My students have been working on social media research projects, and many of them have latched onto internet addiction and gaming as topics because of the passion they have for both. Several of them have even given up Facebook for Lent and have incorporated that experience/withdrawal into the body of their project. I have writers in my classroom who publish and solicit feedback constantly almost exclusively on the web, but who won't share anything in class. The freedom of expression she experiences online almost disappears in f2f (face-to-face) encounters. Here's some disconnect we're having with our students. If education can learn ways to incorporate social media into the curriculum, we can learn how to best serve our digital natives.
I have gotten to play around with the MyDestiny features discussed in the Fiehn article, and, although we haven't rolled it out officially with our students, the few I've shown have been really enthusiastic about being able to rate/recommend books for others and for the SLMS, and to share lists. Funny enough, they liked changing their wallpaper almost as much as anything else. I think we're on to something here.
Another social media topic my students have been looking at is maintaining their online reputations, which is the major obstacle school systems must surmount in order to embrace the Web 2.0 paradigm. I really like Alex Ragone's admin statement, "I will maintain common, face-to-face social conventions and boundaries to avoid circumstances which are or could be perceived as inappropriate while using social networking, blogs, or any other interactive websites." I hope that I can nudge our county towards using more of it. I'm going to add the statement to our online newspaper that we're launching next week. Students will be able to post and comment (with my moderation). The question my principal had was, "What happens when your email gets clogged up with all these comments?" I told him, "I'll jump for joy, because that means that kids are reading it!"
My online communities have more pull with me than many of my f2f encounters. I do my professional reading through my Google Reader, maintain my longtime or long distance relationships through Facebook, and have my virtual university right here. We must change our approach in order to meet our kids where they live.
This is a different age than when we went through school and really really have to compete for the attention of students with all the technology that are active in on a day to day basis. I think that social networking does have value in the classroom. My students tell me that the first thing they do when they get on the computer is to check Facebook. So would they be more likely to check assignments if I had a course Facebook page...probably. The bottom line is that social networking can allow interaction, more so than podcasts as u mentioned...though both can have value and be interacting depending how they are set up.
ReplyDeletetotally agree with your last statement - sometimes the interaction on the computer forces engagement because you can not "fake it" when posting information!
I love the point that you brought up about students who would normally sit in class and not say a word, now, through social networking, have the freedom to speak up and voice their opinions. I know of several students who express themselves better through writing than verbally. What a great way to incorporate technology into the classroom! I also liked what you said about teaching students to guard their online reputation. This is certainly an issue this day and time, and I believe that this is our biggest obstacle in social networking.
ReplyDeleteWhile safety is definitely a concern for social networking, I'm not really sure why we are avoiding it. Face it just about everyone uses some format of social networking these days, even my 80 year-old great-aunt! Since we have this great way of keeping in touch and communicating why not put it to use. We complain about parents and students not being involved, and social networking seems to be a perfect answer to the problem. I love the idea of a library facebook page or even like Suzanne said a class facebook page. This provides an effective way to get information out and allow for better discussion. I think students would be much more willing to discuss topics if they knew they could do it through social networking. They could get homework help or ask questions about topics discussed that day in class.
ReplyDeleteI think the best we can do as teaching professionals is to have "fan" pages. Our county explicitly and emphatically discourages us from having online contact with students. I think about that chick in Barrow County who got fired, not because of any inappropriate contact with students or of licentious photos up on her page, but because one parent, who was a friend of a friend on Facebook, saw a picture of that teacher with *gasp* a beer in her hand. She sued and got her job back.
ReplyDeleteWe're held to higher standards as teaching professionals. We're never "off", according to the GAPSC. But we have to figure out some way to make this social media thing work!
One of the articles I looked at suggested having a professional and personal facebook page. The only way I would be willing to use facbook in class would be this way. I'm not worried about what I put on my facebook page but occassionally my friends may post something crass or foul language. It doesn't happen often but I wouldn't want someone else's comment to cost me my job. And yes, I am very selective about what I put on my facebook page.
ReplyDeleteI do beleive these students will thrive in a more technologically advanced classroom than we (those who set up internet filters) are allowing at this time. I am one of those people who would rather communicate through writing via online or by paper than verbally. This allows me to think more about what I say and how it is said. We need to allow our students to do the same thing.
What a good conversation. I laughed when I read Suzanne’s comment about her students checking FB first, because that is my procedure as well. I am in love with these tools because they have brought me closer to family and friends around the globe. Social networking is not a fad, it is here to stay. When everyone from 8 year old students to 80 year old aunts use it, how could anyone deny its value?
ReplyDeleteIt is imperative to begin teaching students about an online reputation as soon as they begin using the internet. I’m surprised this is not already integrated into students’ health and character education at the elementary level. We must make sure that while students have these great feelings of “freedom of expression” that they are also well trained to not post anything that they wouldn’t share with a room full of parents, teachers, friends, etc. On a side note, I would love to hear more about your students’ projects on social media research.