Social media and it's many uses is a very 'hot topic' in the news these days. It seems that there tends to be two points of view about it's many uses. One school of thought expresses the usefulness social networking sites, like facebook, have in an educational setting. The other thought is that the outcomes of such use will be more negative than positive.
Coming to the AHRD program, this is the first time I have used any type of social networking application as an instructional tool (using facebook for discussions). I think that in the setting of higher education, with the assumption that students are more mature and responsible with/about information, these are very useful tools connecting students with their peers and teachers.
I found this clip on CNN in the technology section.
I wanted to know what you guys think?
Is the use of this technology positive or negative (somewhere in between), and why?
I thought the idea of parents checking on what their kids are doing, really changes their relationship with teachers, is this a good thing? will teachers become too focused on updating parents; could parents become to questioning of what is going on in the classroom with this new information?
Finally, I think the point that the fourth grade teacher brings up in the end about kids using social networking outside of school is inevitable, so why not teach them productive and responsible ways to use it? A great point I never thought about...
What do you all think?
I feel this tool is excellent, especially given the fact that they are putting this positive spin on social networking. It’s actually pretty creative and taps into e-learning so to speak in that it gives parents a different form of learning as opposed to sending a letter home that the parent must read. Some parents may not be able to capture what is done via a letter, but can now see it being that there is an option on Facebook to add pictures as well. Like the woman in the video stated, “Most of their parents are on it anyways.” By her saying this it is true and it can now be something that is slipped into their daily activity that they are already are doing. I feel the relationship will more than likely be enhanced, because now the parent is are more involved. I know when I was growing up; it made a great impact that my mom was involved in my education as well as involved with my school regularly. So I feel the students will sense that their parent cares. Overall I feel it is innovative and a great idea!
ReplyDeleteI was a sophomore in college when the Facebook craze started. At first, it was exclusively for college students. I could post photos, stay in contact with friends, plan events, and stalk the hotties from class in peace. Then high schoolers were allowed to join, and soon after that anyone with a valid email address. Now everyone and their mom (literally) is on Facebook and it has lost much of its appeal for me.
ReplyDeleteHowever, life is about adapting so there's no point of pining for the "glory days" of Facebook. I'm all for using Facebook to keep parents more informed about what their kids are up to at school. Having taught for a couple years, however, one thing I would be wary of is teachers opening themselves up to more criticism and critiquing from outside sources. Education is one of those topics (like politics or religion) that everyone has an opinion on, especially when it comes to their own children. Educators will have to set strict guidelines as to how much input a parent can have - otherwise their authority in the classroom will be very easily undermined. If parents are able to be respectful and supportive, then it could be succesful. It really depends on the relationships between the parents and teachers.
I think the use of social networking in classes is wonderful. The parents being able to check up on what their kids are doing opens up an important gateway in learning for kids. It reminds me of how many times I arrived home from school, one or both of my parents would ask “what did you learn in school today?” Take a wild guess as to what the response was, “nothing.” The use of technology, in this case facebook, allows for parents to engage their kids and open up a discussion about what they actually learned. This way parents can provide more of a personal insight into what their child has learned and possibly make it even easier for them to comprehend. It’s the same thing we are doing in the AHRD program. Almost every class has a connection to a social networking site, we all gather here to open a discussion about things related to what we are learning. We expand our knowledge so much from something as simple as conversing between one another. Social networking is a great tool in education facilitation. I can only imagine how much more knowledge I would have if things like this existed in my early education.
