TeachThinkTech

I think you have to acknowledge the interest and work with it. If we know these things do a great job of engaging students, why would we not tap into that to get them more engaged in school and excited about learning?

I don't think we want to encourage young kids to lie about their age to meet the Facebook terms of service, however. At home, I suggest parents create a "family" account on Facebook that they can use together (where mom or dad is in charge and the kids participate with supervision.) This creates natural opportunities for parents to talk with their kids about safe and appropriate behavior online while still allowing kids to explore and develop their social networking skills. Then, once the child is old enough, if he or she has shown responsibility in using the family account, he or she can get their own account. 

I also think it's worthwhile for schools to explore using one or more of the social networking tools specifically designed with younger students in mind (e.g. Schoology, edmodo, etc.), although you definitely don't get the "whole wide world" as you would on a non-controlled site. Having "class" accounts on Facebook and Twitter (run by the teacher), however, could be incredibly useful, both for keeping parents more informed and involved and for connecting students with appropriate outside experts, mentors, pen pals, etc. while motivating students by showcasing some of their work and activities for a wider and more authentic audience.

Highlights from a great post from the "What Ed Said" blog. (Can we please be part of your "online PLN?")

Amplify’d from whatedsaid.wordpress.com

1. Open the door.

Let go of the idea that you have to teach in ‘your way’ in ‘your space’. Team teach. Invite people in. Share spaces. Learn together.

2. Talk.

Collaborative planning is a constant conversation. (Thanks

3. Be open-minded.

There is more than one way of doing things. Be open to new ways of thinking and new ways of learning. Learning can look different from the way it did when you went to school.

4. Include your students.

Ensure you are part of their learning community rather than boss of the learning. Ask for feedback. Talk about the process of learning. Listen to their voices. It’s their learning.

5. Make learning trans-disciplinary.

Learning takes place when we connect new knowledge or ideas with what we already knew. The more connections, the stronger the learning. Create opportunities for connections across disciplines.

6. Share.

Share your time, your ideas and your expertise. Share tasks and resources between team members. Share responsibility with your students.

7. Focus on the arts.

Work with the art teacher and the music teacher. Use the arts to enrich learning in any subject area.

8.Establish an in-school PLN.

Learn from and with your personal learning network. It might be your grade level team, teachers of the same subject or, best of all, a mixed group. Share practice. Build on each others’ ideas.

9. Establish an online PLN.

Use social media to connect and collaborate with educators anywhere, any time. Get the most out of Twitter. Ask someone to help you get started on building an online network. (I will)

10. Create a global collaboration.

Use Skype or Voicethread to collaborate with a class in another country. Exchange ideas and beliefs. Learn from each other.

Read more at whatedsaid.wordpress.com

This article from District Administration reports that most school leaders who have used social networks agree they have great potential to help motivate and engage students, enhance professional development, and expand access to quality resources, experts, and mentors. We think this is good news, but wonder this: If students, school leaders, and even Uncle Sam all think social networking tools belong in K-12 education, why has their adoption in schools lagged behind the rest of the culture? What do you think the biggest obstacles are, and what can be done to remove them?

Amplify’d from www.districtadministration.com

Among students surveyed in a National School Boards Association study, 96 percent of those with online access reported using social networking, and half said they use it to discuss schoolwork. Despite this prevalence in everyday life, schools have been hesitant to adopt social networking as an education tool.

Survey research confirms, however, that interest in harnessing social networking for educational purposes is high. As reported in School Principals and Social Networking in Education: Practices, Policies and Realities in 2010, a national survey of 1,200 principals, teachers and librarians found that most agreed that social networking sites can help educators share information and resources, create professional learning communities and improve schoolwide communications with students and staff. Those who had used social networks were more positive about potential benefits than those who had not. In an online discussion with 12 of the principals surveyed, most said, “social networking and online collaboration tools would make a substantive change in students’ educational experience.” They said these tools could improve student motivation and engagement, help students develop a more social/collaborative view of learning and create a connection to real-life learning.

Social networking could become a vital part of the education environment if implemented effectively. In a 2008 study of high school students in the Midwest, researcher Christine Greenhow discovered that social networking expanded the students’ abilities to perform work by “actually practicing the kinds of 21st-century skills we want them to develop to be successful today.”

While some informal surveys suggest that students who spend the most time social networking have lower grades, causation has been difficult to establish. Meanwhile, a 2009 study by the British Council counters that students in the United Kingdom tend to learn more effectively in a social setting and recommends that teachers do three things to capitalize on this finding:

• Determine which social networking sites students like to use.

• Make students aware of free learning opportunities available via social networking sites like Second Life and Facebook.

• Show students how to set up their own blogs using free sites like WordPress.

The authors of a MacArthur Foundation white paper observe that social networking is most effective when educators can “link learners with others who might share their interests or … encourage students to publish works … [for] a larger audience.” The technology offers unique opportunities for collaboration not only among teachers and students but also scientists, business leaders, artists and others from around the world. Social networking can be used to improve team-building skills or to create communities of students, teachers and/or others to discuss a specific subject—much the same way that people get together on Facebook to discuss stamp collecting or a musician.

In the meantime, the U.S. Department of Education’s National Education Technology Plan 2010 calls for “revolutionary transformation rather than evolutionary tinkering.” The plan encourages all states and districts to experiment with social networks and other Web 2.0 technologies “both within and across education institutions” to expand collaborative learning opportunities for students and to create communities of practice among K12 teachers.

Read more at www.districtadministration.com

The Huffington Post explores the risks and benefits of encouraging use of social media in K-12 learning.

Amplify’d from www.huffingtonpost.com

Social Networking In Schools: Educators Debate The Merits Of Technology In Classrooms

Read more at www.huffingtonpost.com

Via eClassroom News:

All the instructors at BGSU (where I teach) just received word that the IT department is removing all the VCRs from campus classrooms.

I'm 36, and VHS tapes have been part of the curriculum since I was in preschool. For me, it's the end of an era in ed tech.

(Does anyone think kids will be watching The Letter People on Blu-Ray 35 years from now?)

Thanks for everything, VHS. Without you, my generation would never have known what foreign people sound like when asking directions to the library, what volcanoes look like when they're erupting, or what bad dialogue irresponsible teens use right before they contract "social diseases" or die in car accidents. You captured our youths in low resolution and pacified us through countless teacher sick days with repeated showings of the "Back to the Future" trilogy. (Why? We may never know.)

You will be missed. 

Your friends,