Growing up a military
brat, I’ve been able to keep in contact with all of my former classmates from
Japan and reach out to long lost family members through Facebook. Certainly,
social networking is not only used by students, but also many adults for personal
and professional use. I facilitated a guidance lesson last year and located
data that revealed 50 percent of students between the ages of twelve to fifteen
check their social networking sites at least seven to ten times a day.
Keeping up with this new trend and at the same time
producing 21st century learners, the use of technology through
social networking seems to be a great way to do so. At the time AASL’s
longitudinal survey was conducted, it was revealed that schools were more
accepting of social networking tools as instructional aides. However, chatting
and texting were the least used. Today in schools, we have Edmodo similar to
Facebook, class wikis for blogging, and remind101 for texting. In reading Feihn’s
social networking article written in 2008, it was stated that Media Specialists
were a little skeptical as to using social networking sites in schools. This
was due to lack of knowledge on how these sites work and how we will monitor
it. I say, we are still in that mindset today. Even though schools heavily use
social networking now as an integral part of the curriculum, it seems as though
every week there’s something new. Here you go having to learn all about the
latest technology as well as learn the best way to monitor students. It’s a
constant process. But, it’s a necessity; research shows students do learn more
when we utilize technology.The media center is the hub of the school, or at least it should be. Media Specialists are responsible for producing lifelong learners. It is our duty to stay abreast of what’s current and our creativity will allow us to create lessons that will incorporate the latest technology and make it relevant for all students.
You are so right Yolanda! Facebook and other social media sites are a great way to reestablish contact with old friends, colleagues and classmates. I often think "How were people able to plan class reunions without Facebook?" For this very reason, we should be utilizing social media in the school setting especially in the media center. It is a way for students to connect. Through cooperative learning they must connect. Why not utilize technology to do so? Now, Educational Web 2.0 sites are building there sites to look and perform like Facebook i.e. Edmodo. Social networking is the present and the future of education. I agree, media specialists should make social media relevant for all students.
ReplyDeleteSocial Media is here to stay. Facebook buried MySpace and crumpled email. Email caused the name of regular mail to change to Snail Mail. The evolutionary nature of technology is reason to pause and evaluate the usefulness (if any) of the "latest and greatest". I see the significance of social media for adults, but I still prefer that any social media sites that are not specifically targeted towards education to be restricted. Students need to be directed to sites that are geared toward assisting them with homework. These sites could also be slated as an avenue to build background. Do not take away social media. Monitor it!
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