Using Social Media to Promote Adapted Physical Education Services

Abstract

Within the profession of adapted physical education (APE) profession, there is often an identity crisis where others outside the field often misunderstand or are unaware of the positive motor and physical activity ben-efits that quality APE services can provide for students with disabilities (Winnick & Porretta, 2017; Wrightslaw, 2016). The use of social media offers one innovative approach to promote APE programs. Social media can be used to advocate for the importance of APE and capture a variety of teachable moments that can serve as a rich resource of ideas for a variety of stakeholders (e.g., students, teachers, parents, commu-nity members). Additionally, social media can serve as a cost-effective tool to use in professional develop-ment to help teachers feel connected to others in their profession. Social media can be used to learn about new techniques, tools, resources, as well as, it helps connect in ways that were unfathomable only a decade ago. The purpose of this article was to indicate strategies regarding (a) how to use social media, (b) promo-tion of the field of APE, and (c) how to use it within classes.