Tag: social networking
Keep Unblocking Social Networking Sites
by on Dec.02, 2009, under Uncategorized
In Why Facebook is Unblocked at ISB from The Thinking Stick, Jeff Utecht shares an email from his department sent to a parent who was concerned about Facebook being unblocked at his school. Near the end of the email, it states,
“These sites have emerged as social areas that form a major significant part of many of our student’s lives. This socialization is near as important to this generation as face to face time with their friends and they maintain friendships beyond ISB to include international students from schools around the world. At this point we feel that by simply blocking these sites, we as a school would be missing an opportunity to educate students about how to use them appropriately…If students cannot manage their time on computers productively at school, then they would certainly not be able to at home. Blocking access has not proven to be effective in teaching students to use a tool effectively and wisely.”
I think part of the desire to block is fear of the unknown. When rock and roll first hit the scene, parents around the world were horrified and wanted this new type of music banned and hidden from their children. I’m sure that when the first automobile hit the roads, there was fear of how this newfangled thing would affect our lives. I believe as more and more parents become comfortable with social networking sites, they will less stressed about their children using them. Of course, as a parent, I would require that my child becomes my “friend” and I would have the password to my child’s account. If for any reason this password gets changed or if I’m blocked, I would delete the account and keep my child from using this until he/she matured more. But that is just what I would do.
I also understand the need to protect our children but by acting out of fear and ignorance is not the best way to protect our children. When we teach our children to read, there is a chance that they will read some inappropriate materials. So in our desire to protect, do we just not let our children learn to read or do we let them learn to read but only material we hand pick for them? When our children learn to drive, there is a chance that they may drive to an inappropriate place. There is a chance that they may get in an accident, get car jacked, or even pick up a hitchhiker. Do we not teach our children to drive, or only let them go places if we are with them?
When I was growing up, my parents did not allow me to date until my senior year of high school. I did not have a lot of social skills when dealing with the opposite sex. My only date happened to be my prom date and it wasn’t the highlight of my dating career. When I went on to college (800 miles away from my parents), I went boy crazy. I went out with some horrible boys as well as some nice boys. The problem was that I didn’t have any guidance from my parents to help me figure out which ones were which. At one point, I had a boy who became very possessive and started to stalk me but I didn’t know how to deal with it and I wish I had dated more when I was at home with my parents. Eventually my friends were the ones I turned to and they helped me get out of a bad situation. By the time I had children, I knew that I wanted them to have some social experiences while they lived at home and I could help guide them. I didn’t want them to make the same mistakes that I did.
I think it is so important to teach our students to become independent and learn the skills necessary to be become this way. Yet, we need to teach them how to use these skills wisely. We need to introduce them to the negatives as well as the positives. We need to teach them how to handle the tough situations they may find themselves. If we can help them while they are in a safe atmosphere, they will be able to transfer this knowledge when they are on their own. Let’s face it, these students are going to get on social networking sites whether we like it or not, so shouldn’t we give them some information on how to use it appropriately?
How do you feel about this? Do you think students should have access to social networking sites at school and why?
Original image: ‘chapter 8 – community building through social networking’
http://www.flickr.com/photos/80994469@N00/2584489931 by: David King
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My 2009 Edublog Award Nominations
by on Dec.01, 2009, under Uncategorized
Nominations for the 2009 Edublog Awards are now open until December 8th. You can find out more about this on The Edublog Awards Homepage.
My nominations for the 2009 Edublog Awards are:
Best individual blog: Blogush (I am always inspired by the many things he shares. He writes very thought provoking posts)
Best individual tweeter: Karenjan (I never want to miss her tweets because they are usually informational and upbeat)
Best new blog: Reality 101: Council for Exceptional Children’s Blog for New Teachers (New teachers share their experiences as they experience the realm of teaching)
Best class blog: South Paris Collaborative Chat (Different students add their thoughts to this blog)
Best student blog: Civil War Sallie (Great information from a teddy bear named Sallie Ann)
Best resource sharing blog: Epic Adventures are Often Uncomfortable (hosting the Educarnival and sharing links to great blog posts)
Best teacher blog: Bellringers (shares the fun and frustrations of her daily teaching adventures)
Best librarian / library blog: Cathy Nelson’s Professional Thoughts (another thought provoking blog)
Best educational tech support blog: e4Africa (helping to move the teachers in South Africa into the 21st century)
Best elearning / corporate education blog: eicommunity (gathers blog posts from a variety of teachers to share with others)
Best educational use of audio: Bit by Bit (blogs when updates to podcasts are ready)
Best educational wiki: Moving Forward (great resource for educators)
Best educational use of a social networking service: OnlineProjects4Teachers (Ning that lets teachers post what online projects they are involved with in order to facilitate collaboration with others)
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Educarnival v2 Issue II
by on Nov.25, 2009, under Uncategorized
The Carnival of Education is up on the midway at Epic Adventures are Often Uncomfortable. Don’t miss out on all the fun! See what is going on in the Edusphere. My article on Unblocking Social Networking Sites is there but there are lots of other great articles to read too! See you there and don’t eat too much cotton candy!
