Social networks represent the collective body of people that
we know (Courtney, p. 75). Online social
networking has several tools that can be utilized: individual messaging, friending, groups,
announcements, individual message boards, photos, blogs, and more. As educators, part of our responsibility is
to make sure our content remains current and fresh. Social media is trending right now. Should it be used in the classroom to
facilitate learning? I feel that it
definitely can, however, it will require some classroom management from the
teacher. By law, we are required to
inform our students about the dangers of online predators, cyberbullying,
etc. We are required to share with
student how to use the Internet responsibly.
So, again, if a teacher is diligent enough to tie in social media to the
curriculum to facilitate learning, I think it would be excellent. The teacher must be diligent and be sure to
monitor activities and give clear instructions on the assignment to avoid
students being off task.
I have worked for two school districts in Georgia and they
did not allow access to social media sites.
In fact, it was frowned upon. To
a certain extent, I understood because with the growing popularity of social
media sites like Facebook and Instagram, students were tempted to communicate
about non-school related things during instructional time. Again, my stance is that the use of social
media to facilitate learning is not impossible, but will require planning and
management on the end of the teacher.
Also the teacher must be knowledgeable of the site. As mentioned in the TeacherLibrarianNing
article, many Media Specialists were negligent towards social media because
they didn’t know exactly how to use it and setup the proper privacy controls to
monitor student activity. A good idea
would be to train teachers on social media sites that are acceptable to use
with students. The training should also
model a lesson using social media to address a common core standard. I definitely thing the students will enjoy
integrating something that they use socially with their curriculum to spice
things up a bit.
The use of blogs is definitely a great way to have students
communicate. When I used to inform
students about using the Internet responsibly, I would always stress that
everything that they place on the Internet is there and can forever be
found. I would love to have a Facebook
page for the media center. I could use
it to showcase the book club meetings, the latest books, winners of reading
bowl awards. I can also have a blog for book
club reading reports. To encourage
reading, you could also come up with engaging questions to get students to read
to respond to the blog. The network can
grow and libraries can friend each other to share resources. So, while social networking has it’s dangers,
it also has it’s advantages. Just like
anything, if used improperly, it becomes a problem. However, there are several ways that it can
keep the interest of students to aid learning.
Courtney, N. (2007). Library
2.0 and beyond. Westport, CT:
Libraries Unlimited.
Fiehn, B. (2008). Social Networking And Your
Library OPAC!.TeacherLibrarianNing, Retrieved from http://www.mmischools.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=59618
I really enjoyed your post, as we share the same feelings about social media. Of course, there are going to be students that want to deviate from an intended educational purpose (such as using Facebook or Twitter), but I do think that with proper rules and monitoring from the teacher, these sites can be very fun and engaging for students.
ReplyDeleteJust think of the possibilities of integrating Twitter into your classroom! For example, say a Social Studies teacher created one singular Twitter account for the class. The teacher could project the twitter feed on a SmartBoard and students could follow various senators or even the President! As a class, you could analyze tweets or learn something new about the country.
I have to say that I have never stepped out there and used social networking for my students, but I agree with you that they would definitely enjoy it. This year, all the students in my county 6th grade and up were issued school email addresses and some of them just love having those. They like to be able to contact their teachers or a friend from home regarding an assignment or question they might have had after arriving home from school.
ReplyDeleteI think a blog would be a great place to begin with close monitoring. All content areas could introduce a blog as a place to ask questions and respond to content specific readings. I believe the students would enjoy logging on to see what their peers had written.
I completely agree with you that social media can be a good learning tool. However, teachers MUST PLAN. Planning for the best way to incorporate social media into lessons, is key. Also, many teachers still have a fear of technology which prevents them from using many forms of technology such as social media tools
ReplyDeleteI agree with that usefulness in classrooms and that teachers should be diligent. The problem I've seen in classrooms though is that a lot of teachers aren't diligent. Kids are doing whatever on their devices and it bothers me that the teachers are not monitoring what they are looking at. But it is not my classroom, so I try to keep my mouth shut.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea about training teachers to use social media! That would be a fun and interesting way for LMS's to get to know the different sites out there and which ones would be best for their students. I would totally go (even though I know a good deal about social sites).
You make some good points here stressing Internet safety to students and about how you could use your own FB page to promote the library. Thanks for sharing!
The problem with social networking might not be the risk of protecting children, but teachers having to stay on top and current with its social media presence. Just think if teachers were current with social media, they would know when it was being misused. Students would be knowledgeable and more importantly following best practices for internet safety and have a safe online presence. I think blogging is a great tool that allows students to demonstrate critical thinking skills and master writing skills also. We as educators have to be serious about teaching, and to do that requires us to get on their level. That level is having a social presence and engaging students in social networking.
ReplyDelete