Social Networking in the Classroom

     Of all of the ideas I have come across in the course thus far, I think that social networking is among the most powerful resource which teachers may be able to draw upon in the classroom. One of the greatest aspects of using social media in the classroom is the familiarity which the students have in using social media. I doubt that there are very many students in the middle school/high school range who have not at least heard of Facebook. I bet that even most these students have a Facebook account. Social media can be used to help students become more engaged in school work.

     Previously in ED 4764 we have discussed the use of forums, digital story telling (video and audio editing), cloud computing. A tool like Facebook can compile all of these tools for the classroom into one tool (even aspects of blogging can be incorporated into social networking). Privacy settings can also prevent access of these materials from any other every day user. This is a very promising attribute.

     Increasingly over the last few weeks I have been thinking about the idea of classroom community. I believe that social networks have the power to build a sense of community, which is what they were intended for. A social network like Facebook provides students the opportunities to interact with each other. Even a tool like Twitter can provide ways for students in your classroom to interact outside of the classroom.

     For myself, I would like to try implementing Facebook into the classroom. As such, I would create a group for each of my classes. Students would be invited to join groups associated to the class which they are attending. This page would be a place for students to interact with each other about the class. I would be able to give feedback and positive comments on students work through the group page (along with positive feedback in the classroom). Videos and pictures created in class could be shared on this group page. Parents could also be added to see what is going on. Reminders of classroom events would be given to those who belong to the group. Students would occasionally be asked to give feedback, comments, or answers to questions posed in class, on the group page.

     I believe that social media has potential in the classroom. Of course there are drawbacks, there is the possibility that for personal reasons a student may not participate in social networking. This may inhibit these type of activities, or require you to give alternatives for the student. However in most cases this would not be a problem. If possible to use, I would like to try using social networking in the classroom.

Here are 4 tips for introducing social media into the classroom.