keeping an open mind

Okay, today's post (composed during Super Bowl halftime) is all about keeping an open mind. In an article I found, Smith (2007) states how important it is to teach students about communicating with others. Essentially she says that kids are social will want to use social networking in their classes. Our job as teachers is to figure out how to use effectively.

First I did some research. What else is out there besides Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter?

There is Delicious (http://www.delicious.com/), which allows the bookmarks (or links) to be save and shared with a group...aka social bookmarking. I had heard of, but never used. I checked out some of the bookmarks that were popular today. Interesting there was a link to one of the blogs that I read regularly (Free Technology for Teachers). I can see that this might be helpful for a class completing the same research project. Kids could be encouraged to find and share their sources. Good websites could be definitely used. A con of that system is that kids who struggle with finding sources are just given the sources instead of finding them on their own. How would a teacher avoid that? Or does that even matter as probably these same students are weak in the writing area as well, and probably it is more important to work on the writing skills.

There is Tripline (http://www.tripline.net/) which allows a trip to be created between a group...aka social trip planning. I had bookmarked this tool to help me plan my summer trip between friends in different states. The places we want to go would take up a whole other blog....I can see this to be used, like GoogleEarth, in an English class. As students read a novel, they can plan a virtual trip just like the characters.

Goodreads (http://www.goodreads.com/) is another. I love reading and this year I created a bookshelf in my classroom with young adult options (thanks Goodwill for your 99 cent books). It has been really successful with books flying off my shelves. (FYI: Books by Neal Schusterman are quite popular). I have created a list posted by the bookshelf and write down who is reading what....but I should use this site to encourage students to recommend books to their classmates.

One last category I should mention is all the websites that allow social flashcard making.....There are so many (quizlet, headmagnet, studystack). We really need to encourage students to be social when studying for a test. I didn't figure this out until college, but study groups quickly helps you figure out what you know (and don't know)....and if you don't understand something, you have others to help out.

Ok - I am beginning to see possibilities.....I must do some more research into what other schools are using.

Thinking back to my last post, I realized what I was looking for, with my own students, is something like Walden's eCollege. Where can I develop that? There is a classroom, media seems to be easily shared, there is a place to discuss, and students can even turn in/get back work.

References
Smith, F. (2007). How to Use Social-Networking Technology for Learning . Edutopia. Retrieved February 6, 2011, from http://www.edutopia.org/how-use-social-networking-technology