Social Networking

The appeal of social networking for today’s generation is the instant access. You are able to see how someone is doing or meet someone with a click of a button. It’s easy to keep in touch with friends and family that you normally wouldn’t see often. Also, the ability to be able to network with people who have the same interest as yourself by joining a “group” makes it fun to be able to share interest different people all over the country you normally wouldn’t meet.

Social Networking can affect learning negatively and positively. The idea that children are able to explore and be able to meet other students across the country is important. The traditional “pen pal” has now been replaced by being a “friend” or “avatar”. Children do not have to wait on the “snail mail” to communicate with students. The access is instant. The children will be able to talk to one another and get the information they need faster.

Some of the negative affects is children can be lured into meeting people or joining group they shouldn’t. It’s important that children understand the boundaries of meeting people and the type of “groups” they should be looking for. Also, by being able to talk instantaneously it will be easy for children to get off topic and not stick to educational materials. When using this for education children will need to learn the proper etiquette and when what questions and information is appropriate. Some of the features and games on some of networks will make it easy for children to become off task.

The potential benefits of virtual worlds are children will be able to have access to see and do activities they normally wouldn’t be able to do because of restraints. In a poorer school virtual worlds would create a great platform for them to be able to discover different things. They will be able to see and do things they never would be able to do in real life. This will get them a taste of a different life and may even push them to strive to want to explore the world more. They will be able to step out of their normal boundaries and have access to meet children who they can learn from or help.

A challenge with the virtual world is the learning curve. Not all children will be able to understand or comprehend the idea. I’m a college graduate and had several issues understanding Second Life. I didn’t find it very easy to learn. With harder networks the teacher would have to teach the students how to use the site first before they can even start exploring. This may become difficult if all the students don’t become interactive with the program. This can cause students to go on the site and do other things beside the assignment. Then it may be hard to test how much knowledge the students learn. And then we will have to ask ourselves whose fault is it if a student doesn’t understand the network.

I found that social networks like Facebook are very useful to be able to keep up with friends and family. I find I’m talking and being more engaged with some of my family members who I don’t get to see that often due to Facebook. It’s also helps me keep in touch with friends I went to school with. However, a network like Second Life is one that I found a waste of time. It’s too much detail with the appearance, gestures, ect. I like being “myself” and not someone else. Sometimes the features can take away from the actual point of the site. Beside the use of this class I don’t see myself ever using something like Second Life again.

www.facebook.com

www.secondlife.com

Web 2.0

The Web 2.0 apps were the hardest to understand "technically", however easy to use "hands-on". I have been using web 2.0 apps all the time and just never knew the correct terminology. This was helpful because as teachers with us teaching in this age of technology we have to make sure we are up to date with the language of technology to be able to teach our students. After reviewing several of the Web 2.0 I have found some that could be useful for me working in the field of English with students in grades 7th-12th.

Tikatok "is where you can transform imagination into stories and publish those stories into books to share with family and friends." This application I thought was really cool. On this students can create their very own book. The students can chose the website templates or create their own. The book can include photos of the students by uploading photos or their own drawings. Once the book is done it can be purchased hardcover, paperback, or ebook. The application is for students ages 13 and up. This would be most beneficently to me because I could teach the students the process of writing a story and making it into a book. Especially, for the junior high school age this could be used as a project for the students to hand in. I like this because the students will still have to write out what they want on paper (the old-fashion way), but still emerge into the new way and composing it online and receiving a actual physical copy. It teaches students how to combine old and new technology together, which is important because it teaches the students to be well-rounded in learning.
http://www.tikatok.com/


The other application I found helpful was WePapers which is "the world's biggest study group." By using this app a user can store papers, exams, lecture notes, and research work. There is a section where you can find, print, read and download ton of documents, exams, and textbook solutions. And there is a section where personal notes and knowledgeable information can be shared. Students may benefit from this because this could teach them how to become more organized storing their papers. This can be a place there they can return to a paper they are working on and continue to write. The great thing about this is the students can share their work with a network of people. Some students write such great work and it's wonderful now they are able to share it amongst a variety audience. I like the benefit of this application being multi-useful for students because they can organize and share. There is even a search section of different tags of subjects students can click on. I chose the English/Literature tag and it took me to a section broken down of all types of papers, notes, ect. that could be useful for students.
http://www.wepapers.com


After going through the Web 2.0, I realize I still have a lot to learn to keep up with learning in the classroom today. I'm learning there are so many unique and modern applications which make learning more interactive. As a teacher, it will be my job to learn how to incorporate this learning in my classroom.