Social+Networking

= Social Networking = Ginny Walters media type="custom" key="16052848" width="182" height="182" align="right"

Description and Uses of Technology
It is important to differentiate social networking from social media. Social networking is defined as "the development of social and professional contacts; the sharing of information and services among people with a common interest" (Social Networking). Social media is similar, but it does not necessarily have the connectivity of social networking. Sites such as YouTube and Flickr are considered social media because you are sharing information and content with others; however, you are not necessarily creating a network of contacts via those sites. Considering all of the technological venues through which people can exchange information, there are a plethora of social networking sites that people can utilize for a variety of reasons. Collins (n.d.) identifies five general uses of social networking as: (1) purely personal reasons; (2) business - connecting with customers; (3) business - networking; (4) marketing; and (5) entertainment. Collins (n.d.) stresses the importance of using the correct social network for your audience and your purpose, which is something teachers also need to consider. When deciding which social network to use in the classroom, make sure it is one that aligns with your objectives. For example, if the objective is for students to share and comment on each other's reflection pieces relating to a concept discussed in class, you would not employ Twitter (a social networking site that is limited to 140 characters). Blogs may be a better option in that scenario. If you want students to briefly discuss and inquire about aspects of a novel or short story and perhaps even discuss the work with the author, asking students to Tweet with a particular hashtag (i.e. #walteng) is an appropriate choice. The use of social networks as teaching tools has risen dramatically over the last few years, especially as the popularity of Facebook and Twitter has increased among students. In June 2011, the Pew Internet & American Life Project released a report titled "Social networking sites and our lives," which details how social networks are affecting people in multiple aspects of their lives. 79% of American adults use the Internet and of that 79%, 59% of them use at least one social networking site. That number has doubled since 2008 (p. 3). While this report does not include people under the age of 18, it is a logical conclusion that if usage is increasing among older adults, then it is certainly increasing among today's students as well. It is not difficult to reach this conclusion; walk down any high school hallway and you'll see students Tweeting away on their phones or telling their friends to "Facebook them" about weekend plans. Students don't email anymore; now they Facebook. Social networks are on the rise, and so is their use in the classroom.

Important Findings on Student Outcomes
One of the greatest benefits of incorporating social networking in the classroom is "the idea that [students'] community of learners can extend far beyond the classroom" (Messner, 2009, p. 47). An online conversation can include people from all over the world, from authors to politicians to teachers and students in other classrooms, which helps bring the concepts that students are learning into the real world. As a result, students are allowed "to 'speak' to a world far beyond their local community" and, as a result, online communities "empower students to write and publish for a global audience" (Casey & Evans, 2011, p. 1-2). Online platforms "enable students to develop content and interact with one another and allow them to build a sense of community" (Casey & Evans, 2011, p. 2). As a result, students shed the traditional identity of the passive learner who soaks up information provided by the teacher; rather, they begin to "participate, think, contribute, and become active in their learning" (Casey & Evans, 2011, p. 3). This is evidenced when Messner (2009) discusses her use of Twitter in the classroom. She displayed a TweetChat that involved the author of a book the class had recently finished and her editor at Scholastic. The students wanted to ask the author and her editor questions about the book, so Messner logged into their classroom account and within moments, the students were getting answers about revisions and editorial letters (p. 45).

