Kessler, S. (2010, September 29). The Case For Social Media In Schools. Retrieved
But, apparently the benefits outweigh risks, as students’
use tools that they know and understand.
In fact, a group surveyed found that students utilized social sites more
than games and videos.
During the 1990s, the biggest concern for school
administrators was pornography and predators. A lack of control over content was a death knell for the
internet in the K-12 classroom.
Banning social media is not a viable response, because it doesn’t
encourage students to take responsibilities for their behavior. The time taken to enforce a ban, could
be spent on learning.
The challenge, then, is thinking of ways to use social media
tools for learning.
Certainly, when students are engaged, greater learning takes
place. The use of blogs in lesson
plans has seen students excited around the reach of this application. It’s not just a communication between
student teacher, but also student peers. The accountability involved, actually made students more
conscientious and thoughtful.
Question #1:
What types of safety and security assurances exist today?
Answer #1:
Concerns shared by teachers and parents alike are not
unfounded, but like any concern, children should be taught about safety and
potential dangers. There are also complementary
sites available specifically for K-12 environment, such as Edmodo and Edublogs.
Question #2:
What are some surprising developments of social media use
for K-12 learning?
Answer #2:
Assignments given to students, requiring work outside of the
classroom, were met with excitement and not perceived as homework. Although these assignments were not
considered extra credit, or contributing to their grade in any way, still a
large number of students participated.
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