HOLY COW!  I never knew the stats about students online in these groups.  It was astonsihing to see them!  I am just getting into the social networking world…Twitter (at home since it is not regarded as important by our IT guy) and Facebook (at home).  AS I become emersed in this technology, I am seeing so much benefits to it.  I am still a bit afraid of “letting myself out there”, and see that it could be easier for the kids to do.  The noncomformist role could be a scary one to see kids involved in, but if I were a kid today, I could see myself in that role.  I was a bit of a noncomformist myself, being on the cutting edge of technology while growing up.  I think the key is education of staff, parents and students to help move us safely into the next phase of interaction!

I came across this article - thought it tied into our current discussion.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/education/story/756156.html

The NSBA article was interesting, but not surprising.  This is the world kids have grown up in and it’s a natural part of their surroundings.  I have a 5 year old and 8 year old at home and they use Webkinz and other similar sites.  They know the rules, I don’t let them completely “loose” and I have to trust that they we are helping them develop a sense of right and wrong.  They make decisions online much like they do on the bus, in the cafeteria at school and playing with friends- we hope we teach them appropriate behaviors and rules (and that they follow them).  Read the rest of this entry »

I just wanted to share…since our beginning discussion about what we will be talking about this year in WC! I went home and started experiementing with Skype, and it is great!  My youngest brother is at college and my family and I have been keeping in touch with him through Skype.  It is almost like he is right in the room and carrying on a conversation with me.  So much better than video chatting or a phone conversation, with Skype you can do both, talk and see the person both at the same time. 

Since Socrates instructed his pupils in seeking answers we as a society have given our students the tools to seek answers. Many times they may not “own” the information but at least they are looking for the answers. Social networking can be a powerful tool that allows the students to take greater ownership of their learning, just what we want them to do. Sure getting by Bess and the other gatekeepers is a pain, though the kids know how, I just get annoyed that the blocking seems to be very dodgy in some places.

The issue that I face as an instructor is to find the time for my own educational social networking. Sure I have 2 blogs, a Facebook page, and am on twitter, but I can’t really say that I am involved in any of them because I have gotten into so many things at school and with State Ed, at least I keep my web-page up to date. If only I could drop something.

Someday it won’t be a matter of making time because it will be essential to have to actually do it or the students will be left wondering why we are not giving using the tools that that they are.

Thought this was interesting.

http://www.edutopia.org/web-2.0-tools-filtering-firewalls

I must say that a year ago I would have agreed with the strict rules that schools impose on technology use in school.  This year I have my own Facebook account, I blog, I twitter, I text and am amazed by what I learn, who I have reconnected with from my past and how easy it is to communicate with other people.  Just like everything else, kids are going to find a way to do what they want.  My 17 year old niece is so good at texting that she doesn’t even have to look at her phone, making it very easy to text me during her class.  Technology is going to keep changing and so do we.

I read Creating and Connecting by NSBA a few weeks ago but never got to blogging about it. I still have the same feelings today. I need to stop thinking about social networking on the computer as a technology that should be avoided. I can see now that there are elements that could be utilized to pull in students and enhance learning in the classroom.

We have a local high school club and the kids keep asking my husband and I to get on facebook and myspace so that we can more effectively communicate with them. I guess it is time!!! I agree that the more we find out about what our students are doing, the more we can utilize these technologies for their benefit.

Just finished rereading Creating and Connecting by NSBA. Prior to reading the article, I didn’t realize how much time students, especially young students, are spending on social networking. Now that my own children are in their 20s, I no longer monitor their computer usage. When I asked them if they felt the numbers were accurate, they thought the percentages might even be low. My feeling is that if students are willing to spend this much time with peers networking, then as educators, we need to utilize this in our teaching. The more you practice something, the better you become. So if students are writing, reading and communicating effectively through this, then definitely utilize this tool to enhance their learning.

I found it especially interesting to read that the “nonconformists” (students earning a mix of Bs and Cs or lower) are the same students on the cutting edge of this form of technology. Sounds like social and educational networking is the way to go to actively engage this type of learner. Use the nonconformist’s expertise to promote not only his/her learning but that of their peers and educators.

I agree that we as educators (and the policy makers of our district), need to use and become familiar with the various tools available before we can make informed decisions as to how to best utilize this to promote learning and understanding. (The unknown is always a bit frightening.) The whole issue of to “block or not to block” access will also need to be addressed. Nothing is more frustrating than to have BESS pop up - an issue worth discussing at another time!

After reading, “Creating and Connecting,” published by the National School Boards Association, I have had to rethink my attitude about letting my own children have more time on the computer.  Perhaps it is not to be as feared as I once thought.

I just read a recent blog entry written by Will Richardson. Though I don’t always agree with Will, I do think he hit this on the head! We can’t filter everything our students see in real life, so why filter everything on the web? Even if we do filter for students, why are some schools filtering content for their staff members? Aren’t these the same people that we hire to put in charge of educating our children?

Filter Fun by Will Richardson

I would like to read/visit other wc blog sites. But, I must not be doing this correctly in terms of finding the sites.  I’ve tried a search-no luck. I’ve looked around the wc site, but haven’t found any links to other sites from our group. Do you have a suggestion?