social+networking

Social Networking in Schools By Cyd Otto

When it comes to the education world, not all social networking websites are created equal. With that said, school still should not shy away from giving students experience on social networking sites. Allowing students access to certain social networking sites (ones that help enhance learning and gives them positive interactions to help develop good habits and routines) will allow them to then be able to draw on that knowledge when using social networking sites in their personal life.

Social networking in middle school can and should be used as a starting point. Using experiences as a learning moment, for instance etiquette do’s and don’ts, gives the students positive, controlled activities through which to learn how to use social networking in a constructive way. Using these sites not only enriches the student’s educational experience, but also captures their natural interest in these activities. As parents and teachers will surely agree, young adults are going to use these sites no matter if the school gives them interaction with social networking sites or not. Having students use the social networking sites with no guidance may create unnecessary problems, problems that could be avoided with proper guidance.

With a classroom full of savvy bloggers, though, teachers can suddenly provide another medium for discussing books or current topics. Likewise, using blogs in the classroom or for homework purposes gives the teacher an “in” to introduce what maybe appropriate and not appropriate to share on a blog; we certainly cannot assume that young adults think about future consequences of sharing personal feelings, experiences and/or thoughts in a frank manner. Structured open discussion about possible outcomes can help them weigh those ramifications with the importance of sharing personal ideas.

Though phenomenally popular, Facebook and/or MySpace are arguably not appropriate for school use. Though these sites have proven to be great ways to keep in touch with people and make new friends, create webpages and get involved in more online communities, they are, unfortunately, also places that unaware youth can stumble into potentially threading situations. Through the blog lesson, however, educators can preach the word of Internet safety. Making students aware of the different scenarios can help them make informed decisions, not just for the class assignment, but “real life” as well.

Education often succeeds when it becomes less a linear process and more of a group process. The use of social networking sites gives all students the ability to create their own learning events. A good example of a social networking site that promotes sharing of knowledge would be “Wikis”. Wikis encourage students to design learning pages where many users can contribute their thoughts, ideas and expertise to a common topic. Here, users can comment, revise and add ideas to their community page to create a comprehensive work. Clearly, social networking sites cannot be avoided socially and should not be ignored within the school environment. For better or worse, they are both tools and distractions that 21st century students must face. Through effective and inventive implementation in the classroom, however, teachers can both educate students in a proper and safe way to use these sites in their personal lives as well as create a yet more dynamic learning environment.