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Check out this site: The Power of Social Media and respond below. Where are you on your comfort level with using social media personally? How will you make the bridge from the personal to the professional in regards to social media?
13 Comments
Arley Skoglund
2/1/2011 10:38:50 pm
I am relatively comfortable with using social media personally. While I have been using social media for years, I have chosen to use the sites primarily as a way to communicate with friends/family that I do not see regularly and have not experimented with many of its tools and applications. It is interesting because I have been an advocate for not over using social media in my personal life because I have felt that it can take away from "real human interaction". Now, I see from an educators perspective that these sites can be a powerful tool in generating "real human interaction" that maybe would not have existed before. A primary example of this is the communication between London and Oklahoma schools. When planning the bridge from using social media for personal to professional reasons, I am thinking of ways to increase participation and communication between students. It would be very empowering for students to generate ideas or develop projects using social media as an open forum. I'm in the process of working with a "student intern" to develop a website that students would be able to use not only to receive digital copies of assignments and activities, but also to communicate and continue discussions from class. My only concern with this is that we have had several instances of "cyber bullying" or students posting inappropriate content during similar activities. I think that when engaging students using social media the teacher absolutely has to pre-teach expected conduct and etiquette. If used in a positive way, social media would be a great tool!
Christina N
2/2/2011 12:19:44 am
I am very comfortable using social media at a personal level. I too, as Arley has said, use social media outlets to communicate with family and friends on a daily basis. I find it convenient and easier to send a quick facebook post then to call. So many times I end up playing phone tag with someone. In regards to face to face interactions, I feel that social networks raises how you should present yourself at a new level. When communicating through technologies you have to second guess how what you typed comes across. I think this is an extremely important discussion to have with our adolescents, especially in today’s society. Which this discussion can then open the doors on conversations of cyberbullying. Through my recent classes here at St. Joes, I see the importance and vitality of incorporating these social networks into the classroom. I feel that one of the greatest points made in the article was this: “What kind of international collaboration are the students and teachers at YOUR school participating in this year? If the answer is, "We're not" or "They're not," it's time to make a change.” Our world is growing internationally and we need to prepare our students for this change. The easiest way to accomplish this is connecting and collaborating with other countries. I was astounded at those adolescents in the videos and the way they seemed to be empowered. I also feel that in school districts there seems to be a negative view of sites like facebook or twitter. If they were shown how these sites can improve instruction professionally, it might be more welcoming in schools. Also, when the article said, “Schools are no longer restricted to places and times as they have been traditionally”, I thought about the amount of snow days my district has had, and how much learning has been lost due to school cancellations. If the classroom ran from these social networking sites, even outside of the classroom, then more learning, collaboration and creativity can take place. I am hoping in this course I can learn many ways in how I can incorporate social networking sites into my math classes.
Christina N
2/2/2011 12:30:01 am
http://www.emergingedtech.com/2010/02/100-ways-to-teach-with-twitter/ Here is a link of a post I found called 100 ways to teach with Twitter. I thought there might be some cool info posted by the author!
