Social Networking in Education

On my last post, I made a statement about how I feel that social networking has no educational value. I guess I just needed to change my way of thinking around just a little bit. Although I still feel that social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, are not appropriate for use with students in the classroom, they can be beneficial for teachers to network with one another. Just as blogging and wikis can be useful in helping teachers to share ideas with one another, social networking can provide teachers with a method to communicate and share ideas with one another as well. On Facebook, users can create "groups," which are usually related to a particular topic or interest. Users can create and join a group for the sole purpose of discussing curriculum related ideas. I created an HCPSS Third Grade Teachers - Technology Ideas group in Facebook to be used by third grade teachers next year. To see it, you can add me as a friend in Facebook and view my "groups."

Social Networking

Social networking, such as Facebook and MySpace, is the creation of online communities of people who can interact through e-mail and messaging services. Users can find "friends" based on common interests or by searching categories, such as a user's high school or college. Members of social networking sites can create profiles, showcasing photos and videos, personal interests, hobbies, and even personal contact information. Social networking has an array of pros and cons. On the positive side, social networking gives people the opportunity to stay in touch with people that they may not otherwise have contact with. It is also a great outlet to meet new and interesting people, if you are trusting of the people you meet online. That leads me into the negatives of social networking sites. How can you trust the new people you meet? I may be pessimistic, but we don't live in a particularly trustworthy society, especially in this world of the Internet. I would much rather meet a person face to face, and get to know them in a public setting, rather than behind the screen of a computer. I like to view social network sites as a way to stay in touch with old friends, rather than meeting new ones.

Social networking sites, as they are designed today, have no place in education. There isn't enough security available on social networking sites today to make them a safe place for young students to explore. I would love to see an educational based social networking site where teachers or administrators have the ability to control who becomes a member. If only the students at my school could become members, and the messaging and profile content could be controlled, I can see this as a being a positive way for students to meet each other and make new friends. Until then, I do not see social networking sites as being beneficial in the world of education.