Social Networking in Education

The advantages & disadvantages of using

social networking media in education

Introduction• As technology evolves, education must

evolve• Social networking provides a new outlet to

advance education• Social networking promotes collaboration

and communication skills • Social networking in education can broaden

our students technical proficiency• Social media instills advanced

communication skills

Relative Advantage

Project based learning using social networking & online communities provide…

• Collaboration Skills• Communication Skills• Problem-Solving Skills• These skills are necessary in real-

world problem solving

Social Media Definition

• According to Dictionary.com, social networking is the use of social networking media throughout the use of online media that people may use to communicate and interact with each other (Dictionary.com,2012).

Social Networking in Education

Advantages of Social Media in Education

• Students may become advocates in their communities(Wolpert-Gawron, 2010)

• Promotes individual expression (Willard, 2011)• A forum to create new friendships (Willard,

2011)• Promotes communication (Dearmondj, 2011)• Enhances teamwork &

collaboration(Dearmondj, 2011)• Varies learning environments(Dearmondj,

2011)

Advantages of Social Media in Education

• Promotes critical thinking, problem solving, and global participation (Huffington Post, 2011)

• Creates teacher/student communication (Magid, 2010)

• Provides medium for class announcements (Magid, 2010)

• Creates forum for peer tutoring, reviews, and communication (Magid, 2010)

• Creates varied learning environments (Magid, 2010)

Disadvantages of Social Media in Education

• Students may become victims to sexual predators (Huffington Post, 2011)

• Cyber bullying may occur without a moderator (Huffington Post, 2011)

• Overuse of social media= addiction (Willard, 2011)

• Privacy/ Trust issues within the cyber world (Willard, 2011)

• Text language is often used (Willard, 2011)

Disadvantages of Social Media in Education

• Inappropriate relationship between teachers & students (Huffington Post, 2011)

• Profiles are often public & not private (Huffington Post, 2011)

• Inappropriate materials viewed online by students (Huffington Post, 2011)

The Social Networking Contenders

• FaceBook: is an free interactive world wide social network that includes, photos, videos, a blog, and chat.

• Twitter: is a free microblogging service similar to Tumblr.

• Ning: is an free interactive social media that allows the user to create his or her own social network

• Flickr: is an free interactive online photo sharing community.

Image courtesy of Fun Spill

The Social Networking Contenders

• You Tube: is an free online community tool used to store and view videos.

• Myspace: is an free online social media networking tool similar to FaceBook.

• Tumblr: A free microblogging social network, user posts quick blog posts.

• Pinterest: is an free online community and a social networking site where users create virtual pins & boards.

Image courtesy of Fun Spill

The Social Networking Contenders

How can education benefit from social networking?

• Students can create history presentation videos (Upload videos to You Tube or Teacher Tube)

• Ning- could be used to create a Business Technology class social networking site

• Twitter could be used for a class discussion

Image courtesy of Fun Spill

The Social Networking Contenders

How can education benefit from social networking?

• Flickr could be used in a secondary level business/technology course for digital photography

• Pinterest could be used to gather images for class projects in secondary history, science, or English Literature classes

Image courtesy of Fun Spill

Examples of Social Networks in Education

• Mrs. Spearman’s World History Class This FaceBook page I created as an example of

how an educators can use a Facebook page in a secondary level history course.

• Mrs. Page’s 3rd Grade Class This FaceBook page was created by a 3rd grade

teacher to use to communicate with her class.• FaceBook in Education The official FaceBook education tab includes

ideas, suggestions, and assistance in learning how to use FaceBook in education.

Examples of Social Networks in Education

Image courtesy of Twitter

Image courtesy of My Space

Image courtesy of Facebook

Image courtesy of Teacher Tube

Alternative Examples of Social Networks in Education

• Teacher Tube- This free online collaboration tool provides an alternative video library with educational videos.

• All subject areas, K-12 grade level• Fatclass- Free academic Social

networking site, secondary education, all subject areas

• Educators Connect- Fee based academic social networking site for educators

Image courtesy of Fun Spill

Alternative Examples of Social Networks in Education

• Woogi World- An safe virtual world for K-6 students, parents, and educators.

• Classroom 2.0- Created with the Ning social networking site, this site was created for educators only.

• Imbee- A free safe social networking site for teens, secondary level education Image courtesy of Fun Spill

Social Networks in Education…In Action!

I created this Facebook page as an example of how to use social

networking in a history class.