ReplyDeleteI think, that like everything else with education. It can be a very great thing. The one thing it does require, is more involvement from parents and family members. This is what I believe that most schools and education struggle with here in our society. Parent involvement. In other cultures I don't believe parent involvement is a problem as much, because they make the children more independently motivated to do the work. However here in America I don't believe that is the case. Though, as people who are more adapted to technology grow up they will use these tools to keep involved with their children. That is where something like this can succeed, in this country. I can see checking Facebook to get involved with my children's and students studies, It would be difficult to imagine previous generations doing this as much.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Facebook can be an excellent tool to utilize in education, but like everything else, there are some cons. As for the positive aspects, it’s a great way for parents to be more involved in their child's learning experience. Parents are not only informed about their child's curriculum but they are also afforded an easy and convenient medium to give and receive information to teachers. Lastly, social media can help initiate the communication process between children and their parents about their academics. Some of the negative aspects could include the micromanagement of the teachers from the parents. Parents may expect teachers to post every detail of the classroom on the sight, monitor the lessons being taught, and scrutinize the teacher if they are not pleased. It may also hinder the growth process of the child in regards to learning independence because in many ways they are always connected to their parents. Finally, I think that teaching young students to use social media in the classroom early on is a great way to teach them how to make a positive influence with social media. It shows them that there is more than one way to utilize everything!
ReplyDeleteAt this grade level, this is purely positive. This will probably be most of the students' first interactions with Facebook, and it is in a constructive way. Most parents would probably appreciate it as well because the usefulness is two-fold. 1. They can stay on top of what their children are doing in class. This should assist with conversation at home. Instead of being at the dinner table and asking their child, "What did you do in school today?" and the child responding "Nothing." The conversation may now go, "What did you learn when the class did...(insert info obtained from student's Facebook status)" 2. It will help to close the generation gap between parents and their children. It could make it interesting for the dynamics of parent/child relationships. Social networking in the classroom will also engage the students. I know school age children younger than the ones in this video who are already very technologically advanced. My 6 year old cousin can work my aunt's Palm Pre (cell phone) better than my aunt can utilizing the camera, playing games, and sending text messages. More power to any teacher who is innovative, creative and courageous enough to try this out in their classrooms and take the necessary steps to include it in their curriculum.
ReplyDeleteI truly feel that this tool can be a positive addition to building the teacher/student relationship. However, considering we are talking about fourth grade students, I'm not too sure how beneficial it will be to the students. Informing parents about the activities that their child has engaged in can bee seen as a good thing, however parents may expect the teacher to post every little detail of that day which of course can be very time consuming. I can see how the parent/teacher relation can help foster conversation at home based on what information has been posted.
ReplyDeleteI personally use social media networks on a daily bases. At times I feel like these networks take up too much of my time. Teaching a child to use items such as Facebook at such a young age, may be a bit much. I feel that there are too many variables to consider when dealing with children of this age.
SN* I think Facebook has a an age requirement for its users. Not sure exactly what that is.
My first reaction to the video was "Wow, that's a great idea!" Because I work in an environment where I interact with elementary school children (and sometimes their parents) daily, I see how important it is for many parents to know what's really going on in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteSome of the younger children aren't able to communicate as well as older children on what activities and lessons they learned that day. On the flip side, some of the older children are getting to the stage when you ask "What did you learn today in school?" and all they say is "Stuff."
Like the video said, many parents are getting on Facebook daily anyway, so it really is an advantage to have that academic information available in such an accessible location.
Of course there are some downsides. Some parents may not want to join Facebook, or even have access to the internet. Privacy and security are also huge issues. The students' names should never be published and the page should be private. However, if the "friends" or "fans" of that certain page are publicly displayed, some people could make connections with the last names.
All in all, I think it is a great idea and would be much appreciated by many parents!
Personally feel that there could be great opportunities in incorporating social networks into educational technology. Agree with and had not thought of many of the ideas in the CNN video and in the posts listed above. Thought the notion of using social networking statues to work on sentence writing was a great idea. Also having the ability for parents to be more in tune with their kids school work seems positive but to which degree their direct involvement should be I am unsure.
ReplyDeleteFrankly though I do not see Facebook as the perfect tool to incorporate in its current state. Mainly because in its original conception this was not one of the main components. I would foresee many issues with privacy, viruses, support, and distractions such as games, media content, live chat, real time status updating.
Enjoyed reading the blog post. Food for thought.
