Social
Networking is Everywhere!
Social
networking sites are gaining in popularity and use in every wake of life. I am amazed at how much the internet has
changed in my lifetime, and I’m old, so that’s really a long time! I joined Facebook six years ago almost as a
joke. I even made a Facebook page for my
dog. Then I realized that almost
everybody I know has a Facebook page and they are quite active and involved in
updating and maintaining it. There are a
couple of other social networking sites that I am a part of, linkedin and
pinterest most recently. These social networking sites started out as fun and
games and have grown up to be full blown major websites on the very interactive
World Wide Web. They are used for much
more than just making friends and keeping up with people far away.
I only
recently (the last two years) realized that schools are encouraging the use of
students becoming more involved in all aspects of using technology and the
internet. The middle school I subbed for
two years ago had a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy for students to use
their devices in the school setting if they followed the rules for them. I
think that’s great, students need to be taught when and how to use their
personal devices early on. Technology is a huge part of everyday life now.
I like
the idea of a library media center getting involved in having a Facebook page
and getting students interested and involved.
Brian S. Matthews (2007) talks about librarians using social media to
get library patrons involved and more knowledgeable about the library
itself. He sees it as an opportunity for
libraries to reach out to people and be more interactive with their patrons and
for librarians to “reinvent their image for a new generation.” I would love to see my media center with a
Facebook page where students can contribute photographs, books reviews, videos
and so much more. One of the things that we talked about at my biannual
principal/grade level meeting was the changing roles of students and that we as
teachers need to encourage them to take more ownership in their learning and
choices that they make. Having a Facebook
page could foster that students by letting them add content.
My school currently does not allow
access to Facebook. It does allow access
to linkedin and pinterest, interestingly enough. I think that with using the internet, care
and supervision must be taken when using it with students. There are some dangers out there that
students need to be aware of and protected from. Matthews (2007) mentions several threats and
dangers to be aware of: online predators, spyware and viruses that can be
imbedded in links in profiles, identity theft and stalking, cyber bullying, invasion
of privacy and possible addiction to this virtual world. Students need to be taught about safety on the
internet just as they need to be taught about safety in any other aspect of school
life. That’s part of our job as
educators. The article Secure Social
Networking by Gail Junion-Metz offers links to teaching about social networking
safety.
References
Junion-Metz, G (2008). Secure Social
Networking. School Library Journal,
p.18
Matthews, B (2007). Online Social
Networking. In N. Courtney (Ed). Library 2.0 and Beyond (p. 75-89).
Westport, Conn., London: Libraries Unlimited.
Susan, like you I probably joined Facebook about five or six years ago and really didn't take it serious at first. Once I got into it, I started reconnecting with people that I hadn't seen or talk to in ten years or more. It was awesome. It can be a great tool in our schools as long as we teach kids the right way to use social media. We need to show them the good that it can do instead of the bad like cyber bullying. Now that I am learning about how social media can be used, I too would like to see something like Facebook in the media center. Instead of the media center just having a website, there could be two way communication and interaction among the librarian and the patrons. Students can talk about books, share ideas, get information. This would be great.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog and specifically the fact that you state" I think that with using the internet, care and supervision must be taken when using it with students. There are some dangers out there that students need to be aware of and protected from" because I totally agree. Students should be made aware of both the positive and negative effects of social networking. Nothing is personal online, posting information ( pictures from a party you attended, thoughts or feelings about a debated topic) may cause both employers and colleges to think second (negative) about the student. I currently do not have personal social media account, but I am in charge of my branch's social media accounts, which makes me very aware of how fast information is spread through the people we know, across the internet and around the world.
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