Saturday, September 14, 2013
Danielle and Morgan are concerned about social media in school. Is it appropriate?
A brief post on BusinessDayOnline.com by Naomi Ndbueze questions social media, children, and education, and how they fit together. Social media sites, such asFacebook and Twitter, have become a staple in the lives of most children, teens, and even adults. While these social networks can be beneficial to keeping in touch with friends and family, they can become huge distractions and take away from time that can and should be dedicated to schoolwork. It's even more of a concern when children are being givenSmartphones at such young ages, because it makes these websites accessible 24/7. Technology definitely has its place in the classroom, but does social media? Technology can be extraordinarily beneficial, but when social networking comes to play does it become an addiction? Also, should elementary-aged students even be permitted to have access to social networking where stalkers and pedophiles may be in such of a target audience?
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I think that social media can have a place in the classroom as long as it is limited and is closely supervised and monitored by the teacher, like creating a class Twitter account that only the teacher has access to. For example, if the students are learning about classical music in their music class, they could try "tweeting" a question to Yo-Yo Ma, the renowned American cellist. I think if social media is used in ways similar to this, it gives the students a more personal connection to a figure or role model who represents the topic they are studying. This way would also allow the students to safely use social media as the teacher would be the only person actually on the social networking site and would be closely monitoring any interactions the class establishes with public figures.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what Lindsay posted. I think that social media cites, such as Twitter and Facebook, can be beneficial in the classroom as long as it is limited and closely supervised and monitored by the teacher. This way the students can use the technology that they enjoy to research role models or famous figures, such as musicians, while being protected by the teacher from stalkers and pedophiles. I think using these cites to research a person or band can be helpful for students and like Lindsay said, make a more personal connection. I also heard of ideas using fake Facebook pages as projects. An example of a project would be having students create a fake Facebook page for a famous person in history, such as Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King Jr. The students would have to research the person in order to make the page seem realistic. These types of fake pages can be found on different websites, this way they are protected from strangers and can be monitored by the teacher.
ReplyDeleteI also think that teachers can use this to help students decide what is real and what is not. There are many Twitter accounts that say they are a famous person but are not really that person. Teachers can use this as a way to teach students how to protect themselves from following someone who is not who they say they are. Students will eventually join the social media cites, this way they can at least know how to be protected. There are elementary students with Facebook pages and Instagram pages already! This way they can be educated.
I think that social media is more of a teenage problem than it is an elementary school grade level problem, but I think that’s quickly changing. Social media such as Facebook was first intended for college level individuals, but now it’s evident that it has made its way to a younger age group. Although social media is more of a high school age group problem, I think that teachers should utilize social media in the classroom to prepare the younger generation to be more responsible. Similar to what Lindsay and Nicole had said, social media use in the classroom should be used with restrictions and supervision and could be utilized to make lessons more entertaining with fake accounts or for questions about the lesson. Social media is addicting, and teachers should use that to their advantage. Channeling social media addiction to class topics would be a great use of it. Blogging for example, just as how it is used in this class, could be used to continue classroom discussions and for classmates to collaborate ideas. Students, who have something to say, but tend to be shy, will have an opportunity to be heard through social media being used this way, for example. Teachers should make use of the positives of social media to help make their students into responsible social media users.
ReplyDeleteI believe social media can be used in the classroom and can enhance the learning environment to an extent. I agree with the earlier posts and think a class Twitter and Facebook account can be beneficial provided they have high privacy settings and are supervised by the teacher. Students are familiar with social media and it would be an easy transition for them to utilize these resources in the classroom. They would probably find it fun to create a Facebook about a famous person or create an educational Twitter account. However, the teacher has to be committed to monitoring and overseeing all social media activity.
ReplyDeleteNonetheless, at some point, students have to put the technology aside and write and not “tweet.” Students need to have interactions with written text and read from books and not screens. Proper spelling and sentence structure still needs to be encouraged and students need to realize they cannot always speak the way they do on Facebook and Twitter. Social media technology can enhance the classroom but should not empower it. Social media can be a valuable learning tool but students must be taught how to use it correctly and teacher supervision is essential.
Social media will eventually affect all children! Eventually, young children are going to be exposed to all of the different realms of the web and parents and teachers only have so much control! If one child’s parent protects their child from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, it does not necessarily mean that another child’s parent is as protective. Children may learn about these social media websites from other children who are given permission to access these sites! Children learn what they live and if they live with older siblings they are probably going to be exposed to these social media websites at an earlier age as well.
ReplyDeleteWhile there is really no control over a child’s home life, social media can be controlled in the classroom. Social media should be incorporated into the classroom because eventually each student is going to be exposed to it! If teachers can guide students and show them how to properly use social media tools at an earlier age, then maybe there would not be such a problem or “addiction” later in life.
Teachers should utilize social media tools because it engages students, its creative and it generates new ideas for both teacher and student. The use of Facebook in the classroom is an amazing tool! With the observation and guidance from a teacher, students could use Facebook as a blogging tool. Students could create their own profiles with fake names and fake pictures (for protection) and communicate with other students across the world! Instead of using a blog (like we discussed last week) students would have the opportunity to engage in conversations with students who live in California, India etc. Students would have the opportunity to ask their OWN questions! This type of lesson would teach students the importance of email, responding to emails (posts), understanding the basics of the internet which is a life skill! The greatest thing about the inclusion of social media in the classroom is that it is everywhere! Facebook and Twitter are now used for advertising and other informative purposes in businesses therefore using social media in the classroom is possibly preparing students for their future careers.
