Social Networking and Social Bookmarking

                 The greatest advantage of using social networking in the classroom is the ability to connect with people from all over the world at any time.

Twitter is one social sensation that I have not dabbled in yet.  I now see the potential of using it in a classroom, and hope that in the future more districts open their eyes to the potential of this and other new technology.  I think part of the problem is that with new technology comes more work on the part of the “administrator,”  and a lot of administrators do not want to be responsible for the possible problems that might come up when using social networking in the classroom.  But the truth is there is potential problems that could occur anytime during teaching, and it is how we as teachers and administrators address the issues that will really matter, and have a lasting effect on other students.  Twitter allows teachers to post questions for students to view and quickly respond to.  This can also be done in a discussion board, but why not use something different that students use in their everyday life.  Teaching is all about trying to reach out to your students and finding out their favorite way to learn, so why not try something like Twitter to catch their interest.  I know a teacher that actively has students use edmodo.com, which is mentioned in this chapter.

      Social Bookmarking is not something that I am familiar with or have ever tried, but it sounds like a very useful tool for research.  Delicious.com and Diigo.com both allow us to save our favorite websites and also put tags on them, which in turn allows us to find more resources with the same tags and also to allow others to search for the website we just found.  “By being able to apply many tags to one particular link, we get the added potential of seeing how others might interpret or use resources that we share.” (p.91)  I love the option on Diigo that allows you to save the page and then highlight and add notes that will also be saved for future use.  As an English concentration teacher I would love to be able to have a student’s writing on a blog that I can highlight and add notes to.  Then the student can get on at any time to get feedback to improve on or get feedback on their writing!  During a research project the teacher could be actively involved in helping the students’ research by using these social bookmarking sites.  You can set up a class account where students can help each other, and if they find a page useful for someone else they can just tag that person’s name to it.  These sites might actually be a start to making researching less mundane and anti-social.

- Chapter 6: The Social Web, Learning Together

               

I liked that Richardson points out that social network is used in two ways: “friendship-based ways” and “interest-based ways.”  The purpose of being conscious of sites like Facebook and Ning is that they are growing rapidly in our society, and they have no signs of going away, so as teachers why not use them to educate as well.  “Facebook has become an important online space in our kids’ lives, a space that, once again, no one is teaching them how to leverage for learning.” (p. 133) Now I totally agree that Facebook should not be used as a social connection between students and teachers because that is bordering on inappropriate behavior with a student.  So be safe and don’t friend students because it is not worth the risk.   “Make it clear to your classes that your use of Facebook in “interest-based” not “friendship-based.” (p.136) I like the idea of setting up a limited or private page for a class where they can post related pictures, videos, or ideas.  The example that Richardson brought up got me very excited because using this technique will allow the quiet students in class to have the courage to speak their mind.  I LOVE that.  Ning also sounds like a great site to try because it is more “interest-based” and helps a class become a tighter community, helping each other learn.  I was wondering though why Richardson was so adamant about not clicking the “add Apps” button.  Was it just because he doesn’t want a Ning to become too clustered and confusing?  If you are a teacher that can lay down the ground rules and have trust in your class to use a social network to learn then try it.  It is all about building a classroom that is mature and willing to try learning in a different way they might relate more to.  (This maturity level has time to grow because you can’t use most sites until students are 13 or older anyways)

-Chapter 9: Social Networks, Facebook, Ning, Connections, and Communities

               

Although this article that I chose for my classmates to read was short it has good information for a teacher who is interested in beginning to use Twitter in the classroom.  I like the idea of having instant feedback or discussion about a topic, and students will love the fact that they are “pushing the boundaries” and using Twitter in their class.  I really want to try the collective writing assignment that was discussed in the article.  What a fun way to get kids to write creatively, and it is a collaborative effort of every student in the class. Also get students more involved in a book read in class by having them follow the author’s tweets.  I would have loved to do that in school.  My favorite part of this article was the social action idea that it brought up.  “Have each student in a social students or civics class choose an organization to follow for one month.” (p.23)  They can involve themselves in the community and actually feel like that matter in society and it all began with following a tweet.  I will definitely consider using this idea in any class I teach.

- “Tweacher (n): The Twitter Enhanced Teacher”

               

This article brought up the positive and negative attitudes that go with using social networking in schools.  Although I see the point in the negative comments I would have to disagree with them and side more with Will Richardson on the issue.  There are things that can go wrong when using social networking, but to lessen the problems a teacher needs to prep a class for the assignment, and even make them and their parents sign an agreement.  Many times you will need administrative support and many times you will not get that unless you present a valid and educational reason for wanting to use these websites.  I don’t understand why teachers are so afraid of social networking techniques when it is happening so often in people’s homes.  It is not going to go away and we can’t pretend it is not there.  It is best to bring in all types of new technologies into the mix for a differentiated instruction involving; photos, google earth, twitter, and social bookmarking. 

                Since I am an Elementary teacher and a lot of times these sites are only available to students 13 and older, I really liked the idea of using Voicethread in the classroom to create stories with the little ones.  “The free service allows users to leave voice comments about pictures or video, and enables users to draw on the screen as they comment.” (p.19)  I can see students having a great time using this and getting a lot out of it.  It can also be a way for students to create their own writing and then use voicethread to present it to the class without actually having to stand in front of the class and recite.  My opinion on these new technologies I similar to this; “If you don’t take that golden opportunity to teach students about the responsibility of using these things, you lose a teachable moment.” (p.19)  Students will be more likely remember new information if they experience in ways that are authentic and interesting to them.

- “Social Networking Goes to School”