So by now, even if you weren't familiar with it before, we are all familiar with social networking. We have done many things in our class that require us to use social networking as an instructional tool. For example, we created a podcast to introduce ourselves to our classmates. I feel very comfortable with social networking from a student's standpoint, as I am a student at UWG. However as a teacher, I have never used social networking as an instructional tool. This brings up a few key questions. Does social networking have a place in elementary, middle and high schools? If so, what kinds of things could it be used for? Also, is it even possible to incorporate social networking tools in the classroom because of the different filters?
As for the first question, should social networking be included in K12 schools, I say absolutely! One of our main jobs as educators is to prepare our students to be contributing members of society one day. When you talk about the 21st century classroom, the use of new technology and all of its endless possibilities is strongly encouraged. And let's face it...most students (especially middle and high students) participate daily in some sort of social networking, probably MySpace or Facebook, when they are not at school.
So that brings me to the next question of what kinds of things can we use social networking for. It would be possible to use Facebook or MySpace as a tool in running a classroom or media center. You could have a page that is devoted only to you school or classroom, and everything that is contained on that page would be about school. However, I am wary of doing that because of all the things that the students could accidentally come across. I think using blogs, such as this one, would be very beneficial in a classroom or media center. Instead of sending home a weekly/monthly newsletter to parents, you could have a blog that the parents follow that could be updated as often as needed. In our current assignment, we are creating a blog that will be used as a webpage. This is another great way to incorporate social networking into the school. Creating a podcast that explains activities or events that are going on in the media center is another great option. Podcasts are great because people can actually see a face instead of just reading a flyer that is sent home.
What is the hold up then? Well, as we have learned before, we have things called internet filters in our schools. Will they block some of the social networking tools? Probably. However, there are many options to help with this. There is a 'white list' function that allows you access to websites that had previously been blocked. In Paulding County, where I teach, all you have to do to make that happen is email the county technology department with the website you want to be able to access with your reasons, and as longs as they decide it is appropriate, they will have that site opened up.
You will probably hit a few road blocks when beginning your journey into social networking in your school. It might be unfamiliar to you, or you might not receive the parental support you had hoped for. That should not keep us from doing what is best for kids. In this case, it is best for our students to be exposed to the many advantages and uses of technology that are out there because chances are they will be exposed to those later in life.
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I enjoyed reading your blog on Social Networking, Amanda. Even a year ago I was not even aware of what social networking was! It didn't taken long though to discover the charms of utilizing it however. You posed some good questions. Does social networking have a place in elementary, middle and high schools? I definitely think that it does have a place in schools. Our schools are a mirror of the culture around them and they must reflect the technology that prepares students for the kinds of workplaces and personal resources that they will need when they graduate. Today's students have limitless resources and up to the minute currency in the information that they access because of social networking.
ReplyDeleteOf course, filtering software interrupts that flow of resources that makes learning so relevant and engaging. Recently our county adjusted their filters to be more restrictive. It has been frustrating to see the restrictions placed on links that I had set up earlier on student computers and now must be replaced. Our county has a form that must be completed now and sent to the main office for approval before permission is granted. Yes, I think that is appropriate, but how it slows access to great resources is a bit limiting for the student.
Social networking seems to be a work in progress for now with great potential for future classroom and research use.
Amanda, you ask if social networking has a place in elementary, middle, and high schools? I admit I wondered how we could use these Web 2.0 technologies with younger children, but then I thought of my seven year old on her favorite Webkins site or on the Ty beanies site. On these, the virtual pets (with a child on the other end) can talk to each other when they meet using pre-written drop down comments and questions. While it's a bit tricky, she enjoys doing it and I think she'll soon want to actually be writing to these little friends. As a parent, and as most teachers would, we worry about who that person on the other end could be. Facebook is just too open. An option I've heard of is classes setting up pen-pal blogs with just certain classes or schools in other states or countries. So I agree with you that the safer, more easily monitored option would be the blogs, or wikis to collaborate on and share work. I think even our younger students could benefit a great deal from these. And it truly does help them learn to network and collaborate as they will have to do in the future.
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