Social Networking is a part
of our everyday lives. It is seen in various
types of venues. It is seen in the form
of Facebook, Face Time, Skype, YouTube, Flicker and even Twitter accounts. For younger children, it can be seen in Club
Penguin, Webkinz, Second Life and more.
Children, preteens, teens
and college kids are using social networking everyday. It is a daily part of their lives, if not a part
of their weekly routine. Many adults are
in the same boat. And some of those
adults are school principals who ended up talking about the different types of
social networks that are out there to their staff in meetings. But never really
encourage them to integrate them into their instruction with their students.
They often forget that social networking is a communication device. It allows us to stay in touch with each
other, share a part of ourselves with others, and communicate in a way that we
may normally not have. This is a tool that would allow us to know our students
better and visa versa. Along with integrate technology that the students and
teachers are already “hooked” on.
We in the education world
have to embrace that social networking is a big part of the 21st
century and it is not going anywhere. It
is only grown in size day by day. Look
at how Facebook has grown over the years.
On August 26, 2008, Facebook reached 100 million users. Today it has over 1 billion users and is
still growing. (Facebook Blog)
Companies are also changing
to compete with other social networks that are out there. Look at what Google has added. They are no longer are just a search engine
or a company that you rely on for sending your emails. They have added video conferencing, blogging,
and other features in order for people to keep in touch with their family and friends. Look at the apps and software that Apple has
created for people to use to socialize with each other.
We as a society have turned
into nonverbal communicators. We are more willing to sit beside someone and
text that person than have a true conversation. We are also communicating with
each other through instant messaging, emails, comments on Facebook, Twitter,
video conferencing and more. Communicating
with people this way is a skill that needs to be taught. There is a proper etiquette and a lot of
students do not know it. If we don’t
take this golden opportunity to teach students about the responsibility of
using these social networks correctly then we as teachers lose a teachable
moment.
In saying that this is where
some of the pros and cons come in. If we
are lucky enough to be in a school system that allows us to use social network
then we need to take advantage of it. We need to use it with our students but
not abuse it. We need to teach them the correct
way to use each of these social networking outlets. We do not want them to become
a victim of cyberbullying, fall under the trap of a predator, or even as a
teenager in college to fall prey to identify theft. We as teachers need to
monitor it closely. If we do not it
could become a social time for students, not a time for learning. Students could use the social networks to
cheat on a test, share answers for problems in class, email and more. It is very important that we as teachers be
on our “A” game and be aware of what is going on in our rooms with
technology. Teachers need to monitor and
need make the students highly accountable for their actions.
The Pros can out way the
cons. There are so many benefits to
using Social networks. Look at Edmodo. It is a social network being used in the a
lot of classrooms today. Teachers and
students are able to chat back and forth.
They are able to have discussions
with each other online. They can interact
which other classes online while learning in a structured educational
environment. They post responses to
polls, post work online, work collaboratively with other classes around the
word and much more. Skype allows
teachers to teach globally with other classes in the United States that are
working on the same Common Core standards and work on a group project. Or it allows the learner to interact with an
author, a person from a foreign country and much more. If schools have Ipads in them they are able
to use FaceTime and do the same thing.
YouTube is growing more and more in popularity. Teachers are using it to integrate into their
instruction to show students how to do things, to help students make
connections and more. Students are even
creating videos and posting them on YouTube for other classes to see. Schools
are often using Flicker as well since it is a unique social network that
revolves around photography. This is a
great way to reach the learning style of other students in your classroom.
Social networking can be
both a positive and a negative thing. It
just depends on how the teacher is going to use it in their classroom. It can be very beneficial in some classrooms
and it can be abused in others.
I can see both sides of the
coin and you cannot give social networking to some teachers and not
others. In the world today that would
not be considered “fair.”
Davis,
Michelle R. "Social Networking Goes to School." Education Week
Digital Directions. Education Week Publications, 10 June 2010. Web. 7 Feb.
2013. <http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2010/06/16/03networking.h03.html>.
Zuckerberg,
Mark. "Our First 100 Million." Blog. Facebook. 26 Web. 1 Aug.
2008. <https://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=28111272130>.
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