Social Networking in School
Why, many ask, do students and teachers need online social networking? Isn't the school environment enough of a social network? The fact is that social networking has become so prevalent in today's society that most corporations employ a staff of social network managers. Most for-profit and non-profit organizations communicate to their followers using social media.
The majority of school districts block access to sites like Twitter and Facebook, concerned about student privacy, cyber bullying, and distraction. Most social networking sites set an age limit of 13 in order to use the site. Despite the obstacles, educators should at least be educating students about appropriate ways to use social networking, knowing that it is or will be a significant part of their lives. Librarians have a particular responsibility to impart information knowledge.
Tools such as Ning,VoiceThread, and Second Life facilitate collaboration (an important skill to achieve) and promote professional development for teachers who often feel isolated in their classrooms. Social networking brings the world into the classroom - for instance, Shelly Terrell's kindergarten class collaborated with a kindergarten class in Turkey to create a book via VoiceThread and, using Second Life's avatars, teachers in North Carolina can participate in learning how to use audio and video equipment.
Some have a valid objection to merging a student's private life with a school activity, and voice concerns about what may go wrong when teachers and students connect online. Certainly guidelines and separation of personal and educational parameters must be established; this is a new venture, and mistakes will be made and solutions learned. By blocking social networking sites entirely, we may be losing the opportunity to instruct students about their value.
Davis, M.R. (2010). Social networking goes to school. Education Week, 3(3), 16,18,20, 22-23. Retrieved
from http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2010/06/16/03networking.h03.html
Nancy,
ReplyDeleteWhen we think of social networking, most of us first think of Facebook or Twitter; however, there are many, many more avenues for communicating with others over the Internet. You mentioned some that I had not heard of, and I immediately did a search. I found them very interesting!
I feel that before we can get teachers to actively incorporate social networking in their classroom instruction, we must help them feel comfortable by being a member of a social media community themselves. Collaborating with other teachers through some of these various sites will present the value of them and eventually lead to more use – hopefully involving students.
I know a little bit about Edmodo, which seems to be an educational social networking site. It's an opportunity to collaborate, yet keep personal and eduational needs seperate. I know that I would never want my personal Facebook page to be integrated into my workplace, except with only the closest of my peers who would also happen to be friends. It's just not good business practice. It's not for students either. I've actually encouraged my high schoolers to not accept extended family friend requests who might not understand the Facebook glimpse into a teenager's life. I'm sort of rambling here, but the way I see it is that if we use Facebook, Twitter, or any other social networking site, we need to keep personal and business separate.
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