Jessica Pitkin
2/2/2011 12:48:58 am
I am very comfortable using social media on a personal level. As Christina and Arley have said, I use Facebook and Twitter to keep in touch with friends and family, specifically what is going on in their lives. Recently, I have also started using Facebook to communicate with colleagues at work since we have had so many snow days. The other teacher I work with everyday and I have been communicating a lot on facebook chat since it's fast and easy. We've been able to bounce ideas off of each other and remind the other of something we need to get done if we ever get back to school! I've also used LinkedIn for professional networking. Although I don't use this as much as Facebook, it is a good way to keep in touch with alumni from Stonehill College where I went for undergrad. As for using social media in my job, I think it would be a great idea. Like Christina said, it is hard having so many snow days each week and losing so much instructional time in the classroom, especially with CMTs coming up! I think using things like facebook or a blog on various websites would be a great way to communicate with students when they are not able to be in school. This way teachers and students could have an open dialogue, answer questions, and assign other projects to do at home. One thing that I see in my job that would hinder this connection would be the access to computers and technology outside of school. I work in a predominetly low-income community. We have a lack of technology and resources in our schools, as well as a lack of technology in our students' homes. I know there are at least 7 students in my class of 27 that do not have computers at home or are not allowed to use them because the computers are for their parents' work. In an ideal world, all students would have some access to technology/the internet at home, but in my world, it would not be ideal to leave out 7 students just because they don't have access. I do think using social media would be more appropriate for middle school and high school, as students are more independent and may have other means of getting on the internet/getting in touch with their teacher and classmates. Some quotes from the website really stuck out to me and I wanted to share them here: "To be empowered and supported, AT SCHOOL, in the constructive as well as responsible use of social media tools like this is EXCEPTIONALLY rare today." - as I said the school I work in is a perfect example of this lack of empowerment because we have a lack of resources (which is something many schools are facing now). "Many of our schools and school leaders remain focused on a traditionally organized and "delivered" model of education which has no room for flexible, organic, unpredictable digital collaborations like PopUpSchool." -I think the idea of a PopUpSchool is a great idea. Learning in the moment is something that cannot be passed up. Learning does not have to be done simply by following lesson plans that were originally written 10 years ago and tweaked a little each year. I think learning is best when students and teachers can discover new ideas when they have the opporutnity, not just in the confines of a classroom or school building.
Katie S
2/2/2011 01:13:05 am
I'm also comfortable with using social media. Like Arley, Christina, and Jessica, I use facebook regularly to keep in contact with people. I have a twitter account, but don't follow it regularly because most of those updates are also on facebook. I use a website ** before-aftersas.weebly.com ** to communicate with my parents and kids at school... the parents like it because they can see what's going on with us, but the kids LOVE it because they have a say in it... for example, on our "kids corner" page, it's 100% their voices. I think the bridge from personal to professional with social media sites will be fairly fluid for me. Because I'm used to these sites, I'm not afraid to use them in the classroom. Furthermore, being a digital native means I respond to these types of sites; they pique my interest and keep me coming back, which is a trait I think many students share. This is a great way to engage students and connect with them, especially since we know they are utilizing these sites at home!
Lauren DeSantis
2/2/2011 02:23:41 am
I am relatively comfortable with using social networking on the personal level. I do have a facebook account and I will be signing up for a twitter account. I use facebook to communicate with family and friends by posting pictures or using the chat application to talk to them. However, sometimes I feel that these sites can be a distraction because I always feel like I have to check on what everyone is doing, but I can see how in the classroom these sites would be very useful. The video really helped me to put into perspective how these sites can be used in a collaborative manner to learn about other schools, people, and events. Since our world is becoming so technologically based it is important to incorporate these applications in the classroom. I think it also shows students that we can all learn together and that it is important for students to realize we don’t always have the answers but collaboratively we can find them. However, sometimes I feel that schools are not open to this idea of using social media, by blocking websites and limiting student’s abilities. Some schools do not have the resources such as computers which is a shame and I think it’s important for all schools to have computers or different media applications. I think that by being in this class it is really helping me to see how social networking can be used in the classroom. I will be able to apply what I already know and incorporate it into the classroom. In this class I am learning all about different web 2.0 applications and how to apply them in the classroom. By obtaining all of this new information I will be able to apply these applications when I get a teaching position.