Typically, I am not a huge advocate for new technologies and social networking. I feel in a sense, traditional in that sometimes technology is just not necessary. As I use social networking sites and new technologies more and more I see that they are indeed useful. I just am not certain that using it in first grade classes, or even fourth grade classes is necessary.
ReplyDeleteIncorporating technology is important in classrooms, but teaching our kids to be constantly linked in and accessible at such an early age may not be a positive thing. Instead of facebook being used in classes I would like to see other educational programs being used, allowing for more interactive experience for the student. I believe one day that facebook will be an adequate learning tool, but I don't think it is necessary for our first and fourth graders.
I can honestly say that I commend this school system's efforts in trying to challenge our society's use of social networking. It has been a huge part of where the age of technology is going, and to embrace this trend was strategic and innovative. The use of social networking has been increasing exponentially and for this not to be intentionally incorporated into the curriculum is really naive.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do believe that the use of Facebook isn't the best vehicle in submerging the classroom with social networking. There is already a perspective that has already been set as how facebook is used. This being said, there may be some parents who are trying to discourage the use of these social medias because of the unsecure environment they are ran on.
I genuienely think that the opportunities to empower students with social media is powerful. The experience at a young age will really prepare these students in manys ways. On the other hand, I feel as if there was a forum created that gave the kids the same experience, with updating classroom life, writing and communication, then that would be a better alternative.
I am a bit apprehensive about using Facebook to keep parents up-to-date. I guess I'm just a bit worried about information just being out there! Knowing there are ways to set security in Facebook add some comfort. I'm just not one who feels comfortable with everyone (even my friends) knowing my moment to moment doings. And I especially wouldn't want everyone knowing my children's doings. I remember when my daughter started using Facebook - I would get so upset with her for putting my grandchildren's pictures out there - I have learned a lot of the security settings in Facebook but making sure the security settings are applied can be a time consuming act. I'm more for using it as a chat with friends and family that I don't see on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with Curtis' statement that more parental involvement is needed for the children in our schools today, I'm not convinced that bringing Facebook into the classroom will achieve that goal. I would prefer to see teachers that are present with the children and teaching healthy social interaction within the classroom. An update to parents on activities and assignments can be sent out at the end of each day via email lists without the security and privacy issues of a Facebook post already mentioned. Personally, I have been irritated on Facebook by those people that believe their individual lives are so fascinating that they should post every activity of their day. Do we really want to teach this to our youth in school? I, like Bradford, believe that technology in the classroom should have an educational purpose.
ReplyDeleteSocial media is the new email. In my work with students, I'm finding that fewer of them actually read their emails, but are quite attentive to social media outlets. Overall, I think the use of social media can be a positive things, as it gives us insight on how this generation communicates, what's important to them, and their parents. However, I wonder if anyone is really asking the questions, "What does this mean for the long term?" For instance, what will this mean for 'in loco parentis' and FERPA at the college level is teachers are involving the parents using FB in elementary school? What will be the parents' expectations of receiving information from college professors or the registrar's office? How might this impact middle and high school teachers' instructional style/technique? How does this foster indepence among students?
ReplyDeleteI know I present a lot of questions here, but because the technology is so new, the long-term implications are still unknown. I think we should continue to ask critical questions about social media, and be mindful of the trends and the implications. There are a lot of positive factors, and those shouldn't be negated; rather let's be realistic about the appropriate uses of social media.
Facebook is fine for adolescents in high school and college. Even then, Facebook can distract my 16 year old daughter. She chats away sometimes on Facebook until after midnight. I can see where utilizing Facebook in class discussions is smart on faculty's part. Students spend so much time on there anyway that getting them to join in on discussions is more efficient. On the other hand, I have a 5th grade (10 years old) son who got on Facebook last year unbeknownst to me. When I did find out, there were 2 - 3 30-something (year old) men that had "friended" him. We didn't know any of them. After that, I had my son shut down his account. I was surprised to find out that he doesn't miss it at all. If there was a way that 4th & 5th graders could participate in Facebook for educational purposes without the Facebook stalkers, then it would be great. Until then, I have to say no--it's not a good idea. Besides, aren't kids supposed to be at least 13 before than can set up an Facebook account?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Elaine for the great topic!
