College reins in teachers on Facebook use

TORONTO, April 12 (UPI) -- The Canadian regulator for Ontario's 230,000 school teachers has issued guidelines for online relationships with students using social networking.

The Ontario College of Teachers in Toronto set down guidelines specifically stating teachers should not "friend" and "unfriend" students on such sites as Facebook, which the college considers "not appropriate."

Chief Executive Officer Michael Salvatori also recommended teachers not follow students on Twitter, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

The guidelines say teachers should avoid texting students, never communicate by e-mail using a personal account and restrict electronic communications to hours when it's suitable to make a phone call, the Toronto Star reported.

The recommendations said teachers shouldn't post personal photos online and avoid posting criticisms of students, colleagues or employers.

"The frontiers for learning are being extended through digital communication and we want teachers to engage in that," Salvatori said. "But we want them to be able to do it while at the same time maintaining that same professional identity and reputation they do in face-to-face interactions."