Social Networking is nothing new...it has been around since the dawn of civilization. However, the platforms and the methods of social networking have changed dramatically over the years. My grandmother loved to sit and write letters to her friends and family on beautiful stationery. My parents spent hours talking to their friends on the phone. My generation...well, we have the internet! Social networking has taken on a whole new persona with the internet. We now have immediate connection with anyone, anywhere!
Sometimes I wonder if I am surgically attached to my social network…haha. Seriously, I am not one to spend hours or even minutes on a telephone. If you get me to talk on a phone for more than a half hour once or twice a week, you have truly accomplished something. Write a letter? Not since I sent my last letter to Santa Clause telling him what I was hoping to find under the tree Christmas morning. But, Facebook...I think I may be addicted...LOL!!!
So, how did I get to this point...well, it's my students fault! No, really, it is! While teaching a few years back (ok…5 or 6 years back), I noticed that my students were always finishing their work early and taking advantage of the free ten minutes at the end of class on our computer lab days. At first I was excited that they were all engaged in the lessons I was creating and working so hard to learn what I was teaching. Then, I quickly realized that they were all finishing their work and hitting the same website for ten minutes...what was this MySpace anyway? As any good teacher would do, I investigated. MySpace was a site where individuals could create a personal page and interact with one another over the internet. I began to watch and I realized that even my quietest students were communicating via MySpace. I also realized that often times they were posting back and forth with people that were in the same room! Well, my first thought was to stop this behavior immediately. But, I stepped back and looked at the big picture. This was something that every one of my students seemed to enjoy. They were excited to have the opportunity to spend even ten minutes on the page. More importantly, they were quiet, behaved, AND engaged. There must be a teaching moment here...right? Well, I found several teaching moments. We were able to open up a class dialogue on how we communicate and why it is easier to talk to one another via the internet vs. face-to-face. Through this I actually found the spark that brought "all" of my students into class discussions. Also, I had my students create a lesson where they taught me how to use MySpace and to create my own page. That has stood as one of my favorite lessons...to see my students engaged and excited to teach me something...I wish everyday could be like that!
From this simple observation I found a new venue that would work to benefit me as a teacher and in my personal life. When it was all said and done, I had two MySpace pages. My "Mr. Brumbelow" page was a professional page that I used to interact with my students on a more personal level. With this tool, I was able to see a new side of my students, connect with them, communicate with them, and grow with them. Students would send messages to say hi and see how I was during breaks and over the weekends, they would post questions they had or share difficulties they were having with an assignment, and they communicated with one another. Often times, before I could respond to help one of my students with their problem, several of their classmates would respond and assist them. This is when I began to realize the educational power of the internet and social networking and its relevance to my teaching practices.
The second MySpace page was my personal and private page. While I was building and growing my "teacher" page, I realized that a lot of my friends had pages. So, I created a personal page that was separate from my student's where I could interact with my friends. I have moved on from MySpace and I am now a part of the Facebook community. The only issue is that I am now constantly tracking and posting with my friends. As soon as I sit down to any computer the first thing I do is open my email. The second, log in to Facebook and check to see what my friends are up to. It is now to the point that I get Facebook posts delivered directly to my phone as text messages. Texting…we won’t even go there…LOL!!! Let’s just say that it is a good thing I have unlimited texting…hahaha.
MySpace, Facebook, Skype, Twitter…each of these tools allow me to remain in contact with family, friends, and former students. I am able to connect with each of them anywhere in the world instantaneously. I can sing happy birthday to my friend’s son in Washington D.C. on his 3rd birthday via Skype. I can talk with my former students deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq via Yahoo Instant Messenger. I can stay in touch with family, friends, and old classmates from high school and college daily through Facebook. I can now “Tweet” with my best friend’s 16 year old daughter who has called me Uncle Gary since she was 5…she loves the fact that I am now on Twitter and that it was because of a homework assignment!
On a professional note, I am now able to meet people from all over the world and make new contacts via social networks. I now have the opportunity to learn, share, and sometimes help people that I would have never met otherwise. I am just beginning to tap into the professional side of social networking, but I know the possibilities are limitless.
In the classroom, I have found social networking to be a powerful tool to connect with my students and increase their learning opportunities. From that first day that I noticed my students on MySpace…I am convinced that social networks, used properly, are one of my best tools I have in my teaching chest and I intend on using that tool to its fullest potential.
Social Networking, whether for personal or professional use, is a powerful tool. You can find the good and bad in these networks…I admit that. But, you can find the positive and negative side of most anything if you look hard enough. It is not the tool that is good or bad…it is the method in which you use it! I hope each of you reading this post takes the time to look for new and positive ways you can use these networks, for your personal and professional lives.
I'm going to print off this post and use some of your observations and comments as ammunition. The IT department in my district blocks access to the social networks. I agree, these tools, used appropriately, can motivate and engage students in learning.
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