810 Social Networking Lab

Since Facebook was launched in February 2004, social networking has exploded within personal and professional circles around the world. Initially, I created a Facebook profile to connect to new classmates in college and stay in contact with friends from high school. Originally, Facebook was created as a college network which highlighted applications such as "courses" (where students could connect to other students who were in a particular course). Since then, Facebook has expanded internationally to include all individuals while also incorporating aspects of both personal and professional life. Over the years, I have used Facebook to stay in contact with friends from elementary and high school (and now college), but more recently I have been interested in the ways in which it could be incorporated into my classroom. 

Clearly Facebook is not the only social networking site out there; websites like Twitter are also very popular, especially amongst my students. I currently teach in a district where most students have not only cellphones, but smartphones with more complex Internet capabilities. Students are often "tweeting" in between classes, at lunch, and even during class. As a younger teacher, I wrestle with "picking the battle" against students on a daily basis to put their phones away because I too was guilty of texting during my classes in college. I know it's cliche, but if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. With that being said, I've become more and more intrigued by the immense capabilities and opportunities social networks hold, but also realize the responsibility educators have to help students successfully navigate through those networks. Though I have yet to utilize social networking in my classes (other than students creating fake Facebook profiles for characters in The Crucible), I do foresee wonderful learning opportunities that will come from social networking and look forward to exploring those possibilities in this course.