Social media can also help teachers "differentiate the learning environment, the content, the process, or the products," thereby making sure that we "reach every learner" and "grab every student's attention" (Morrell, 2012, p. 1). For instance, students who typically would not ask questions in class are more likely to do so online. Ben Van Wye, a student in Sugato Chakravarty's class at Purdue University admits, "I'm not that outspoken in class, so I would never ask a question out loud to the professor. But you can type it in as anonymous [via HotSeat, a social networking program developed and implemented at Purdue], so nobody really knows if what you're asking is a dumb question" (Young, 2010). Chakravarty has acknowledge that the anonymity piece of Purdue's homegrown social networking system has resulted in "questions the professor says he never heard before in a course he has taught for years" (Young, 2010). For the shy secondary student who is not apt to speak up in the classroom or who needs time to process before responding, "tweeting removed inhibitions while providing additional time for my students - especially, my shyer students - to design their responses to our discussions" (Morrell, 2012, p. 1). Another perk to social networking is that students have access to it 24/7, so if they are working on homework and have a question, they can tweet their classmates or teacher and have a response within minutes. The same can be done if they thought of an additional point to add to that day's classroom discussion. We have reached learners that we can't necessarily reach in a 45 or 50 minute class period. By using social media in the classroom, we are automatically engaging students. A 2010 study by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project found that "73% of Americans ages 12 to 17 use social-networking websites, up from 55% in 2006" (Davis, 2010). We're adding an academic component to something they already do, so they're much more likely to take part in it. What they are learning in school is merging into their own real worlds.

As a result of incorporating social networking in the classroom, students begin to think about concepts that are learning both inside of school and outside of school. They apply those concepts to their lives outside of the classroom.

Emerging Trends and Open Issues
The first thing that comes to most school professionals' minds when discussing whether or not to incorporate social networking into the classroom is privacy. While social networking can be an excellent collaboration tool in the classroom, it must be regulated. On the federal level, there are numerous laws that regulate Internet use in the classroom: The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act "seeks to protect children's privacy and bars most children under 13 from participating in many websites" (Davis, 2010, p. 18). The Children's Internet Protection Act "requires schools to provide Internet filters to prevent access by students to offensive content" (Davis, 2010, p. 18-19). The most familiar one is the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which "protects the privacy of student information" (Davis, 2010, p. 19). Of course, each school must abide by these regulations. When someone tries to access a site that is filtered, something pops up asking for an override password. Some schools give these passwords out to their teachers, but others do not. If you are in a school that does not, you should approach your administration and ask for that password. Explain why you want it and make sure you have a strong case. Messner (2009) cites John Haubner, her district technology coordinator and the person who gave her access to use Twitter in the classroom, as reiterating that, "It's essential that the teacher emphasize responsible use by students...As long as the staff member can show a detailed educational plan for the use of Twitter/Skype/etc., there should be little problem with unblocking" (p. 47). If you have an administration that trusts its teachers to monitor and ensure responsible use, then this is not an extreme request. Another issue is the merging of personal and professional lives. Even David Jakes, a Coordinator of Instructional Technology in Glenbrook South, Illinois, and a recent speaker at Teaching & Learning's Tech Forum Chicago, admits that we should not have a "wide-open approach to social media at school...[There is] a need for some level of control by teachers and school over Web access" (Careless, 2012, p. 43-44). Teachers and students should not be "friending" each other on Facebook or "following" each other on Twitter. As Jakes points out, "We don't want to encourage a practice where some students may or may not be friended. What message does that send?" (Careless, 2012, p. 44). It also severely blurs the line of teacher and student conduct. We must maintain a professional relationship with our students. In terms of Twitter, one easy way to get around this gray area is to create a separate Twitter handle for your Professional Learning Network (PLN) and for your classroom. Messner (2009) advocates for this, as her classroom Twitter handle is @MessnerEnglish (p. 47). Messner (2009) also mentions the work of Deborah Morgan, whose professional handle is @mrsmorgan and whose classroom handle is @Room213cms, as examples (p. 47). Your students can mention you or use a hashtag in your discussion without following you, and you can set up your account as private, so that you need to approve any followers. Getting around this blurry line is more challenging with Facebook, because the website is more challenging to control. The easiest thing to do is to set up a private group for your class and have your students join the group; however, you and your students should have your settings as private as possible so that you can only see the bare minimums of each other's pages. Perhaps an even easier method is to use [|Edmodo], something very similar to Facebook, rather than Facebook itself. That way, there are distinct lines between what you and your students use for school and what you use for social interaction.