Well, as I commented on the discussion page, I saw value in NING in education but unfortunately it became one of the blocked tools in our district. (I understand this due to the fact that although NING has a fine network of educators, they also had a network of porn fans.)
That said, I believe there is a place for social networking in education.
That said, I believe there is a place for social networking in education.
Our students have been socially networking since the world of Xanga showed up on my radar when my kids were in middle school, they progressed to MySpace and then to Facebook, which I have recently added to my tools. Our challenge as educators is to harness the POWER of networking and educate our students on responsible networking. Think of how many things we have shared with each other during the 22 things we have explored together. Collectively we know so much more than alone. This is one of the cases where I believe the pain is worth the gain! (and believe me as your district opens up to web 2.0, there will be a little pain!)
1 response so far ↓
I am anxious to see how we all deal with the pain, keeping the best interests of how students at the top of our list, and working to keep everyone “safe” at the same time. But I know that most of my students are used to lots more access at home, and that they are learning (in some instances) lots of powerful stuff through this access. Lots of changes ahead!!!
Leave a Comment