With the exception of
Flickr, my school does not allow most social networking sites. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Delicious, YouTube,
all types of blogs, etc. are all filtered out.
Pinterest has very recently (within the past few weeks) been allowed,
and that is because of the amount of teachers who have been begging for years
for access to all of the great educational ideas available on the site. Unfortunately, many of the ideas on Pinterest
are pictures with links to blogs…which are still filtered out. One victory at a time, I suppose…
Because social
networking sites have always been filtered at my school, I had never thought of
them being used for educational purposes until I started this program at
UWG. My initial reaction to the thought
of using them in schools was negative. I
thought “no…it just provides another forum for students to bully each other and
schools should provide a safe-zone away from that.” However, after researching about internet
filtering, I realized that the argument for social networking is really no different.
Yes, we could keep
students away from social networking sites at school in an effort to protect
them against potential dangers, such as inappropriate content, cyberbullying,
and online predators. However, social
networking is very much a part of our student’s lives; so a different approach
could be to teach students how to use these resources intelligently and
responsibly. Also, since so many students
are already engaged in social networking, it only makes sense for schools to incorporate
it into the classrooms and libraries.
The following are six guidelines for how to get started in
the social networking environment.
1.
Explore – Really get to know the social
networking site you are going to use.
Check out the features and see how other members share information/what
type of information they are sharing.
This will make you seem like less of an outsider if your site has the
same tone and atmosphere as the others.
2.
Set Ground Rules – Determine what type of image
you want to be represented by and figure out the logistics of keeping up with
your social networking site and. Who is
going to update? How often will they update? How much interaction is expected? How will you handle issues like cyber-bullying
or inappropriate content being posted?
3.
Add Content – Add photos and information onto
your site and opportunities for interaction.
Keep in mind what you learned while exploring when you are adding
content to your site. You do not want to
come across too “teacher-ish” when providing information; you should always remember
your audience when adding material.
4.
Advertise – Encourage members to join your site!
Social networking serves no purpose if no one is a member of the network. Let potential members know about your site
through other channels such as the school’s website, newsletters, email, blogs,
or any other tools you may be using to currently reach your target audience. Have
incentives for joining, such as monthly prizes or prizes for every Nth new
member to join.
5.
Update Regularly – After putting in the effort
to set up your social networking site, make sure you keep it updated, or any
interest in it will be lost. Make sure
it contains recent information and upcoming events. Post pictures or videos from recent events to
encourage members to log-in to see them and comment on them. Utilize user-feedback
6.
Have Fun with It! – Remember, you are using
social networking to reach students in an environment they enjoy being in; so
you should enjoy being there too! Use
this as an opportunity to revitalize your program and make it more relevant in
today’s 2.0 society. (Courtney, 2007)
These guidelines are outlined in our text, Web 2.0 and Beyond. Because the text was written in 2008, it
suggests MySpace as being a good starting place, but I think today Facebook or
Twitter may be more relevant.
Another component that should really be addressed is teaching
students responsible usage of social networking websites. They should learn how to make intelligent
decisions regarding their privacy, learn how to protect themselves from online predators,
and also be educated about cyber-bullying prevention. These are all dangers that cannot be
ignored.
When used correctly, I feel that social networking is a
great way to promote a sense of community that goes beyond the walls of our
libraries and schools and create a new-found sense of engagement with class
activities. Please check out these sites (here and here)
to learn real-world ways schools are using social media.
References
Courtney, N., ed. (2007). Library 2.0 and beyond: Innovative
technologies and
tomorrow’s user. Westport, Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited.
Lepi, K. (2012). 10 real-world ways schools are using social
media. Retrieved
March 3, 2013, from http://edudemic.com/2012/10/10-real-world-ways-
schools-social-media/
Stansbury, M. (2011).
Ten ways schools are using social media effectively.
Retrieved March 3, 2013,
from http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/10/21/ten-
ways-schools-are-using-social-media-effectively/
I totally agree that I was very much against social networking until the internet filtering assignment. It did help me gain some insight into effective uses of social networking. In my district, I would have to say we are not too restricted. We cannot get on Facebook, but most other sites are opened to us. We are encouraged to use our best professional judgment with using some sites. For example: Never use a YouTube video unless you have previewed it first. Typically we are encouraged to save the videos to our pages to avoid vulgar advertisements that may pop up. I like the 6 guidelines from the text and think this is a good starting point. As we learn more about using social media in the classroom, we can expand upon these ideas and make them our own. I think the collaboration factor available using social networking could be huge in middle and high school. Students love using social networking and they can typically be successful with it, so why not let them use it. Social networking would have to look different at the elementary level and would require a different level of adult support. I like the sites you included for real-world application. One point particularly stuck out: distant learning. This made me think of our hospital/homebound students. Social networking could really be a powerful tool to reach this segment. In the future, I hope to see more use of social networking in schools for the purpose of student achievement. I think it will take a while for those in charge to come around to the idea, but I think the research for social networking is clear.
ReplyDeleteSally your post was insightful and presented the thought process behind positively promoting social networking opportunities in schools well. While I have seen social networking in schools used, I could understand those who may be hesitant to incorporate types of social networks into their classrooms, media centers, and schools. First, you made an excellent point in stating how you have to explore the social networking site you plan to use. While descriptions and reviews from others can serve as a jumping off point, before incorporating a site you should be extremely familiar with its uses and how students, parents, administrators, etc. can use and explore the information provided. Many teachers where I work are trying to use Edmodo in their classrooms, and they have received positive feedback. Edmodo serves as the “educator friendly” version of facebook, and students seem to like using it. Also, they appear to have no problems checking Edmodo for their assignments, tests, quizzes, or a discussion post; it seems to be second nature to them now. Because our students today are so driven by social networking and technology, social networking will eventually have to find an appropriate place in schools, classrooms, and media centers. Many teachers rave about Edmodo because the students can simply upload their assignments to the dropbox on the site, and it means no papers to take home! Teachers can grade and give feedback on assignments when on their computers. Also, familiar social networking sites such as Twitter even have a purpose in the classroom now. If you want students to post a quick reaction or summary of a chapter/reading assignment, have them tweet it to the class twitter account. The possibilities are endless, and I think you demonstrated this in the supplementary sites you provided! I will definitely be printing and saving those two resources to my favorites!
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