how can I fit in the world of the students?

For a long time I was a bit scared to share my cell phone number with my students. I thought that they could do a prank on me, like calling at 4 o'clock in the morning. So, for a long time, I have been away from them, like, disconnected from them.Now, I think that even if I give my phone number, it won't work, at least, not for the purpose I want.

What I mean to say, with all the technologies around us, how can I fit in their world? I think that if I really want to be a 24/7 teacher, I must find new ways to stay connected with the students, and probably, using cellphones, it will be outdated.

Nowadays, students use facebook to stay connected with their friends. They can even spend hours surfing on internet trying to find more information about their relatives or friends. What I feel is that, even I am a bit foreigner in their worlds, I still have the chance to fit in their technological reality.

But we must be cautious. We don't have to invade their circle of friends. We just want to settle our store of teacher stuff, to give them the chance to come and inform about their homeworks, their marks, results, and all related with the school, nothing more. We won't find a space in their lives as friends. We will just come to say "hey, here I am, your teacher, and if you need my help, count on me".

The key is just asking and getting informed about all the new technologies and social networks, because in that way, we will see how we can build a bridge to the "student country". We need to create an account of email just for them. A webpage, blog, wikispace, or any other way to show our work to them. Probably, we need to create accounts in social networks too.

See, there are many ways to fit in the world of the students.