the way for approximately one year, they are able to work independently when needed. The lessons they learned were the ability to process data, interview, live coverage, to become a source of school information and communication. Students get many benefits and experiences that make them more confident than before. Better understand and be able to implement and start their careers from an early age. Even being able to evaluate performance and improve it independently in work and team coordination and collaboration.