The Social Network! by Gem Butterfield (I just couldn't resist the title!)
Social network technologies are software that let people connect, collaborate, and form virtual libraries through the computer or internet. Sites that allow visitors to send emails, post comments, build web content or take part in live chats are all social networking sites. The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) defines social networking in Teens & Social Networking in School & Public Libraries: A Toolkit for Librarians & Library Workers as “in the online world, this refers to the ability to connect with people through websites and other technologies like discussion boards”.Several Networking tools are defined in the toolkit such as blogs, podcasts, tagging and wikis. In another article by YALSA, Teens & Social Networking in the School & Public Library ties to literacy are given.Social networking tools give teens meaningful ways to use and improve reading and writing skills. All social networking software requires teens to read and write. When a teen:
• Creates a profile on a social networking site,
• Posts or comments on a blog
• Adds or edits content on a wiki
• Searches for social content
• Consults peers online as a part of research
reading and writing skills are required. This is why these technologies are often referred to as the read/write web.
The National School Board Association (NSBA), National School Board Association published survey results regarding social networking in July 2007 reported Patricia Deubel (Deubel, 2009. Social networking in Schools: Incentives for Participation). In the results, 52% of the districts interviewed prohibited the use of social networking sites in school; however it was found that about 60% of students who use social networking are talking about education topics and more than 50% specifically talk about school work. District leaders and teachers find the common social networks to be too global and scary. They also need evidence that social networking adds strong educational value and purpose. Some evidence is tied to providing a 21st century global education including project-based learning. This connects the social network to the curriculum and standards. Another challenge is that of accountability with the current mandates of No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
Fiehn reported on the use of Social Networking and Your Library OPAC. Fiehn introduces several OPAC products which work within your OPAC. Some of those mentioned were of course Destiny by Follett; Fish4Info, and Agent by Auto-Graphics. She also discusses SirsiDynix and Mandarin which have enhanced their OPAC capabilities to include social network type formats. In Fiehn’s discussions and interviews she found that the “top 10 books” was the most frequently used feature of the OPAC. Further responses from library media specialists regarding the use of social networks and the OPAC were met with hesitation as to how it would really work in their schools. Despite the hesitation, there was still a willing enthusiasm (Social Networking Through Your Library Automation System: What Librarians and Vendors Have to Say).
The Secure Social Network by Gail Junion-Metz (2008) offers some great sites and resources for teaching students and children how to be safe online. There are tutorials on how to set up your privacy settings on Facebook, MySpace and Xanga as well as a video about the privacy issues which can be encountered with a social networking site and resources for dealing with these issues. I dare say this may be an article to print and link to parent tabs on a school website.
What a fabulous resource the teacher librarian community TLNing is!It really has a wealth of information and resources. Love the way the blog is arranged to be grouped by latest, featured and favorites. The topics are great ones also, such as bullying and suicide.
Through researching this topic, I still found no mention of edmodo. Edmodo is a social networking tool that is provided through the Discovery Channel and is free. It gets through the filters in my district and is reportedly secure and safe. We have begun using it at my school and it has become fairly popular. You are able to post handouts, links, pictures and more. Not everyone at the school is on yet but we are getting there!
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ReplyDeleteThis class has really brought a lot of new ideas to forefront for me. After reading several of Gem's articles she attached and looking into Edmodo, I can see where educational social networking could be a huge help to students and teachers. All too often I hear fellow teachers complaining about group work their child is doing in middle and high school. The most common frustration is that it is hard for them to get together and one kid ends up doing the brunt of the work. If teachers used a site like Edmodo, she could track who was doing what and there would be more accountability placed on the students. I looked at it similar to the way we do our assignments on course den. If it is safe and secure, then I would not have any problems letting my child use a social networking site for educational purposes. I read some of the teacher blogs and they were really interesting. One teacher who uses Edmodo said she kept her site open all the time and was notified as soon as a new post was made. I think that this could really be the "new thing" and I think Gem's school is one their way to setting a much needed precedence.
ReplyDeleteI also think that parents need to be more informed on the benefits of using social networking. All they think they know is "facebook" or "myspace". Parents are going to naturally fear and reject the unknown. One route to take might be to set up a class for the parents to use as a preview so they would know how the site worked. Kind of like test driving a car. Once they are familiar then I bet they would be some of you biggest advocates and might even be able to sway some of the biggest opponents.
My school system has managed to block everything from the schools, yet as a slap in the face, has a Facebook page for the district page. Go figure. I have heard teachers say they won't visit it on principle. I think there is a real opportunity being lost here. We want to teach and encourage safe surfing, but we don't provide the opportunity. I think giving kids a way to rate books, give feedback, etc. would be an excellent and safe starting point with the OPAC. I would really like to have a fuzzy search which prompts kids with, "Did you mean....." when they misspell a search entry. I also liked the tag cloud mentioned to help students. I looked at Emodo, Gem. What a great idea. I will have to see if my school lets that slide through our filters. I was also excited to read about AGent's ability to share resources. With the deepening financial crisis, it makes sense to connect libraries and share resources. I know we have a lot of disparity within my district between Title I funded schools and non-funded schools. Why not share? Having a social network connecting schools could also bring together more community. I would think that the district would welcome it if they gave it more thought. Our head tech/library guy is retiring in May, perhaps the new guy will be open to it.
ReplyDeleteYour school's success with using Edmondo is inspiring. I read through your Tech Tip about Edmondo and explored the site. Edmondo is very user friendly and I think it would be a great way to introduce younger students to using a facebook like social networking site. Creating a classroom group or a grade level group would be a great way to communicate and share information. As a parent, I would love to be able to join a social network site that sent me notices when the teacher posted a new assignment or an announcement. I always seem to forget to check the teacher's webpage to see if there is a new information that I need to know about. But with social networking I could choose to receive a notification if there is a post to the site. How conveinant for a busy parent. Sadly, most teachers at my daughter's school do not utilize the internet. They do not even take advantage of Galileo let alone try social networking tools. Maybe providing teachers with quick to read tech tips like the one you created may inspire them to give these sites a try.
ReplyDeleteI can see how these sites are getting students to read and write more. However, the amount of abbreviated text used on some of these sites can be quite confusing. I find that I am often shortening sentences when typing because I text so much. I have to remember sometimes to spell out your instead of "ur", or you instead of "u". There are many more abbreviations that I don't even know but most kids do. Perhaps that could be used in lessons to help teach kids. First though the students have to have access.
ReplyDeleteYou also brought up a good point when you stated that now at least 50-60% were using sites appropriately. I wonder if this amount would increase if students had to sign Acceptable Use Policies that incorporate the use of Web 2.0. Students can be responsible and those that might be tempted to stray might be held more in check if they realize the rules and consequences. I also strongly believe that if students were taught how to use these sites effectively then they would be less likely to get off track. Teaching the kids to be responsible is definitely a trait that will serve them well as adults.
I also agree with you that there are sites out there that can be used that are more student friendly and could be more widely accepted by county administrators and parents. I think that everyone needs to be educated on what is available. We typically only hear of all of the bad things that can happen to students if they have unlimited access to the Internet. If the focus were turned around to educate all on the positive sites available then perhaps they might be used more by teachers.