This document discusses the potential benefits of using social networking and Web 2.0 tools in schools. It provides survey results showing high rates of student engagement with these tools outside of school. The document argues that giving students control through these tools can increase engagement. It describes several specific tools like wikis, blogs, RSS feeds, and social networking sites and how they could be used collaboratively for projects, sharing resources, and modeling reflective thinking. Concerns about existing school rules banning these tools are also addressed.

1. Social Networking in Schools
Parkernwsd.wikispaces.com

5. The best thing about Web 2.0
is that…
nobody knows
what the hell it really means.
Even the ones who coined the term are still
struggling to find a compact definition.
And this is the true beauty and power of Web 2.0
- it makes people think.
From: http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2005/10/the_best_thing_.html

6. Why social networking?
SAMPLE SURVEYS:
 38% of students regularly read blogs and 19%
published a blog (Kirby & Kallio, 2007, p. 17).
A National School Board Association survey found:
 60% discuss education-related topics online.
 41% contribute to postings.
 30% download videos.
 12% update online profiles daily, 24% post photos
daily
(as cited in Karlin, 2007, p. 9).

7. The Man is Putting Down Social
Networking
 A National School Boards Association (NSBA) study
found that 80% of schools surveyed had rules
against chatting and instant messaging and 60%
even banned students from using email at school
(as cited in Richardson, 2007, p. 68).
 Out of approx. 1,200 students surveyed:
 7% had been approached for personal information or
bullied online.
 Only 2% had strangers they met online attempt to meet
them.
 The Legal Gray Area
 Very large, very nebulous
 First Amendment Rights

8. Additional Support and Cause for
Action
 Giving students control pays off.
 Correlation between engagement and the
perception of control
 And the walls came tumblin’ down…
 Students usage peaks at 5 p.m.
 Another spike at midnight
(Contreras-Castillo, Perez-Fragoso, and Favela,
2007, p. 213).

9. Collaborative Tools
Web 2.0

10. Social Networking Tools
 Open Source
 Free
 Ease of use and setup
 Little learning curve
 Editing through your web browser
 No need to download or buy expensive software
 Communication and collaboration based
 Generating user based content
 Epidemic Usage
 Almost all students have a myspace or facebook profile

11. Wikis
 A type of web site
 Visitors can easily add,
remove, or edit the Wiki Many people
content may contribute
to and edit a
 Easy to track changes single
document using
 Permission levels can only a web
browser.
be set
 An effective tool for http://parkernwsd
collaborative authoring
 15 minute setup

12. Wikis in Online Learning
Engage your students
 Use wikispace.com for creating websites
 Group projects
 Support for service learning projects in the
community
 Use PBwiki
 Collaborative essays and reports
 Space for free writing or reader-response
journaling
 Share resources – web sites, annotated
bibliographies, models for assignments
 Create a compendium of terms and concepts for
the course to use as a study guide

13. RSS
 Really Simple Syndication
 Push content
 Blog
 Audio files (podcasting)
 Receive content
 Subscribe to a feed
 Many browsers and other open source
programs
 Practical to implement
 Podcasts to blogs and more

14. Blogs
 Short for weblog, blogs are online journals
that display the most recent content first.
 Can combine text, images, and links to
audio and video files (podcasting).
 Readers may often leave comments and
interact with the writer.
 Makes students into publishers and writers.

15. Blogs in Online Learning
 Group blogs allow engagement
 For each work or topic that you cover in a
course, have small groups publish blogs on how
a their assigned theory would analyze or
interpret it.
 Individual blogs
 Write a blog for students in your courses or
department; link to journal articles, news items,
conferences, calls for papers
 Have students create blogs for journaling

16. Blogs for Educators
 Will Richardson
http://weblogg-ed.com/about/
 Classroom 2.0 Support Community
http://blogsearch.google.com/
 Randy Rogers
http://randyrogers.edublogs.com

17. Blogs
 Internet Explorer 7.0
 Firefox
Save a group of Tabs
Organize and Search

18. Pownce
 Great tool for educator to model reflective
thinking for students.
 A gateway for other social networking tools.
 Free PR for teachers.
 Pictures and profiles can help teachers get
to know their students.
 My Pownce Profile:
 http://pownce.com/rparker360/

19. Pownce
 Great tool for educator to model reflective
thinking for students.
 A gateway for other social networking tools.
 Free PR for teachers.
 Pictures and profiles can help teachers get
to know their students.
 My Pownce Profile:
 http://pownce.com/rparker360/

20. Ustream.TV
Ustream - http://www.ustream.tv
 Great tool for extending the classroom into the digital
world.
 Could be a tool for students who are absent or “sick.”
 Embed code to be used in other websites
 Potential to add a new dimension to class discussions.

21. Social Media
SlideShare http://www.slideshare.com
 Share PowerPoints and other slideshows on the web
 Embed in websites
 Post student work
 Post class notes
YouTube http://www.youtube.com
 Embed video in websites for student viewing
 Again, the man often has block and filters in place that
prohibit the use of such sites.
TeacherTube http://www.teachertube.com
 Embed video in websites for student viewing

22. Using Polls in class
Yes, I am saying cell phones might have a use as educational
tools.
Polleverywhere.com
 Encourage interaction and reflection on course materials
outside the classroom.
 Embed in other websites.

23. Moodle
Course Management System
 Open Source
 Little tech support, but much potential.
 Integrate a variety of tools.
 Ease of basic use.
 E-Portfolio compatible

24. Google
 Google Docs and Spreadsheets
http://www.google.com/google-d-s/tour1.html
 Google educator
http://www.google.com/educators/tools.html
 Other Google Stuff
http://www.google.com/reader