The question of social networks and should they be available in schools is a question that has been around since computers stared being used as and everyday tool in schools. Social networks are a vital part of modern schools for
teachers, students, and parents. These
sites help to reiterate what was taught that day. In the case of a flipped classroom it can
help the student better understand the lesson scheduled for the following
day. Both scenarios allow the parent to
know exactly what the student has done for the day or what they will be doing
the next. My school system does utilize
firewalls and filters to block websites deemed inappropriate. As a paraprofessional and a long-term
substitute, I have stumbled across some social networks that would be very
beneficial in the classroom. Once I
return to school and attempt to show the videos or PowerPoint I get a notice in
bold red letters stating "web page blocked."
As a result of the
filtering, sites such as teachertube, YouTube, and even teacherlibrarian.org. are
blocked and unable to be viewed in my school system. The school system recently realized some
beneficial sites were being block and have made adjustments to allow teachertube to be viewed at school.
The main social network used in my school is Edmodo. It allows teachers to post lessons, notes,
assignments, and even timed quizzes for students to complete on their own
time. Included in Edmodo is a parent
code, which allows parents to have access to the same information as their
student. In the media center we use
Follett’s Destiny. I have been using
Destiny for the last 5 years and it recently had an update which made it and even
better tool for student’s to research by allowing the media specialist to
attach links they feel are resourceful and online resources like encyclopedia
Britannica. It makes surfing the web and looking for quality information easier for students and teachers without the
worry of them stumbling onto unsuitable information.
When it comes to motivating reading Destiny and MyOn they are
excellent social networks. They allow students to read
and critique books so other students can decide if they want to read the
book. MyOn is strictly online and
students are able to read at home on their personal devices at times that are convenient
for them. As a media parapro, I was able to see what times of day students were logging in and to much of my surprise some were up at midnight reading.
Resources
AASL's second longitudinal survey reveals schools' acceptance of social networking tools. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2015.
Fiehn, B. (2008, September 1). Social Networking and Your Library OPAC! [Available Full-Text, Free]. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
School Library Journal published Gail Metz' article "Secure Social Networking" (July 2008, Vol. 54 Issue 7, p18)
Shana, good job on sharing your take on social networking in schools and particularly mentioning Destiny as a place where links to appropriate vetted educational sites can be added. This I feel is more important for K-5 students because it allows more control without much effort from teachers or the media specialist. Elementary school is the initial training ground for access to the internet before we expose them to the endless number of information possibilities.
ReplyDeleteOur district, like yours, has firewalls and filters which in my opinion aren’t all bad. I spoke with my kids, (one is a sophomore and the other a senior) about Social networking at school. My daughter advised that the school and teachers put a good deal of time and effort into teaching about safe Internet use. I’m glad to hear this after viewing video clips in Gail Junion-Mentz article. (http://www.nsteens.org/Videos). I think these clips would be very helpful for middle and high schoolers.
In my discussion with my son I learned that the school has cracked down significantly on device use because of misuse last year – taking pictures of teachers and then posting online with inaccurate/inappropriate info, using devices only for entertainment, group texting of information, etc. The way the teachers then incorporate tech is to use school devices, and to use the computer labs, and require collaboration from devices at home – especially when very specific collaborative apps are needed – such as MiniTab for AP Statistics and Quest for Physics. Tech is still incorporated but if a student is caught with a device out when not allowed, the device whether a laptop, tablet, or SMART phone will be confiscated for 3 days. Many teachers use Edmodo, like you mentioned, and my son thinks it is especially helpful to have the message board capability where questions can be posted and students or teacher can respond. He said teachers are also using Remind101 a lot these days. One teacher – physics, astronomy, and computer science- has a wiki for each class – (very much like Dr. Cooper) from which students get info, communicate with each other, and do collaborative projects. The teacher uses a separate site called “Quest” for homework submissions.
I’m glad uses of tech are regularly happening in my kids’ high school -and I imagine it is happening in most high schools- to better prepare our students for the requirements of college and work in the 21st century.
Linda - I love remind101, it is such an awesome tool because it now allows for attaching docs to the text as well. So parents and students can see the project/homework description and possibly even rubrics.
ReplyDeleteShana - I have found that generally Edmodo is liked by the younger ages because of its "Facebook style" userinterface. Most middle school and high school teachers that I have had interaction with like Schoology, Canvas, or Blackboard. If your system uses Infinite campus, supposedly after October schoology and IC will "speak to each other" which is a really big deal because IC is known for not playing well with others. I think in the future that will be a big selling point for Schoology. Blackboard is what our system is choosing to go with, I like it - but I still don't thing it has all the functionality that Schoology or even Canvas have. I love using Destiny in the middle school. Right now I don't charge my students a fine for a late book. They have to write a review and post it to destiny instead. There are some kids that are like "no, I just want to pay" but I tell them that there money is not acceptable, I want their brain. ;) I think Destiny Quest has so many cool features that I truly haven't even played with all them (this being my first year as a media specialist - I am slowly picking it up).
