Social Networking Is Where It's At

Test Your Iconic Symbols Knowledge!

Did you identify all of the above symbols? McDonalds, Mickey Mouse, Batman, and Nike are all pretty recognizable for most of us, but there are some that might not be so easy.

Try your hand at the ones below.

Did you guess Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, and MySpace? If you did, you are probably among the growing group of people, including the youth, who use these social networking sites on a regular basis.

For our students today, these sites are a normal part of their existence. Most could not address an envelope if they were asked to, because email, text, and social networks have taken the place of snail mail and a regular ole phone call. Come on and admit it. Most of you hate when your phone rings with someone delivering trivial information. Just send a text, right? We have the apps on our phones, the sites bookmarked on our computers, and the time to communicate with a large group of people quickly in between our daily task, so why is it that most schools refuse to allow students to use these sites for educational purposes despite research proving the value of such tools?

The American Association of School Librarians, or AASL, completed a longitudinal study in which they looked at the 21st Century Learner and the tools that these students learned the best using. Not surprising, 53% of this generation’s learners use some sort of collaboration when learning is at its best. Students immensely enjoy collaborating with peers and using technology rather than paper and pen. There are numerous ways educators, including SLMS, can use these social networking sites to deliver information and lessons, collect student work, and provide feedback to students. School or class pages on Facebook, a list of wonderful resource tools on Delicious, a reading list on LibraryThing, and followers on Twitter could be used for group discussions, collaborated work, and troubleshooting. A student using these social networking sites does not have to wait until the next day to ask a question; simply posting the question online with guarantee an almost immediate answer from someone. Chances are another student can answer the question and teach someone else.

The sheer fact that technology is involved will likely encourage students to join in the work. Reading a short story might not be so painful if it is online with images and even external tools. Much like how EReaders work, posts on these Social Networking sites can easily be hyperlinked by the teacher with additional resources, images, and websites for enhanced learning. I know I use my word “look up” option on my IPad frequently, and students may very well, too. My students would never in a million years get up and walk across the classroom to grab a *gasp* dictionary; I admit I never kept a dictionary handy when I read my non-electronic books. For the students who are unsure of themselves in class or for the ones who simply are shy and soft spoken, online options are wonderful opportunities for them to express themselves without the fear of public speaking.

Of the many concerns that come with Social Networking, internet safety is perhaps the largest. This legitimate fear has made many school districts, including Coweta County where I teach, filter or block these social sites for students. In order for us to enjoy technology, there are people out there who have created numerous ways to protect our students as they use these tools in and out of school. Resources like Connect Safely – Smart Socializing Starts Here, GetNetWise, and Stay Safe.org for Teenagers are geared towards teaching young children, adolescences, and young adults to use the internet and social networking sites safely and wisely without putting themselves in danger by releasing too much personal information. By using sites likes these, we as educators can teach our students to become their own filters while using Social Networking sites to enhance their learning.