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Social Networking sites in the Middle School Classroom
I have to teach my middle school colleagues the benefits of using social networking sites in the classroom. What sites have you used with success? Most want to have collaboration within the class, but there is the email account issue. Any advice is greatly appreciated
Tags: Diigo, Facebook, Ning, socialnetworking, wikis
Views: 116
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mary Henton on -
Hi, Laurie,
Thanks for the question. While I can't respond as the classroom teacher, I can share what I've heard teachers recommend and what I've learned in my capacity as a facilitator, learner, and tech tool explorer.
If your question is about such sites as Facebook or MySpace, I can only say that there are very mixed (and generally, conservative) reviews about these sites for students.
There are, however, a variety of tools and sites that, while not "social networking" in the same vein as Facebook or MySpace (where the networking goals are varied across a multitude of domains and communities). The following sites and tools facilitate social networking, but only as a method or tool to the primary goal. In each of the following cases, the primary focus is either to facilitate or support learning, collaboration, and/or the sharing and construction of knowledge. From an educational standpoint, this should be the starting point for any teacher. What are the goals for my students? What are the expected outcomes? And how do we get there?
1. Diigo is a social networking site based on bookmarking and sharing of online resources. David Haywood, a member of the MSP2 advisory board, recently led a webinar about Diigo. David does a great job of explaining the features, advantages, and uses for Diigo. With Diigo, one can create lists of resources to share within a restricted or open "group." One can also share resources with the larger Diigo community. Diigo allows for annotating, so that individuals can make notes about the resources and share those with others.
2. Wikis facilitate collaboration. There are a host of choices--PBWorks, WikiSpaces, WetPaint, and Zoho Wiki seem to be favorites among teachers. Karolee Smiley, one of MSP2's Teacher Leaders, led a session on Wikis for the Classroom that might be helpful.
3. Another tool that facilitates collaboration and also serves as a teaching platform is Moodle. Tom Jenkins, another MSP2 Teacher Leader, uses Moodle with his 5th graders. He has led 2 webinars on Moodle.
4. Ning is another tool to facilitate collaboration. It's the platform, of course, that we're using here for MSP2. You can create either open or closed/private groups.
The August 2008 edition of NMSA's Middle Ground focused on technology issues in the classroom. I'm uploading three articles here.
"The Ning Thing ... and Other Social Networking Tools"
"Online Social Networking: Keeping Students Safe"
"An Insider's Guide to the Digital Revolution"
Hope this helps.
M
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Permalink Reply by Doug Darfus on -
You might want to check with your IT person before developing any kind of lesson plan. All social networking sites are blocked on our school servers and we must sign an agreement that if they are used our employment can be terminated. We are told to not even have our own personal account.
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Permalink Reply by Janine McGrath on -
wikis - pbwiki, wikispaces.
Blogs - blogger
Bubblus
I use epals for email accounts.
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Permalink Reply by Laurie Higgins on -
Mary Henton said:Hi, Laurie,
Thanks for the question. While I can't respond as the classroom teacher, I can share what I've heard teachers recommend and what I've learned in my capacity as a facilitator, learner, and tech tool explorer.
If your question is about such sites as Facebook or MySpace, I can only say that there are very mixed (and generally, conservative) reviews about these sites for students.
There are, however, a variety of tools and sites that, while not "social networking" in the same vein as Facebook or MySpace (where the networking goals are varied across a multitude of domains and communities). The following sites and tools facilitate social networking, but only as a method or tool to the primary goal. In each of the following cases, the primary focus is either to facilitate or support learning, collaboration, and/or the sharing and construction of knowledge. From an educational standpoint, this should be the starting point for any teacher. What are the goals for my students? What are the expected outcomes? And how do we get there?
1. Diigo is a social networking site based on bookmarking and sharing of online resources. David Haywood, a member of the MSP2 advisory board, recently led a webinar about Diigo. David does a great job of explaining the features, advantages, and uses for Diigo. With Diigo, one can create lists of resources to share within a restricted or open "group." One can also share resources with the larger Diigo community. Diigo allows for annotating, so that individuals can make notes about the resources and share those with others.
2. Wikis facilitate collaboration. There are a host of choices--PBWorks, WikiSpaces, WetPaint, and Zoho Wiki seem to be favorites among teachers. Karolee Smiley, one of MSP2's Teacher Leaders, led a session on Wikis for the Classroom that might be helpful.
3. Another tool that facilitates collaboration and also serves as a teaching platform is Moodle. Tom Jenkins, another MSP2 Teacher Leader, uses Moodle with his 5th graders. He has led 2 webinars on Moodle.
