My only experience with social networking prior to beginning courses at UWG was with MySpace. The only reason that I wanted a MySpace page was so that I could communicate with my step-son (also a subscriber) since he lives in Florida. All was well for a few days until my students "discovered" me. Of course, I had not been savvy enough to know that I should use a pseudonym. I had to close my page becuase of all the "friend" requests from students. I believe I am just too old for this sort of business. My husband, however, participates in a social networking site that is used by his high school classmates. He loves getting reconnected with all his old friends from school.
I can imagine that there could be many vaild uses for social networking in schools like conducting book clubs and debates. Right now, the "Twilight" series by Stephanie Meyers is flying off the shelf. I don't have any copies in the media center and they are on hold about 10 students deep for each book. The first movie comes out later this month. I can imagine that if I started a social networking site devoted to Twilight enthusiasts, it would be a huge hit. I think that some teachers would be excited to use social networking sites to be able to have students connected with others from around the world. However, social networking sites are blocked by my system's internet filter. I don't think that my system would ever "unblock" the sites because of issues with protection.
I personally don't have an issue with social networking sites, I just don't have the time to fool with them right now.
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3 comments:
Julie,
I completely understand the need to cherish your time. Media specialists have a tremendous daily work load and adding one more task would probably tip the scale. If we agree to incorporate this tool I think it would be best to form a small committee and delegate this ongoing project. We could probably log onto the site once a week to check the status and comment on what needs to be changed or what should remain the same. I like the idea of creating a social networking page for "Twilight". I am sure you would be a hit with the students.
Hi Julie -
Hear, Hear! I too can see many uses for social networking sites in the schools,specifically media centers, if only filtering were not so intense.
Additionally, I am totally with you on the issue of time. I barely have time to complete assignments such as these, let alone update a webpage for the purpose of networking. A prime example is I sale real estate and my website hasn't been update in 5 months! While I am completely committed to the cause, I feel I need someone to handle that end of things for me.
Perhaps what I should petition for is 28 hours in a day! Nonetheless, topics such as these make me long for the ability to manage time just a bit better to indulge in such luxuries.
-Jami
Julie,
I think what happened to you with MySpace could easily happen to any of us. I too don't have the time to chat in rooms very often. On the other hand I like the idea of the book room chats. I hadn't thought about that avenue as much. I think that even at the youngest level you could use social networking this way. Even if students get on in class or at home and only type a few sentences I think that it would be an excellent way to assess student comprehension. Since these networks are usually accessible to all, teachers and parents could use this to monitor what their children are doing and learning.
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