This document discusses the possibilities and pitfalls of using social networking tools in educational settings. It begins by providing background on the prevalence of social networking use among teens and adults. It then explores the capabilities of social networks, including uses for marketing, knowledge sharing, and connecting with mentors. The document outlines how social network algorithms work to suggest connections. It acknowledges both the potential benefits of using networks like Edmodo in classrooms, while also warning of dangers like cyberbullying. It concludes by advocating for setting clear policies on appropriate social network use in schools.

1. Social Networking:
A story of Edmodo in
3 acts
Possibilities and Pitfalls
Mike Young
July 2012

2. Don’t run with
scissors!
Setting policy for the pedagogical use
of social networking tools

3. Pew Internet- prevalence
of Facebook/ MySpace use
2011 Pew Internet suggest Facebook users have more
close friends and are more trusting, and more
politically engaged.
2010 Pew Internet survey results show that 93% of
teens ages 12-17 go online.
Nearly three quarters (73%) of online teens ages 12-17
and an equal number (72%) of young adults use
social network sites.
By contrast, older adults have not kept pace; some
40% of adults 30 and older use the social sites in
the fall of 2009.
Among adults 18 and older, Facebook has taken over
as the social network of choice; 73% of adult profile
owners use Facebook, 48% have a profile on
MySpace and 14% use LinkedIn.

4. Macarthur Foundation
“Digital Youth Project”
(2008)
Kids use social networks routinely in at
least 2 different ways:
1. Friendship-based
2. Interest-based

5. Background:
Technology has not
changed schools
(like it has medicine or entertainment)
TV and other media
Papert/ Logo
Bransford/ Jasper
The Internet
Digital media production
– Shift from new online reading
literacies to new online writing/
collaboration literacies

10. So the context is more
that while technology
changes most of
society, schools tend to
assimilate technology

11. Background:
Technology inside and
outside schools
 Inside School  Outside School
 Exchange  Interest of the
value of learner
learning  Customizable/
 Fidelity/Reliab eclectic
ility  Meritocracy
 Equity

12. “Social software” or …goes beyond the level
“Social computing"
Defined
of hyperlinks and
Ala-Mutka, Bacigalupo, Kluzer,
Pascu, Punie, & Redecker, 2008;
information retrieving
Minocha, 2009
by supporting the
profile-sharing,
network-building and
the gathering, use, and
dissemination of
information that is
distributed across
social collectives.

13. Social Networking… … is characterized by an
algorithm (suggester)
A special kind of social
computing!
that suggests potential
network
connections, such as
suggesting you
become friends of your
friends, or read books
that others who have
read your book, have
also read.

14. Possibilities
People
– FOMF (friends of my friends)
Data
– Shared links
– Shared searches
Video/Audio
Shared media
Microblogging (twitter)

15. Possibilities
Authentic audiences
– Fanfiction.net
Locating mentors
– Livemocha.com
Move toward Team Science
– Human Genome
– Space Science

16. Current Capabilities
• Marketing & E-commerce
– Target Marketing
– Collaborative Recommendation
• Terrorist & Crime Detection
– Ipswich’s Jack the Ripper, England 2006
• Medical Network
– Finding Blood
– Organ
• Knowledge Management
– NSF- Sharing (Finding Knowledge)
– Family History

17. Pro
• Public Groups can be created that
don’t attach as personal friends
• Hoot.me and Moxme work inside
Facebook to limit distractions and
focus on collaboration
• Getting kids online allows us to
teach about online interactions
• Social “identity” has been used to
expand ELL and other language
learner’s approach to foreign
language learning.

18. How networks work
Suggester algorithms, nodes, and
connections

19. First, a distinction…
Social Networking vs Social Media

20. Making connections

21. 1. Turn on the power and set the MODE button you want with
MODE button. You can confirm the MODE you chose as the
red indicator blinks.
2. Lamp blinks when (someone with) a Lovegety for the
opposite sex to yours set under the same MODE as yours
comes near.
3. FIND lamp blinks when (someone with) a Lovegety for the
opposite sex to yours set under some different mode from
yours come near. In that case, you may try the other MODES
SONIC
to “GET” tuned with (him/her) if you like.
Advancing the Science of
Networks in Communities

22. Aphorisms about
Networks
Social Networks:
– Its not what you know, its who you know.
Cognitive Social Networks:
– Its not who you know, its who they think you
know.
Knowledge Networks:
– Its not who you know, its what they think you
know.
SONIC
Advancing the Science of
Networks in Communities

23. Cognitive Knowledge Networks
SONIC
Advancing the Science of
Networks in Communities

24. Multidimensional Networks in Web 2.0
Multiple Types of Nodes and Multiple Types of Relationships
SONIC
Advancing the Science of
Networks in Communities

25. Suggester Algorithms
 Who knows who?
 Who knows what?
 Who know who knows who?
 Who knows who knows what?
SONIC
Advancing the Science of
Networks in Communities

26. Mapping Flows in the
PackEdge CoP Network
SONIC
Advancing the Science of
Networks in Communities

27. “Pre-wired” PackEdge CoP Network

28. “Re-wired” PackEdge CoP Network

29. Learning enabled
classrooms, where
students seek
information from the
people that know, and
network with those with
shared interests.

30. Facebook or…?
…compared to alternatives like
MySpace, Ning, Elgg.org, Yahoo
groups, Edmodo, LinkedIn, Orkut (Google’s
version) MoxMe!, Google+

31. John and Mike find each
other on Facebook

32. Monroeps.org
Google images
kids download thumbnails
Printed
Found in pocket
Ban Google Images or…
Consider how else to handle it with
personnel

41. Connections through
facebook
Facebook groups
Connect through School messenger

42. Pitfalls
If schools sanction their use, what
dangers lurk for social network
users?

43. Social means
civil, etiquette and
decency
The specter of cyberbullying

44. Kids can be cruel… and
need to learn how to
behave
Online and offline… in school and at
home…

45. The scale of the
audience can
exacerbate the problem
of bullying
The role of bystanders in
cyberbullying

46. Why cyberbullying is our
problem
Liability to the victim
and the perp –
emotional and
physical
harm, constitution
al violations
Suicides: Megan Meier
(MO), Megan Gillan
(England), Tempest
Smith (MI), Jessica
Logan (OH), Alex
Moore (AL), Phoebe
Prince (MA)

47. What is cyberbullying?
Traditional bullying using
technology
– Intentional
– Repeated
– Aggressive or unwanted
behavior
+
– Power imbalance
Some researchers say its not
cyberbullying unless it is “a part
of or related to offline bullying.”
The most hurtful incidents typically
involve a personal relationship
(real life).
Copyright © 2010 National School
Boards Association. All rights reserved.

48. Summary/
Final Thoughts
Don’t discard (filter) the benefits of social
networks (like Edmodo) for fear of abuses.
And set clear policies so “don’t spam or
cyberbully” is as commonly understood as
“don’t run with scissors.”

49. References
Pew Internet 2011
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/
2011/Technology-and-social-
networks/Summary/Findings.aspx