4. Ning is another tool to facilitate collaboration. It's the platform, of course, that we're using here for MSP2. You can create either open or closed/private groups.
The August 2008 edition of NMSA's Middle Ground focused on technology issues in the classroom. I'm uploading three articles here.
"The Ning Thing ... and Other Social Networking Tools"
"Online Social Networking: Keeping Students Safe"
"An Insider's Guide to the Digital Revolution"
Hope this helps.
M
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Permalink Reply by Laurie Higgins on
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Mary,
Thank you for the great information. I could not open the attachments you sent. can you resend as a PDF?
Laurie
Mary Henton said:Hi, Laurie,
Thanks for the question. While I can't respond as the classroom teacher, I can share what I've heard teachers recommend and what I've learned in my capacity as a facilitator, learner, and tech tool explorer.
If your question is about such sites as Facebook or MySpace, I can only say that there are very mixed (and generally, conservative) reviews about these sites for students.
There are, however, a variety of tools and sites that, while not "social networking" in the same vein as Facebook or MySpace (where the networking goals are varied across a multitude of domains and communities). The following sites and tools facilitate social networking, but only as a method or tool to the primary goal. In each of the following cases, the primary focus is either to facilitate or support learning, collaboration, and/or the sharing and construction of knowledge. From an educational standpoint, this should be the starting point for any teacher. What are the goals for my students? What are the expected outcomes? And how do we get there?
1. Diigo is a social networking site based on bookmarking and sharing of online resources. David Haywood, a member of the MSP2 advisory board, recently led a webinar about Diigo. David does a great job of explaining the features, advantages, and uses for Diigo. With Diigo, one can create lists of resources to share within a restricted or open "group." One can also share resources with the larger Diigo community. Diigo allows for annotating, so that individuals can make notes about the resources and share those with others.
2. Wikis facilitate collaboration. There are a host of choices--PBWorks, WikiSpaces, WetPaint, and Zoho Wiki seem to be favorites among teachers. Karolee Smiley, one of MSP2's Teacher Leaders, led a session on Wikis for the Classroom that might be helpful.
3. Another tool that facilitates collaboration and also serves as a teaching platform is Moodle. Tom Jenkins, another MSP2 Teacher Leader, uses Moodle with his 5th graders. He has led 2 webinars on Moodle.
4. Ning is another tool to facilitate collaboration. It's the platform, of course, that we're using here for MSP2. You can create either open or closed/private groups.
The August 2008 edition of NMSA's Middle Ground focused on technology issues in the classroom. I'm uploading three articles here.
"The Ning Thing ... and Other Social Networking Tools"
"Online Social Networking: Keeping Students Safe"
"An Insider's Guide to the Digital Revolution"
Hope this helps.
M
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Permalink Reply by Mary Henton on
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Laurie Higgins said:Mary Henton said:Hi, Laurie,
Thanks for the question. While I can't respond as the classroom teacher, I can share what I've heard teachers recommend and what I've learned in my capacity as a facilitator, learner, and tech tool explorer.
If your question is about such sites as Facebook or MySpace, I can only say that there are very mixed (and generally, conservative) reviews about these sites for students.
There are, however, a variety of tools and sites that, while not "social networking" in the same vein as Facebook or MySpace (where the networking goals are varied across a multitude of domains and communities). The following sites and tools facilitate social networking, but only as a method or tool to the primary goal. In each of the following cases, the primary focus is either to facilitate or support learning, collaboration, and/or the sharing and construction of knowledge. From an educational standpoint, this should be the starting point for any teacher. What are the goals for my students? What are the expected outcomes? And how do we get there?
1. Diigo is a social networking site based on bookmarking and sharing of online resources. David Haywood, a member of the MSP2 advisory board, recently led a webinar about Diigo. David does a great job of explaining the features, advantages, and uses for Diigo. With Diigo, one can create lists of resources to share within a restricted or open "group." One can also share resources with the larger Diigo community. Diigo allows for annotating, so that individuals can make notes about the resources and share those with others.
2. Wikis facilitate collaboration. There are a host of choices--PBWorks, WikiSpaces, WetPaint, and Zoho Wiki seem to be favorites among teachers. Karolee Smiley, one of MSP2's Teacher Leaders, led a session on Wikis for the Classroom that might be helpful.
3. Another tool that facilitates collaboration and also serves as a teaching platform is Moodle. Tom Jenkins, another MSP2 Teacher Leader, uses Moodle with his 5th graders. He has led 2 webinars on Moodle.
