I must admit that I have mixed feelings on the use of social networks within the school. I understand the importance of being able to communicate with students and the appeal that it may have with young people, but I am still on the fence as to whether it is appropriate for younger students. We have had several incidences at my school, which have involved social networks. Administrators and law enforcement became involved, and in the end, things that students had posted led to big problems for those students and their parents.
I am very familiar with social networking and have been using it for several years. I have used it for everything from organizing a class reunion to communicating with parents of different sports teams that I have coached. That being said, I have also seen firsthand some things that students have posted and I am just not sure that I am ready to open up that can of worms.
I can see social networking being used with older students, such as high school aged students. In fact, I know of several teachers at a local high school that use social networking for connecting with members of different school sponsored clubs and organizations. They also use this tool to promote these activities to interested parties. From what I have seen, these groups have really benefitted from using social networking.
I think that my reluctance to use social networking in the school comes from being a parent of younger children. I do want my kids to be equipped with the skills that they need to excel, but I don’t think that I am ready for them to become part of a social network quite yet. I don’t think that I am alone in this thinking. So, how could I use social networking in my school, knowing that there are students whose parents do not want them becoming part of a social network? I am not sure what the answer is, but I realize that I am only scratching the surface and that I need to do a lot more research on this topic.
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Eddy, I can see what you are saying about the misuses of social networking and how that can be troublesome for younger students. I also think that having it available to high school students is a great way to facilitate extracurricular clubs and organizations. With our present economy and just the busyness of life, having a way to use technology to meet makes it easier for involvement outside the classroom.
ReplyDeleteYour post helped me to see another side of social networking. Great post!
Linda
Eddy,
ReplyDeleteI teach in an elementary school and agree that the Social networking sites would be best suited for high school and maybe even middle school. The teachers at those levels do not see the students that are in the clubs and organizations as often as elementary level teachers do. It is definitely easier to contact a large group of people using Facebook or Twitter. The filters on these sites also help to keep the users "safe" from people who do not have access to the sites.
On a personal level, my niece and nephew do the games that are on my Facebook page. However, between myself and their mother, they are watched very closely so that they do not venture from what they have permission to do. While they do not have their own page, they are able to get a small taste of what so many of our family members have become familiar with.