The term “social networking” is considered a curse word in many school systems, including mine. The rise of cyber bullying, inappropriate posts, and the risk of or perception of educators having inappropriate relationships with their students through social networks have cause school systems to shy away or even hold lectures or classes on personal social network etiquette and not being “friends” with anyone under eighteen. My school system has sent out the human resources director to every school to discourage educators even having an account at the risk of ethic violations. As the Professional Standard Commission states, “An educator shall always maintain a professional relationship with all students, both in and outside the classroom” (Georgia PSC, 2009). This fear from administration and teachers has hindered the inclusion of social networks for educational purposes.
Social networks are currently the new “fad” for students. As our classrooms and schools struggle to keep up with modern technology and new “hooking” strategies to get students to “tune in” to what is being taught. Social networks can be used to bridge the gap being boring and cool. One way a school system can use social networks as a positive tool is by starting small. Ask the PTO or volunteer organization to create a Facebook or MySpace page for the school PTO. This provides an outlet for students and parents to become “friends” and receive important announcements. Another way to promote social networking as tools for education is to allow the media center to have a blog or page that allow students to respond to or recommend books. I understand from other blogs, Destiny has this option. The OPAC my school has does not have this option, but would be an awesome way to allow student opinion and encourage reading. Our system also blocks all blogs, with the exception of kidblog.com. Blogs and wikis are great strategies to a get a shy or struggling student to respond in a class discussion over literature, practice writing strategies, and group projects in other subjects.
Social networking is an outlet and form of communication for students in today’s world. Education needs to access this untapped and taboo resource. However, it must be handled with understanding and care. Educators must first teach their students what appropriate social networking behavior is and the consequences of actions on the internet, both positive and negative. With the understanding and establishment of the boundaries, social networking can be introduced and monitored in the classroom as another way to reach all students. Social networking is a trend and characteristic of the 21st Century Learner. It is time schools focus on the student when tailoring curriculum and learning methods before this trend has transformed into one that is unmanageable and inapplicable to the classroom.
Georgia Professional Standard Commission. (2009). Code of ethics. Retrieved from http://www.gapsc.com/Rules/Current/Ethics/505-6-.01.pdf on October 23, 2010.
It is a shame that many administrators do not see the educational value in social networking sites and therefore choose to totally block these sites in many school system networks. Not to stereotype any age groups, but... in our school system, it seems that many administrators are over 50 and not very "in touch" with technology. Not having been in the classroom for many years also makes them rather out of sync with students from this technological age. A media specialist would really need to put her advocacy skills to use in convincing administrators and technology specialists to allow the use of social networking sites for the media center and classroom.
ReplyDeleteI am sure individual internet filtering programs have their own specifications, but I wonder if some can be set up to allow access to individual social networking pages setup by teachers and still block the rest of the social networking site?
While I am an advocate for using the social networking sites, I know there are risks involved also. As Courtney states "as social networking websites continue to gain popularity, new threats and dangers are emerging." Students needt to be taught the correct use of the websites from an early age with parents and teachers monitoring the sites. Students need to be taught to ask teachers and/or parents questions and inform them of inappropriate questions, etc. Above all, first do no harm.
ReplyDeleteCourtney, N (2007). Library 2.0 and Beyond: Innovative Technologies and Tomorrow's User. Libraries Unlimited. Westport, Connecticut, p.80.
ReplyDeleteSchools block out social networking sites that they consider harmful or unsafe for students. My school system blocks out some of the popular social networking sites, but we able to access a few of the less popular ones. I agree that students should be taught appropriate social networking behavior; however, there is still that risk of them being subjected to inappropriate material. So with the popularity of social networking growing in education, I think that educators should use sites that allow a select group of users and not just anybody in to view posts. There are web sites, such as kidchatters, kidzrocket, and scuttlepad that are designed for children under 13. Other sites like voicethreads and fatclass are safe sites for older kids. These are sites that would probably be allowable by most school systems. I think that school systems do have the right to protect children and as educators we should use the sites intended for educational purposes.
ReplyDeleteI agree that social networking is a great way to reach out to students who are increasingly familiar with these sights. Allowing students to post blogs about books they've read directly on the media center web page would give them the opportunity to do authentic writing instead of writing a response about a book only for the teacher's eyes. Students could create their own photo albums or post examples of their best work to create electronic portfolios. People do this in the workplace all the time, so it would be yet another skill that we could teach students at a young age. The media specialist could update a web page using a social networking cite much more easily than by using traditional web page building. Also, social networking cites are mostly free, so that should automatically peak the interest of school administrators who want to save money. With all of the perks of social networking, and the downside being that students may possibly be exposed to inappropriate content (which the school's internet filters should block anyway), I believe this is a tool school administrators should not so quickly dismiss.
ReplyDeleteIt is a thorny subject! I appreciate how you point out the possible liability for educators but also how important it is to connect with students on their level. I also strongly agree that as long as these networking tools are monitored and students are taught responsible networking etiquette, they can be an exceptional tool. I always think there are places for certain students to find their niche- be it athletics, band, ROTC, etc. This is just another place for students to fit in and feel a part of the school experience.
ReplyDeleteAs everyone commented before, I think that you raised a good point in that students need to be taught social responsibility and appropriate Internet skills. This should also be reviewed (or even taught) with the educators in the school as well. The media specialist could create in service sessions in which the social networking sites are covered and the benefits of uses are presented (these should of course only be the ones available to the school). This would also be a good time to point out the do's and dont's of using these resources with students.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this is a tough subject and I don't know that there is a right or wrong answer to the question on what to use and how to utilize them. While social networking does lend itself for wonderful teaching opportunities, it adds one more thing for teachers to have to constantly monitor and police. But, just like anything else, the majority of students would probably use the tool in the educational setting as they were asked and expected to. Unfortunately, it is the handful of trouble makers that make us air on the side of caution and decide that it may be more trouble than it is worth. I personally think that it is just a matter of time before we have to suck it up and go for it. Times are changing very fast, with or without us on board (even the over 50 group :-), and our teaching tools are going to have to go with the times if we expect to actually get this tech generation to engage in what we are trying to teach.
ReplyDeleteI liked the way you focused on the positive ways students, teachers and parents could use social networking sites in the schools. The PTO page is a great way to get parents involved that may not get to because of their busy schedules. I also believe that education is the key to keeping students and teachers safe while using networking and internet sites. When given the opportunity students will use the sites the correct way when the grownups around them are involved. Letting the students and teachers know the expectations of their actions on the networking sites will help decrease inappropriate use of the sites.
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