To be social no longer exists only in the physical world. One can be social without ever coming face to face with another person. How is this possible? By social-networking. Social networking is simply bringing people from all over, quite literally, in contact with one another. Perhaps this might be former schoolmates, teammates, or that long lost love from the past. Many people are now finding spouses on such social networks as eHarmony and others.
But, how is this used to enhance student learning? Teachers are able to search globally to find pen pals, and students are able to find online tutors as well peers with similar interests in different parts of the world. Many who use social networking in a learning environment seem to be high school or college. Not so much with the younger children found in elementary grades. As with most online opportunites ther are isssues that must be considered beroe use itn the classroom:
• ease of access
• high level of student interest
• global
• cost
Cons:
• safety
• many social network sites restricted on school computers
• needs high level of monitoring of what is posted
Since I work with nine and 10 year olds, I do not believe that this technology is for me and my students. I do not believe that it is in the best interest of my students to be logging onto sites in which the teacher or parent has little to no “power” to monitor what is published. Many of us can remember a time when we were much younger and thought “it won’t happen to me. I’m smarter than that.” If we are honest we sheepishly admit that in fact we were not. That still remains to be true, and that is ok; we should get wiser with old age.
As I was teaching my fourth graders about Internet safety I could see their eyes glaze over. So I went off task for a bit and showed them how quickly I could find their school with a map with just a few well thought out questions. This snapped them back to attention; they were amazed and shocked at how quick and easy it was for me. I do think however, that social networking outside of the realms of the elementary classroom is one that I need to explore more.