Social interaction in not new; the specific aspect of social media is quite new however. Because it is so new, we must learn how to use it properly. What exactly qualifies misuse or abuse is still being discovered. The problem does not lie with the technology because the technology is only a mere tool. People need to learn proper "internet etiquette" from those who know better (namely the adults). However, herein lies the problem. With the technology being so new that that the adults barely know what is what, the children are almost left to their own endeavors (however dangerous they may be). With the youth being too young to understand how to responsibly handle social media and the grown-ups to out of the "know-how", what are we to do? I believe that the answer lies in the generation that fills the gap between (the young adults). They can bring the moral etiquette of the elder generation to the new medias of the youth. Social media has countless benefits to society in terms of creating a global community if used correctly. It is up to us to make sure that happens.
ReplyDeleteI believe that social media can be beneficial in the classroom, as long as it used responsibly. I really liked what Lindsay said, about the class being able to interact with someone that they might be studying. Many people think that twitter is just to write what you want, but there are also educational twitter accounts out there. In one of my classes last year, we had a guest speaker who taught us all about fake facebook accounts for famous people, like former presidents. I think that is something that would be useful in every classroom when teaching social studies. Overall, I think that using social media in the classroom could be extremely beneficial to learning. It makes it fun and interactive, which will keep the students wanting to learn. When using social media with younger students, you have to be careful because there are things out there that you may come across that may not be appropriate.
ReplyDelete*Technology definitely has its place in the classroom, but does social media?
ReplyDeleteI do believe that social media has a place in the classroom; however, just like with technology in general in the classroom, the inclusion of social media in the classroom should be thoughtful, meaningful, and heavily monitored by teachers and school administrators. For example, one type of general technology that is great for classroom use is movies/ videos. Videos are enjoyable and they reinforce key concepts of lessons in enjoyable, entertaining, and visually stimulating ways. However, teachers obviously must know not to just expect that showing any random video in her classroom will aid her students’ learning. The teacher must carefully choose videos that will enhance her lessons and that are age and cognitively appropriate for her students. The tie with social media is that although social media has a place in classrooms, teachers need to have strict, focused guidelines for exactly how the social media sites will add to and enliven their lessons. If teachers just expect that letting students ‘use social media’ in conjunction with their assignments will be beneficial in some way, yet they give no focus or specific meaningfulness to the use of the social media site usage, they will be just as ineffective as a teacher who thinks she is making her lessons a step above the rest with technology, but only shows pointless, non-thought-out movies and videos.
*Technology can be extraordinarily beneficial, but when social networking comes to play does it become an addiction?
For some, social networking definitely could become an addiction. Some students are more vulnerable to becoming addicted to social networking than others (just as some students and adults for that matter are more susceptible to any addictions than others). In order to avoid social networking becoming an addictive factor in students’ lives, teachers should look at which students are vulnerable and talk to them about the dangers or letting social media take over their lives. Students who are socially awkward with their peers might be at risk of becoming addicted to social networking. They might struggle with human interaction in the real world, but find solace and acceptance in a community of virtual friends. Students who struggle with their school work might also become addicted to social networking sites. The struggling student might get distracted easily when doing an assignment that does not come easily to him or her. The student might use social networking to procrastinate school work and avoid his or her school-related responsibilities.
*Also, should elementary-aged students even be permitted to have access to social networking where stalkers and pedophiles may be in such of a target audience?
Sadly, anywhere those students go, there will be sick and mentally perverse men and women who aim to corrupt and exploit their innocence. For example, letting students play outside and explore nature or taking them on educational field trips so that they can learn about the world around them is probably much more dangerous than staying in the classroom, shielded by four walls and a locked door. However, shielding students in such a way would obviously be detrimental to their cognitive growth and education exploration. For this reason, I do believe that elementary students should be allowed access to social networking sites, with heavy teach and parents supervision. It is extremely unfortunate that threats like stalkers and pedophiles exist in our world today, but we cannot let that stop children from taking advantage of something that might help them to learn.
Technology is definitely useful in any classroom, with students of all ages. In many of the classes I have observed, some sort of technology is used in almost every lesson. Social media, however, takes technology in the classroom into a whole other level. Social media is beginning to take shape in some school districts. For example, I hear teachers talk about social media more often, and even some of the students bring up issues to the teacher about topics discussed in social media. Being placed in a high school, I hear about who said what on Facebook all the time. Social media is becoming a part of our community’s everyday lives. How many times a day do we hear, “Like us on Facebook and Twitter to find out more”? It is only a matter of time that social media will be integrated into everyday school lessons. There are so many different types of social media that can be used in the classroom without worrying about the students’ own personal Internet accounts. For example, there is an educational version of both Facebook and Twitter.
ReplyDeleteSocial networking can definitely become addicting to people of all ages. I know some people who post online at least three times a day. I observe at Verona High School in a freshman class. I bet almost all the students in the classes I observe have some kind of social networking account, but I surprisingly do not see anyone on their phone in the classroom. I would expect that more students would try and sneak their phones to be on Facebook or Instagram, but I have not seen that yet this year. They must not be as addicted as I expected them to be.
Finally, I do not think elementary aged students should be allowed to have access to social networking sites. I know it is not like this in today’s society, but I think there are just some things that people should not get until they are older. Students that are young should not have any kind of Internet profile because of how risky it really is for them. Teachers cannot control what the students are allowed to do at home, but they should learn about the safety of the Internet before creating a profile.