I like the usage of Facebook for an educational tool, yet I am a bit cautious for the younger students. What happens when the parent is no longer required to meet the teacher? What about the conversation between the child and parent. Although it may spark conversation, it might give a less involved parent more of a reason not to communication with their child about school work. I would utilize social networks to highlight key things, but not take the place of one on one contact.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that is can help bridge the gap between parents and child. The fact that I can encourage my family to have a Facebook account for communication is great. We stay updated and share pictures as our lives change. This is more help than harm because family is unreachable. In turn, for us, Facebook increases the verbal communication rather than omit it.
I think at this point in time the popularity of social media use and availability is overwhelming. There are so many modes of communication now-a-days and Facebook seems to be moving up the chain as being the most frequented. The example Elaine provided to us was a great representation.
ReplyDeleteI do believe if social media is used in appropriate and effective ways, then it can be extremely beneficial. If the students learn to use this social media in a positive way now, then when the opportunity presents itself in the future they will be aware and knowledgeable about this "movement" to make good decisions when browsing and using social media.
I think involving the parents in such a way that they can just log on with a user name and password whenever is convenient to them makes the relationship stronger between teacher and parents, and children. Parents will be more in the know about what their kids are learning in school and maybe even learn about volunteer opportunities or other important dates in advance. This process might even make parent-teacher conferences feel more comfortable and inclusive for all involved.
As for the kids in the classroom, I think it is giving them a chance to be more interactive and involved. This way they get to express how they felt about the activities done that day in class, explain in their own terms how the day went. They get the opportunity to learn how to use grammatically correct sentences, learn about pronouns, adjectives, etc. All in all, I think Facebook use in the classroom is an excellent representation of a progressive school of thought.
Like all technology, this is just a tool. Facebook could be a powerful tool for the classroom but without proper management I can really see it being just another cool technology 'toy' rather than a useful tool in the end.
ReplyDeleteTo address the video, of course their are some pros and cons to an elementary use of the social network. I wonder how often the teacher uses it to post updates and how useful it really is to parents. I mean does the teacher really have time to post online after almost all activities? Do the parents want to know everything that's going on? What if only 40% of the parents are actually reading the posts. Is it worth it? I guess the teacher has to get the parents on board because that's the whole point of what she's doing in and between classes. This seems like it would get tedious day after day after day.... Even if they correct the grammar on the postings and maybe some other things, is it really a viable source of learning. I can think of more effective ways to work on grammar even with technology. I don't want to be harsh though. The teacher should be commended for trying something new and exploring a new idea of integrating a social network through the classroom as an experiment.
I agree with some of the other comments that these kids will be on Facebook or some other thing soon enough. Learning to work with it is a cool idea and of course the parents have the most control in what their kids will do at that age anyway.
As most everyone above said, I think there are many pros and cons to using facebook and other social networking sites within the classroom. I am leaning towards not using them in K-12 but in higher ed they could be of value. There are many reasons I would not feel comfortable using this in a classroom with young children. Allowing parents insight into the days activities is wonderful, but realistically I think it would not add much to the learning for students and would create more work for the teacher. The educator would inevitably be expected to keep up with the comments on the page left by parents who all have more ideas about what should be done differently about the lesson. The convenience of facebook would make parents far more likely to express their opinions to the teacher publically than they would if they had to make the effort to meet in person.For parents who are not involved with their childs education, updates could be positive as a way of drawing them in.
ReplyDeletePrivacy is the biggest issue here. I agree that the posts must not name any children and the group should be private, available only to parents of the currently enrolled students.
I say, let these kids have a time in their lives where they are not inundated with social networking. There is more than enough time for that later!