Barb J
2/2/2011 04:04:50 am
Like everyone else, I am very comfortable with social networking on a personal level. Facebook is the norm, and it is just part of my day check to see what friends- who live all over the country- are up to. I am not as comfortable social networking on a professional level. I have created a Twitter account, and have begun following people and organizations for professional purposes. It has been such a great experience thus far, because it is really just pulling all sorts of information into one place for me. I know there are people on there who would be able to provide suggestions and information at the drop of a dime. As far as using social networking- or any technology- in the classroom, I definitely want to, but it is almost impossible. I am in a district with very high performing kids, but with little to no technology. We only have 3 or 4 smartboards in our school of about 600 kids (K-4). We have once computer lab, which the students go to with their class once per week for 30 minutes. We have one computer in each classroom, which is typically for teacher use only. All of the computers are getting older. Much of the software is outdated. The internet connection is weak. It makes it very difficult to try to use any technology. On a recent snow day, a few of my coworkers decided that the roads were fine, and they were going in to have a meeting. I needed to be at that meeting, part of that conversation, but couldn't get there. I suggested that I Skype in. The response i received was very opposed to the idea, and I was told to just email them specific information. That was it, I was excluded from the conversation. Right now, technology is just not a part of what we do in my building, but I would love to! While I was reading November's book, I was amazed at how students were communicating with kids and professionals all over the world as part of their curricular units. Instead of learning from a text book, kids are able to get that same content, but in a more engaging way. It's powerful!
Stephanie C
2/2/2011 05:57:34 am
I am 100% comfortable with using social media on a personal level. (Just look at my facebook addiction!) However, I struggle with incorporating it into the classroom and professionally. I just don't feel 100% comfortable sharing everything in my life with everyone. Some neat things I have seen are teachers who have a "teacher" facebook that is 100% student friendly. Or as was suggested in class use facebook for personal and twitter for professional. I'm still jut not sure how to incorporate social media into my classroom. Thanks for posting the 100 Ways to Use Twitter to Teach, I can't wait to look over that tonight.
Jenny B
2/2/2011 06:07:15 am
I'm comfortable using social networking on a personal level, but it does make me nervous at times. We have so many memos coming out from HR about "responsible use" and it can cause so many issues! Privacy alone can be a sticky issue. I love the idea of using social networking, which kids are so comfortable with, as a tool with students. I think it is so crucial to teach them responsible use of these tools. I've been reading the book Marialice lent me about creating digital citizens, and I think that responsible use and ethics that go along with these social applications must be taught in school- especially since it is rarely taught at home!
Carolyn Z
2/2/2011 07:05:12 am
I am comfortable using certain social networking sites. I have had a facebook account for many years. I also have a twitter account but, until tonight, I had only logged onto it once. I like these sites for keeping in touch with friends and family. I also love Skype for the same reasons - I actually get a chance to interact with my 2 year old nephew in Florida because of Skype! I thought this video was great. I just love how kids from different parts of the world can work together and get to know one another with the proper and appropriate use of technology. I think this serves as an excellent example of the tremendous amount of good that can come from using technology in the classroom, so long as it is used correctly.
Dawn C
2/5/2011 01:48:40 am
Like others mentioned, I also am comfortable with using social networking sites. I mostly use facebook to connect with friends and family that do not live around me. It is nice to share photos and find that I communicate more often with my friends/family than if I were to pick up the phone. I believe that social networking could also be a good tool used in the classroom for students to connect with other students around the country and world. I believe the more we communicate with others outside our own jurisdiction, the more open-minded we become. I enjoyed the video and seeing how these students worked together on a project to connect with other students. This is a great learning experience all around. I do believe however, that social networking inside schools should be monitored for safety purposes. With all the growing technology I can only imagine what our communication with others will be like in the next 5-7 years!
Makia Easterling
2/7/2011 11:11:51 pm
My comfort level is not at the same level as everyone else in the classroom. As for me I have little practice or knowledge on the newest forms of technology and its applications. Coming into this class my use of the computer consisted of email and facebook. Learning all the possibilites I can learn through technology and incorporate it into my life has me all excited and eager to learn as much as possible.
Christina Rinaldi
2/12/2011 12:59:59 am
I too am comfortable with social networking. Facebook is really the only avenue I've used however. I had a twitter account, but rarely tweeted because I felt that I really didn't think people needed to know all the boring details of my day. I never realized to what extent tweeting could do to help me grow as a professional. I never put much thought into it that I can use it as a tool to can many wonderful resources for my classroom. It was so great to learn that it is a fantastic opportunity for teachers to for giving and receiving information about lessons, websites, etc. Leave a Reply. |
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