Rethinking Social Networking in Schools

When I hear the phrase “social network,” my first thought goes to Facebook and other websites whose purposes are to connect people in a casual and entertaining way. However, social networks involve much more than this idea. These web 2.0 platforms are definitely about connecting people, but their purposes can involve collaboration of many kinds. LinkedIn, for example, is ideal for career networking, and sites like TeacherLibrarianNing are designed to help educators collaborate with others outside their schools.

As we continue embracing 21st century education, educators must recognize the validity and importance of collaboration in the classroom. This group dynamic is not only about teachers connecting with others to improve classroom practices and curricular opportunities. Collaboration must also allow students to work together so that their learning is benefited by the variety of backgrounds, experiences, and knowledge that can be best achieved through group work.

In order to incorporate social networking in the classroom and the media center, educators must first learn about the websites available to them. While many people have some connection with a social networking site, they may not fully understand its capabilities, or their knowledge may be limited to the basic features of Facebook or Twitter. After the adults grow more tech savvy, many will need to be given ideas on how to incorporate the technology in their settings. For example, one of my colleagues and I have been discussing an ideal location to have students post photographs of biology specimens so that others can see and more learning can take place. The most important thing to consider here is how to provide enough help that teachers feel empowered to make this a reality without insulting the intelligence of those educators who are already comfortable with social networking.

Another factor to consider is the school’s philosophy on social networking. Our schools use filters to help protect our students from a variety of perils found on the Internet. Some systems or institutions have also used those filters to keep students from accessing sites that are considered non-educational, and many schools may immediately assume only personal applications are to be made when social networking is involved. If a school is against a website, educators need to make a case for why that site should not be blocked. Our school does not allow access to Facebook and some blogging sites, at least on the student server. I had a project lined up to use my Wordpress blog and Glogster and was very excited about the cool opportunity for the students to incorporate technology in the classroom. Imagine my frustration when I discovered that our filter blocked both sites. Fortunately, my principal is a huge proponent of technology in the classroom, and after a quick email from me, the sites were unblocked by the end of the day. On the flip side, some schools have a stricter policy in place, administrators who are not following the same game plan, or who have so many demands on their technology department that it takes much longer to make a change in what is blocked.

This year, I have really enjoyed the use of Moodle at our school. What I like best about the site is that it is hosted on our school server so there are no ads popping up and only those who have been granted access can get in. That helps with safety concerns that some parents and other educators might raise. One of the best collaborative activities we have done with the site involved using a discussion forum to help prepare for a test. Each student was assigned to write five test questions and post them on the forum. Because they were placed there, all the other students could use those questions to help them study. As I read through all the posts, I also saw examples of other students making encouraging comments on what had been written.

Social networking is here to stay, and schools that recognize how to use it in their classroom set their students up for greater success. As most of our students already connect online with friends, wise educators will find a way to make use of this skill in their curriculum. Then they need to utilize social networking to share their successes with others so that students throughout our schools, our state, our nation, and even around the world can benefit from our collaboration.

References

American Library Association. (2008). AASL's second longitudinal survey reveals schools' acceptance of social networking tools. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/news/news/pressreleases2008/june2008/AASLsurvey


Fiehn, B. (2008). Social networking and your library OPAC! Internet @ Schools. Retrieved from http://www.mmischools.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=59618