Can you imagine a world without MySpace, Facebook, or Twitter? I know that today’s students definitely cannot. Gone are the days of wondering what one of your “friends” is doing. We now have instant access to people’s locations, food choices, and random thoughts. While the jury is still out about the merits of using social networking sites in schools, one thing is crystal clear, our students spend hours a day actively engaged on these sites. So as an educator who is always trying to make real-world connections, what better way to do this than by bringing in a little social networking. I would like to share a few ways to incorporate these limitless tools into an educational setting.
Facebook
According to a national survey conducted by Pew Internet & American Life Project, more than half (55%) of all online American youths ages 12-17 use online social networking sites. So knowing that the students are already using sites this regularly means that the schools just need to get creative on how to use this tool to assist in the ever growing challenge of improving student achievement. If a teacher creates a fan page on Facebook and her students join, she is now able to post assignments, helpful links, videos, and pictures related to her content area. Students are able to share their opinions, answer each other’s questions and practice effective communication skills all at the same time. Also, parents are able to join the fan page and stay connected with the school about upcoming events and assignments. Notice how I said that teacher’s should create fan pages and not personal ones. I believe that the fan page sets the tone for a more professional atmosphere. This way educators don’t have to worry about “friending” parents and students and creating a gray area at school. Even if a teacher has a personal Facebook page, the lines on Facebook should be drawn extremely carefully to ensure that a professional environment is maintained.
Twitter
It seems like Twitter is gaining a lot more traction these days and young people are really enjoying this tool. They can keep up with celebrities as well as close friends and family. This tool is great to use to post reminders about upcoming projects as well as linking actual homework sheets. It can also be used to acknowledge outstanding students. Twitter doesn’t have a fan page like Facebook. However, I strongly urge you to create a teacher email account and then create a teacher Twitter account. My students love to read “tweets” from their teachers and it’s a great way for parents to engage in meaningful dialogue about what students are learning about in school.
Edmodo
Edmodo was created specifically for educators as a way to keep social networking safe in schools. I love the features it offers in terms of a gradebook and the ability to create different groups within the same teacher account. My students and I use Edmodo daily and they love it. One of the best features is the library function. Students can upload their work to their library and that way they don’t have to worry about keeping up with a flash drive. The other cool feature is that parents can join groups and see their child’s progress. Edmodo also has a calendar that my students use to record their independent reading each night. At the end of the month, they can print it off and turn it in or save it as a pdf and email it to me via Edmodo. There are a few drawbacks to this site because the students can only interact on the main wall. This means that they can’t privately communicate with each other. I like the idea of students being able to email each other privately so I hope that eventually this feature is added.
In conclusion, social networking sites can be a great way to connect with students. These sites can also be a wonderful way to connect with other educators in an effort to share and exchange ideas and resources.
References
Lenhar, A., & Madden, M. (2007). Pew internet project data memo.Pew Internet &
American Life Project, Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2007/PIP_SNS_Data_Memo_Jan_2007.pdf.pdf
SCHULTEN, K. (2011, September 30). The learning network [Web log message].
Retrieved from http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/30/teachers-teaching-
teachers-on-twitter-q-and-a-on-edchats/?ref=socialnetworking