Image courtesy of FaceBook

Social Networks in Education…In Action!

I created this Twitter page as an example of how to use social

networking in a classroom or for other educators.

Image courtesy

of Twitter

Examples of Online Communities in Education

• Wikis: Community communication & collaboration skill builders

• E.g. Wiki Spaces• WetPaint• PB Wiki• Great for elementary and secondary

Science, English, and History courses

Examples of Online Communities in Education

• Resources for History

This Wikispace is an example of how a Wiki may be used in a K-12 classroom. It was created for secondary level History course educators.

Image courtesy

of WikiSpace

s

Examples of Online Communities in Education

• War of 1812 WikiSpaces

This WikiSpaces was created as a resource/assignment page for a computer lab day in a secondary level History course.

Image courtesy of WikiSpaces

Examples of Online Communities in Education

• Grade level 7-12 History PB Wiki

This PB Wiki was created during my senior year in undergrad, it serves as an example of how to use a wiki in a secondary level History course.

Image courtesy of PB Wikis

Examples of Online Communities in Education

• Blogs: Community communication & collaboration skill builders

• E.g. Blogger• Word Press• Thoughts• Great for secondary level student

journaling, History, English, Literature courses, including foreign Language courses

Examples of Online Communities in Education

• EduBlogs – Edublogs is an blogger service created for K-12, adult, and higher education.

• E.g. Huzzah Edublog

Image courtesy of

EduBlogs

Examples of Online Communities in Education

• American Citizenship Study Guide

I created this blog as an example of how to use a blog in an Adult Education level: ABE, ESL- American ESL citizenship course.

Image courtesy

of Blogger

Examples of Online Communities in Education

Image courtesy of Delicious Image courtesy of SlideRocket

Resources

• Dearmondj (2011, July 14). Social Networking in Education . You Tube. Retrieved February 20, 2012, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZLtP5ug9jc&context=C3c3885aADOEgsToPDskIphMDQ1JoVExYb2X_vFJ3V

• Huffington Post (2011, May 27). Social Networking In Schools: Educators Debate The Merits Of Technology In Classrooms . Huff Post Education. Retrieved February 20, 2012, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/27/social-networking-schools_n_840911.html

• Magid, L. (2010, February 25). Social networking belongs in school. CNET. Retrieved February 20, 2012, from http://news.cnet.com/8301-19518_3-10459983-238.html

Resources

• Using Social Networking In The Classroom . (2011, July 12). You Tube. Retrieved February 20, 2012, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na7GVlqB-Vc&feature=related

• Willard, N. (2011). Schools and Online Social Networking . Education World. Retrieved February 20, 2012, from http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/issues/issues423.sht ml

• Wolpert-Gawron, H. (2010, May 7). Social Media in Education: The Power of Facebook. Edutopia. Retrieved February 20, 2012, from http://www.edutopia.org/social-media-education-examples-facebook

Resources• https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mrs

-Pages-3rd-Grade-Classroom-Lake-Contrary/225394044198256

• http://www.teachertube.com/• https://www.facebook.com/education

?sk=wall• http://pinterest.com/• http://youtube.com/• http://facebook.com/

Resources• http://pbworks.com/pbworks-basic-ed

ition• http://hutchisonsocialstudies.pbworks

.com/w/page/19773123/FrontPage?lo=46adf3bb

• http://resourcesforhistoryteachers.wikispaces.com/

• http://www.accreditedonlinecolleges.com/blog/2010/50-free-collaboration-tools/

• http://www.sliderocket.com/

Resources• http://www.ning.com/• http://delicious.com/• https://www.facebook.com/HHSworld

historyClass• http://oedb.org/library/features/top-1

00-education-blogs• http://www.wikispaces.com/content/t

eacher

Additional Resources• http://myspace.com/

• http://www.woogiworld.com/

• http://www.fatclass.com/share/

• http://educatorsconnect.com/

Additional Resources

• http://www.classroom20.com/

• http://imbee.com/

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZLtP5ug9jc&feature=player_embedded

• https://www.facebook.com/education?sk=wall

• http://huzzah.edublogs.org/

Additional Resources• http://sbmsworldhistory.wetpaint.com

/

• http://www.thoughts.com/

• http://wordpress.org/

• http://www.blogger.com/

Additional Resources

• http://www.wikispaces.com/

• http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Office%20of%20Citizenship/Citizenship%20Resource%20Center%20Site/Publications/100q.pdf

• http://americancitizenshipstudyguide.blogspot.com/