Social Networking in Education

I have been using some sort of social networking as long as I can remember, but when brought up in discussion at school it is always brought up in a negative context (i.e. “No student should be on Facebook while in their blended classes!”).  Almost making me feel guilty for being one of “those” people.

I have primarily used Facebook for the majority of my social networking needs.  I have been a proud member of the Facebook community for about 5 years or so, but I have never truly considered it a possible teaching tool.  In the article Social Networking Goes to School - by Michelle R. Davis published in Digital Directions, the author says, “…it has become so ubiquitous for students—who start using sites like Webkinz and Club Penguin when they are in elementary school—that it just makes sense to engage them this way.”  This resonated with me because it really shows the change our culture has gone through and makes me wonder why it is taking so long for our schools to catch up.  I know that there are school across the country that have teachers that are plenty tech savvy and incorporate it in their daily lessons, but the culture changes that are occurring in society that are standards now, seem to be taking some time to become standards in schools.  I feel that a lot of this comes from the stigma that has always come with the technology/internet serving more of an entertainment resource (causing students to become off task) than as a great educational resource.

I can see the value in a resource such as Ning.  For our blended courses students are exposed to several different ways they can use technology to supplement their learning.  One of them has been the use of forums to share ideas about specific topics and questions.   I think that Ning allows for students to have a common meeting space outside of Facebook to talk about class topics.  I feel that if I chose to create a group in Facebook it would be too informal and allow students to get off topic from the class.