Today we had the opportunity to Skype. I found the Skype session really enjoying and educational. The topic of today was social networking in the classroom. I think it is important that students are exposed to different technologies and to different ways in communicating. I think as teachers and parents it is important that we monitor which social networking sites are used in the classroom for the student's safety and the school's safety. I know it is hard to avoid all the bad things that occur online, but I think we need to control it as much as possible to keep our students safe. I think social networking sites are a great tool for communication and it is a great way to use technology in the classroom. The one site I am not comfortable using in a classroom would be Facebook. There are many concerns about Facebook not being safe to use and not being private enough. With all of these concerns, I would just rather not use it in school so that I know I can keep my students safe. I think the best way to communicate safely with peers and parents is to set up a blog. Blogging is a safe and easy way to connect with others and develops strong writing skills and communication skills.
As far as social networking goes, I think it is important that we find safe and private sites and we monitor the sites very closely.
The Skype presentation was very engaging and informative. I enjoyed the examples she shared of how teachers and students were utilizing social networking sites in their classrooms. I think that we need to be cautious when using social networking sites but we need to teach students how to social network cautiously also.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you on the issue of doing all you ca to keep the students away from the bad content. Obviously we need to protect kids as teachers, but also we need to think about ourselves. I know we talked about going through the administration to have them stand with you on any problems, but I also know that I had parents in my student teaching placement that insisted on being at all field trips because they were too concerned about their child getting abducted. They have every right to raise their child how they see fit, but I also know if their student was on facebook and something naughty popped up they would not be pleased and I am sure the first finger would be pointed right at the teacher. I am all for introducing students to secure sites and programs, but if I think there is a risk of getting them into a bad position or getting myself in trouble I will probably just play it safe and wait for something safer.
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of using social networking in the classroom. The privacy and security debates are very important. We need to protect our students and monitor what content they see. However, we cannot protect children forever. At some point they need to learn what is right and what is wrong and what's appropriate and what's not. We hope as educators and as parents that we lead children in the right direction.
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