Social Networking in Education

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Permalink Reply by Paul R. Basta on February 17, 2010 at 10:37am

I copy and pasted the "Wall" and "Profile" pgs that can be found on facebook and put them on a Word document. I put in text boxes so they could type in their info, mock converstations, friends, pictures, etc. I had them make one for Genghis Khan after our unit on the Mongol Empire. THis technique takes care of the online issues and still allows them to be creative. We will be sharing these next week (after Feb break) but they seemed to be receptive to the idea. I will use this as another option for assessment for historical figures.

I have attached the Word document I used.

Attachments:

• Historical-Character-Facebook-Template[1].doc, 1.2 MB

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Permalink Reply by Paul R. Basta on February 17, 2010 at 10:47am

Besides my last post, I would steer clear of committing to the actual social websites. WAY too many liabilities.

I suggest a blog or a wiki where you can limit the visitors to your class and control the conversation. You can set it to approve any comments before they are published and you are able to see the authors. Edublogs is a good free site to test it out.

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Permalink Reply by Alyssa Valenzuela on February 17, 2010 at 12:49pm

Thanks for the info!

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Permalink Reply by Dr. Rita Oates on February 18, 2010 at 6:50am

Is the social network designed for educational use, or are you trying to adapt one to use with students? That's a key question. Sometimes the problems of adapting one tool for a different use is incredibly difficult.
Also, does the social network meet TRUSTe certification for student privacy? Some do, some don't. Your district IT security guys love sites with TRUSTe certification, as it helps them do their job of keeping student information safe.

A powerful social network designed specifically for K12 use is ePals LearningSpace. You can take a tour on your own at http://learningspace.epals.com.

Or you can sign up for a webinar (about an hour) by contacting Bryan Scanlon, bscanlon@corp.epals.com.
This is the social network that Heinle uses worldwide for English Language Learners to practice English. See http://heinle.epals.com.
They say:
* Teachers and students can JOIN the community to practice English with classrooms around the world.
* COLLABORATE with the latest Web 2.0 tools, including blogs, forums, wikis, media galleries and more.
* Give students the opportunity to LEARN English in a natural and authentic setting – and to have fun!

Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Kiwi Commons on February 22, 2010 at 7:26am

Using Social Media to connect with students outside of the classroom remains a touchy subject among educators. While some teachers are very much so against it, others live by it saying it helps promote a conducive teacher-student relationship. There is definitely a fine line when it comes to the use of social networking in the classroom and educators need to walk on egg shells when it comes to the personal information they post online.

It's definitely possible to use social media advantageously with students but there are some things to think about before crossing that line.

Here is an informative guide (http://kiwicommons.com/2010/01/should-teachers-be-%E2%80%9Cfriends%...) that details the pros and cons of social networking between teachers and students.

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Permalink Reply by Marissa Mendez on February 22, 2010 at 10:56am

I think social networking is a key component in education. For teachers, this is great because we can share ideas and collabroate on tough situations together. No teacher knows the best way to do everything all the time. In regards to the students, I believe we need this because in their world after high school or college they will hae to work with different people that they like and dislike on a daily basis with their job. They have to learn to get along with others regardless of the people they work with and whos ideas are the best or not. One mind can be good but multiple minds can be great. Although we must be conscience of the things they say as a student so that in the future they will be ok.

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