4. Ning is another tool to facilitate collaboration. It's the platform, of course, that we're using here for MSP2. You can create either open or closed/private groups.
The August 2008 edition of NMSA's Middle Ground focused on technology issues in the classroom. I'm uploading three articles here.
"The Ning Thing ... and Other Social Networking Tools"
"Online Social Networking: Keeping Students Safe"
"An Insider's Guide to the Digital Revolution"
Hope this helps.
M - Attachments:
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Permalink Reply by Tom Jenkins on -
Here's a couple of links link link2 link3 to previous discussions on the ning.
As Mary mentioned, I use Moodle quite frequently with my 5-8th grades as a social networking tool. I prefer it to the alternatives because it is easy to use and allows for a great deal of security. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Tom
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Permalink Reply by Victoria Rydberg on
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I use NING extensively in my school. I have also used wikispaces, edublogs, and many others-- we even have a facebook page and a myspace page. We have a moodle server in the district--I like the interface but since i already have such an extensive ning network, I don't bother with switching over. I did get a free NING Education account, so all the ads are removed. I love having the option to do a discussion forum or simply a blog. The kids love responding to each other. They like writing on it!
Also, I have tried Diigo (thanks to MSP2) and again, I just didn't want to switch over however Diigo does not require email addresses. My district tech coordinator purchased email addresses for my middle school students this year.
I am also exploring using Google Apps and Docs for Education and these both look like they have promise for the future, but are not social networking.
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Permalink Reply by Laurie Higgins on
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Victoria,
Thank you for the information. What grades do you use these sites with? I love NING, but the email restriction are holding me back from presenting this to other teachers in my school.( Middle school)
Thanks again,
Laurie
Victoria Rydberg said:I use NING extensively in my school. I have also used wikispaces, edublogs, and many others-- we even have a facebook page and a myspace page. We have a moodle server in the district--I like the interface but since i already have such an extensive ning network, I don't bother with switching over. I did get a free NING Education account, so all the ads are removed. I love having the option to do a discussion forum or simply a blog. The kids love responding to each other. They like writing on it!
Also, I have tried Diigo (thanks to MSP2) and again, I just didn't want to switch over however Diigo does not require email addresses. My district tech coordinator purchased email addresses for my middle school students this year.
I am also exploring using Google Apps and Docs for Education and these both look like they have promise for the future, but are not social networking.
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Permalink Reply by Kelly Marie on -
I apologize for responding in such a delayed fashion. I am currently in transition to a new state. However I thought it might be of some help to see an example of how a 'traditional' social networking site was used.
Having read everyone's responses below I completely agree! Check your district policies, and evaluate all connected issues first!
Since I was working as a long-term sub in a small private school where I had previously been full time, I was at liberty to 'experiment'. Please look me up on Facebook as Kelly Pendergest. You will see students responded to inquiry questions at their leisure. These were not required as there is very minimal internet access at the school. Also you can read more about my philosophy on use of social networking sites, speaking to Doug's comments on districts restricting your personal use of such sites. I discuss the use of two separate names, and therefore digital footprints.
The most important thing I can say is understand what you are in for. :) The "friends" of my facebook Kelly Pendergest are parents, students, teachers only. Even with this proposed separation, the line between personal and professional life grey because they could "chat" with me at 1am. Set boundaries early! :)
Good Luck with your adventures!
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Permalink Reply by Carolyn Stanley on -
Dear Lori,
Social Networking sites at our school such as Facebook and MySpace are blocked. However, we recently set up our own middle school domain using Google Apps for Education. While this is not a social networking tool, per se, it is a collaborative tool. Students can work together to create websites, documents, spreadsheets, presentations, etc., on approved academic topics. For example, last year students in a 7th grade team used a Google Site (template prepared by teacher) to create their own textbook on topics they studied in their weather unit. Each group of students worked on a page in the website and populated it with information about their topic (ex. hurricanes, air masses, fronts, etc). They placeed video clips that helped explain their topics, wrote up their research in paragraph format, added photos, etc. while being careful to cite all of their sources. The students' ability to comment on the different pages added a further element that might be loosely tied to social networking.
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Permalink Reply by Jay Zanchy on -
Yes as this is true with allot of schools, your IT personal would know if it's allowed or not usually.
Doug Darfus said:You might want to check with your IT person before developing any kind of lesson plan. All social networking sites are blocked on our school servers and we must sign an agreement that if they are used our employment can be terminated. We are told to not even have our own personal account.
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