Thanks for sharing guys! Great thoughts!
Great post Shana! I agree that in 2015, technology is a vital part in education in all aspects. The use of technology and social media allows me to stay organized and communicate with parents, studentsm and administration. Alot of valuable and beneficial sites are blocked from the schools Wifi, however in my district, they have allowed users 45 minutes to access blocked sites by entering in their login and password. My assumption is that this is how they keep track of those that are on inappropriate sites.
ReplyDeleteI use Prezi's and PowerPoints to display standards, activities, assignments, center rotations, and other important information for myself and the students. This use of technology helps me stay organized and on track. It also helps me with time management. The administrators in my building communicate through e-mail but they also use Remind 101. This is very helpful as most of the staff carry their phones with them for safety reasons. I also use Remind 101 to communicate with my parents and we love it and its convenience!!! Class Dojo is another social media tool that allows me to communicate with parents and track and manage behaviors. Parents can blog, communicate with other parents, and recieve important communications from me. As stated in my post for group 1, I also use PB Works Blogs in my classroom as it allows for student communication, self-expression, and data collection for me. I forgot my laptop at home yesterday and I wanted to cry. Fortunately I had a plan for the day and I remembered it because I typed it on my PowerPoint the night before, but the is nothing like technology. I love technology!!!!!
I had never heard of MyOn before this post, so thank you for sharing that as well.
Thanks for sharing Shana! I also use many of the sites that you shared in my classroom. I used Edmodo for my gifted endorsement courses and I also use it to upload lesson plans and communicate with parents and students. Technology does play a huge role in instruction and and makes communicating with colleagues, parents, and students a simple task. I depend heavily upon it to guide and enhance my lessons and keep my students engaged. The information shared in the AASL survey was informative and based on the results, technology is used and welcomed by most educators. I believe we should still be very cautious of what social media sites we encourage students to use for instructional purposes. Technology is here to stay and we must stay on the cutting edge as media specialist to ensure that teachers and students have a variety of valuable resources.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I feel like I am the only one out of the loop since I'm not a practicing media specialist. I have never heard of Edmodo so I had to google it. I guess that's ok, though, because I get so much information from you guys even though it makes me feel like I have a lot to learn! I think the restrictions on the internet have pros and cons. Sometimes it is very aggravating to me working as a library technician in a college library. Last week I had a student doing a project about lace yarn/stitching. The internet was completely blocking her searches because of the word "lace". I don't even think of that as being sexual. I definitely think this needs to be done away with in a college library! The kids here are all adults. As long as pornography is blocked we should be good to go. Yet, I do feel that youngsters in school need restrictions. But, I do understand that you advocate for social media sites. I have learned a lot in this class about the pros of integrating it in the curriculum.
ReplyDeleteHi Shana,
ReplyDeleteI have heard of Edmodo before, but never actually saw it in action! After reading your blog post, I checked it out and created a log in for myself and I can't wait to look around. I think for students that have access to Chromebooks or laptops throughout the day, this would be a great way for students and teachers to communicate and even for students to communicate with each other, so I understand how this is considered social media.
How do you feel about Facebook, Twitter or other popular forms of social media being used in the classroom? The ones you mentioned are great, but they are already more on the educational side of things. Cristi and a few others mentioned Remind 101 and my son has a teacher using it, but only occasionally, which seems to defeat the purpose of being a way to engage parents. The one thing I have learned about social media this year, especially... is that educators have to USE it and interact for it to truly be considered social.
Our system has a strict filtering system in place. When certain sites are blocked, teachers are able to enter their credentials and bypass the filter. This is notifies the technology department to unblock for future use. Sometimes an entire site will be blocked while technology fixes the filtering system.For example, YouTube was blocked one day last week because very explicit context was getting through the firewall. After implementing a new filtering system, YouTube is now accessible for teachers. It is still blocked on student computers, but accessible to computers log on through teacher credentials. Our technology department is very understanding and fast to respond to the need to unblock certain social sites for the benefit of the student. I have been using Remind for a few years and my parents seemed to really utilize the service and liked when I would send out reminders. Our system still blocks Facebook although our system utilizes it as a way of communicating with our parents and community.I find that interesting although I know the dangers of opening it up to students during the school day. Thank you for sharing Destiny and MyOwn as I have not heard of them before . I had planned to use Bloomz this year as it like Remind but offers more options like uploading a newsletter. I switched jobs and haven't had a chance to launch it with my new students.
ReplyDelete