Hello and hope everyone is having a great summer. Here are my thoughts on thing 3.
I have had no experience with social media. The idea of it makes me feel exposed. I have no real interest in communicating this way.
I imagine social media sights might make it easier for some to communicate. Although, I worry about the implication of that. When you lose voice tone and facial expressions it is difficult to know what someone means sometimes. I suppose this form of communication may make some people more careful about what they say but, on the other hand, may free other people to be uninhibited without regard to those reading what they write.
I'm not sure what effect face book, twitter, etc. will have on how students learn. As a third grade teacher, I can't imagine managing that. Who will monitor what students are doing on these sights? What impact would this have on the school legally? Who is responsible for what students may say or do? As seen in some of the videos I watched, I could see how at a high school or college level you may get increased involvement which would lead to more learning. At the third grade level I need more convincing.
So, there you have it. I look forward to checking out some of the topics coming up as they seem more like things I would feel comfortable using.
Gina
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Your concerns are very real, and schools around the world are being forced to deal with them. Although elementary students may not be using sites like Facebook or Twitter, there are certainly social networking aspects to many of the sites they do use, like Club Penguin or Togetherville. Personally, I think social media applies to the elementary age because we know that it will be a part of their lives, and because we have the opportunity to teach them about responsible use of such technologies before they reach those impulsive teenage years!
ReplyDeleteI also like your point about losing social cues like body language, voice inflection, and facial expression when you communicate through social media tools. I don't know that kids (and even adults) realize what an important part of communication those factors are, and the messages we transmit to the world through digital media can easily be misinterpreted or misread. Again, I think there's a lesson for our students somewhere there!
Hopefully you'll be able to find some professional value for yourself in social media--Classroom 2.0 is a particularly valuable resource for educators.
Great insights! Thing 3 complete!