Social Networking
Social networking has taken the world by storm. For some, at times it seems so overwhelming. You just get to understanding the latest and greatest social media website and BOOM up pops up another one.
I feel one of the greatest assets of social media is the astonishing connection it brings to people near and far. You are able to locate people you may have lost contact with years ago or maybe you are able to connect with people who share your same dreams or life changing experiences. For schools, it can connect students with other fellow students not only within their own school, but even all over the world. Many schools use social media such as Facebook or Twitter for keeping their community abreast of what is going on at the school. A teacher or administrator will usually manage the account in order to make sure that what is posted is appropriate for its followers.
Our county allows for Facebook pages and Twitter accounts for the different clubs or sports to help keep everyone in the loop, but these types of accounts are not able to be viewed on school grounds via the school wifi. They are blocked and filtered from our computers. We have been able to utilize other Web 2.0 sites that share the same aspects, but are more educationally friendly. A site such as Edmodo is a social networking type site that yet a teacher can have more control over on what is posted on their group site.
Social media comes in so many different types of facets and those many different facets can advance a school and its networking capabilities to such an amazing level if they are used and managed well. They can be used to help a classroom collaborate further not only amongst themselves, but with other classes in the school or across the world. Social media can also increase the support of the community just by keeping them aware of what is happening at the school. Letting the community know what accomplishments the students are achieving strengthens that bond.
I have recently learned about a website called LibraryThing. It is where readers can make lists of books. Books they have read and books they would like to read. Not only can they make lists, but they can share their comments and rate the book. LibraryThing allows you to join groups or talks with fellow readers who share your same interest in books and their genre. I have recently introduced this website to my book club where we can come together as a group to share comments on the books we are reading this year.
Education has come such a long way with being able to share lesson plans, guidance, and advice with other teachers all over the world through social media. One of the most popular social media websites (although it has been around for years now), but has turned the educational world upside down with ideas is Pinterest. Designing and managing ideas have helped teachers to organize their classrooms in ways they could never have thought of themselves. You can even find lesson plans for sharing on Pinterest. The mere snapshot of an image allows a viewer to decide if they would like to further pursue the website or move on to something else. You can "pin" something you find interesting to your board in order to look at it more extensively later and it will also be shared with your followers. You yourself may choose to follow other boards that appease to your interests.
I could go on and on about social media. The effects it has in the classroom, for teachers and for students, but we would be here all night. Although social media can be so beneficial in many ways, it can also become a device in which you spend way too much of your time and it consumes you. Not only do we need to teach students about the various social medias out there for their use, I feel we are obligated to share with them time-managing tips for using these types of sites as well. The younger generation is growing up in a world consumed with technology. We need to make sure they also learn to enjoy life outside the electronic box and remember to enjoy the simple things like walking barefoot in the green grass, sunlight on their face and fresh air.
I, too, think that social media has opened the world for communication. There are so many different sites out there where people can communicate with each other and find groups with similar interests. I just love Pinterest for sharing ideas and I have found many great things there that pertain to libraries and school. I wholeheartedly agree with you that time-management is the key! How many times have we all sat a a computer 'for just a minute', only to discover we lost hours looking though pages of Facebook or Pinterest. It's great that you pointed out that we need to have discussions with our students about time management and how these sites can consume their time. They do need to learn to enjoy life with and without technology.
ReplyDeleteMy county uses Edmodo also. The students at my school are able to access the links to sites that are educational. Actually, it is a mandate that all teachers put up a web page under Teacher Sits. The goal is to have our Teacher Site useful to both parents and students. However, at my school, only a few students know about Edmodo, fewer have been on the site, and even fewer have a username and password for the site.
ReplyDeleteHi Lana,
ReplyDeleteYour comments on social networking were insightful. We are in an information technology age unlike another. I am amazed at the numerous amount of people fellowship via social media. You are right, what a great way to connect and collaborate with distant folks. Other than work related, I am not one who utilize social media's such as Facebook and Twitter. For me it’s to time consuming. My school district has not open those network sites to students as of yet; however, Edmodo has impact the scene for teachers, parents, and students collaboration. In a previous class, I was introduced to LibraryThing and find it quite enjoyable. It’s an excellent technology tool to use on sharing information about books. Even though everything you noted in your blog was informative, the point that stuck with me the most is the need to share with students time-managing tips for using social Medias. WOW!
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ReplyDeleteI also agree that social media is a medium that many of us, especially our students, are using to connect and collaborate with others. Our society is quickly becoming one that is more apt to tweet a question or leave a facebook comment and that, in turn, opens up a whole other level of collaboration and inquiry. Immediacy is one of the great qualities of social media, as well as its capability to connect vast groups of people from anywhere in the world. It's amazing to me how social media has become so embedded within so many areas of education, especially the media center. So many school and media center web pages now have facebook, twitter, and other social media content/capabilities.
ReplyDeleteI think the key to making such tools appropriate for the classroom and media center is finding unique ways to use them. For example, one of the media center web sites I came across while designing my own media center page was one that used LibraryThing to show students all of the new books in the media center. This might even inspire students to create their own LibraryThing and connect with other students who have the same interests.
I also agree with your point that we need to share such technologies with students, but we also need to teach them ways to safely and effectively use social media. However connective and fun social media sites may be, I agree that it can sometimes be too engrossing: I am guilty of often going on Pinterest for what I will think is about five minutes, when in reality, I've spent about 25 to 30 minutes just pinning away.