Social+Networking

= SOCIAL NETWORKING =

How to Use Social-Networking Technology for Learning Social-networking tools aren't just for flirting on MySpace. The evolving world of Internet communication -- blogs, podcasts, tags, file swapping -- offers students radically new ways to research, create, and learn. But, too often, schools use computers as little more than glorified workbooks, and that's criminal, says Chris Lehmann, principal of Philadelphia's Science Leadership Academy. He explains why teachers should embrace networking and how they can use it to improve education.

Social Networking in the Classroom Social networking provides new ways to connect and share information and create networks of interest. So, while in more traditional learning environments much of this must be orchestrated and planned by the instructor and organized through the grouping and pairing of students, when using a social networking tool this level of connection can happen immediately. It is often considered quite “cool” by students when teachers also have Facebook links and provide a shared group for the class online.

Social Networking in the Classroom: Collegiate Tool (Purdue Hotseat) In most classrooms around the world, using cell phones to send text messages and laptops to access sites like Facebook and Twitter are very much discouraged. Considered a high-tech distraction that impedes the learning environment, such actions often end in the student being reprimanded, penalized and even having their devices confiscated. Things are a little different at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, where some professors--especially those who teach in large lecture halls--have come to embrace social networking as an instructional aid. Using an application developed on campus, the educators who enrolled in the program have come to think of social networking via texting and online portals as a tool, rather than a distraction.