I don't think I am alone in confessing that when I hear "social networking" I immediately think of applications such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. So my initial reaction to the idea of using them in an educational setting was understandably non-enthusiastic. But as I researched all the applications of social networking, I began to more fully understand that my perception was very narrow. Social networking includes any web application that is collaborative. This includes Wikis, blogs, podcasts, texting, and chatting, just to name a few. With this new knowledge, I begin to see the use of social networking in schools as a new strategy for instruction. A recent survey found that many teachers in middle and high schools are beginning to include podcasts and blogs as part of the instruction. I know of several high school teachers who have class Facebook pages which they utilize as a home page for sharing information and turning in assignments. I have seen numerous examples of teacher and media center blogs. I think social networking is an exciting new avenue in education. As our society continues to become more based upon technology, so must our schools. But as always, it is the responsibility of the instructor to ensure their students understand appropriate usage. One major issue that must be dealt with is casual tone to online relationships. Many immature students may not understand that the structure of the classroom still exists even though they are at home writing. Another issue which must be addressed is the possbility of cyberbullying. The behaviors that are seen in a physical classroom will be present in a cyber classroom as well. Teachers must be clear about their expectations. This brings up another issue that must be addressed by school districts as our educational communities go online which is that system policies must be developed to keep up with the acceleration of new technologies and their use in schools.
I don't think I am alone in confessing that when I hear "social networking" I immediately think of applications such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. So my initial reaction to the idea of using them in an educational setting was understandably non-enthusiastic. But as I researched all the applications of social networking, I began to more fully understand that my perception was very narrow. Social networking includes any web application that is collaborative. This includes Wikis, blogs, podcasts, texting, and chatting, just to name a few. With this new knowledge, I begin to see the use of social networking in schools as a new strategy for instruction.
ReplyDeleteA recent survey found that many teachers in middle and high schools are beginning to include podcasts and blogs as part of the instruction. I know of several high school teachers who have class Facebook pages which they utilize as a home page for sharing information and turning in assignments. I have seen numerous examples of teacher and media center blogs.
I think social networking is an exciting new avenue in education. As our society continues to become more based upon technology, so must our schools. But as always, it is the responsibility of the instructor to ensure their students understand appropriate usage. One major issue that must be dealt with is casual tone to online relationships. Many immature students may not understand that the structure of the classroom still exists even though they are at home writing. Another issue which must be addressed is the possbility of cyberbullying. The behaviors that are seen in a physical classroom will be present in a cyber classroom as well. Teachers must be clear about their expectations. This brings up another issue that must be addressed by school districts as our educational communities go online which is that system policies must be developed to keep up with the acceleration of new technologies and their use in schools.