Talk:Foundations and Assessment of Education/Edition 1/Foundations Table of Contents/Chapter 13/In the News



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Author Reflection
This topic was an engaging yet challenging process because there is not much information on social networking in the classroom. However the limited amount of information is extremely fascinating because it appears very versatile among students and teachers and employs education on something students use all the time. One example that I really enjoyed was an eighth grade English teacher using Twitter in his classroom, where he created a classroom account and had all of his students as “friends”. The project was a story created by the class, where each student would add their own part. Since Twitter allows no more than 140 words, it forced students to make the limited amount of text that they had meaningful. It was a limit that students did not groan at, but at the same time, take into account of what they were posting. The teacher eventually received students from all over the world, contributing to this interactive story and he published the book. One of the most important things I learned about teaching language arts is that writing has to be significant to students. Otherwise the entire experience of writing is meaningless. By taking social networking, which students do constantly anyway, the English teacher made writing an engaging and interactive experience. More importantly, he made his classroom a truly diverse classroom.

Another important issue that also caught my attention was how Web 2.0 could possibly demolish the traditional brick-and-mortar school. A struggling economy, geography and the pressing issue of school safety constantly on a community’s mind, teaching students through a virtual school does seem very appealing- to an extent. While many college and even high school students are taught online everyday, I personally do not see elementary and middle schools students being taught in a virtual school. At that age, I feel they are not ready for the self-discipline and responsibility of being an online student, when some of their higher education counterparts cannot. Of course, these are issues that will most likely not be seriously addressed until the next ten to fifteen years. However, it is something that current and pre-service teachers should think about as it may happen within their careers.Adart001 (talk) 00:49, 22 June 2009 (UTC)



Students: Please write your "Reader Responses" on this page.



Below are links to pages on which you can provide peer reviews for this article.

Remember that each peer review page should contain only one peer review.

Peer Review One

Peer Review Two

Peer Review Three

Author Reflection
This topic was an engaging yet challenging process because there is not much information on social networking in the classroom. However the limited amount of information is extremely fascinating because it appears very versatile among students and teachers and employs education on something students use all the time. One example that I really enjoyed was an eighth grade English teacher using Twitter in his classroom, where he created a classroom account and had all of his students as “friends”. The project was a story created by the class, where each student would add their own part. Since Twitter allows no more than 140 words, it forced students to make the limited amount of text that they had meaningful. It was a limit that students did not groan at, but at the same time, take into account of what they were posting. The teacher eventually received students from all over the world, contributing to this interactive story and he published the book. One of the most important things I learned about teaching language arts is that writing has to be significant to students. Otherwise the entire experience of writing is meaningless. By taking social networking, which students do constantly anyway, the English teacher made writing an engaging and interactive experience. More importantly, he made his classroom a truly diverse classroom.

Another important issue that also caught my attention was how Web 2.0 could possibly demolish the traditional brick-and-mortar school. A struggling economy, geography and the pressing issue of school safety constantly on a community’s mind, teaching students through a virtual school does seem very appealing- to an extent. While many college and even high school students are taught online everyday, I personally do not see elementary and middle schools students being taught in a virtual school. At that age, I feel they are not ready for the self-discipline and responsibility of being an online student, when some of their higher education counterparts cannot. Of course, these are issues that will most likely not be seriously addressed until the next ten to fifteen years. However, it is something that current and pre-service teachers should think about as it may happen within their careers.Adart001 (talk) 00:49, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

Reader Responses
I really enjoyed reading this article and the aspect of social networking that it covered. It was very interesting to read about the many advantages that it has to offer teachers and students. I never really gave it much thought but the idea of using social networking as a way to save costs and open the doors to new things that the students may not otherwise experience is a great thing. This is definitely a technologically advanced generation and I think its important to continue teaching and learning these new ideas. Great work! Khedl002 (talk) 23:40, 9 August 2009 (UTC)khedl002

I liked your article. It had many things that are important for teachers of the future to understand. While I am a big fan of social networking, I think if a teacher would be using this in a classroom there would have to be VERY clear rules about content! Some people have no thought to posting themselves in unflattering ways. Although I love the fact that because these sites are global there si the chance for students to interact with others in different countries and places around the world. This is the great advantage of technology, the exposure to a life that can be so different from the one we see very day! Jnewh001 (talk) 19:29, 8 August 2009 (UTC)

I really enjoyed how the author effectively covered both angles of the argument of technology integration. I personally think it can be used as a remarkable tool to get students actively engaged in learning. This is there generation, and they can't turn the corner without some form of technology in front of them whether its a video game, a social or interactive website etc...This is how they are processing these days, so it is important that we as educators conform to this logic and use it to our advantage. As long as we thoroughly educate on how to safely use the internet, I see no problem with integrating technology into the classroom. Rpaige (talk) 16:00, 9 August 2009 (UTC)

I have many colleagues that have jumped on the Twitter bandwagon in the past few months. Our school now has their own Twitter account where important information is placed for parents, staff, and students. I think that could be a positive thing in terms of distributing information. I'm still trying to figure out what the best way to use Twitter in the classroom. The article listed some very good information on advantages and disadvantages of social networking. I think social networking is the way to go in the classroom, but more education for the teachers should be included. It helps to know more about information than some of your students. Jtmitchem (talk) 20:32, 9 August 2009 (UTC)

I really enjoyed reading your article. The organization was well thought out, and made the information logical in allocution. One suggest to think about is to possible add hyperlinks in the text to articles you referred to. This would also add to the visual effect of the piece as well as add a bit of color to the article as a whole. Overall, great job! Scrai010 (talk) 02:01, 10 August 2009 (UTC)