Thing #23

I was very impressed with the educational Networks because of the wealth of knowledge that is being put out on the Web.  I had no idea there were so many social networks.  You can really find some great information on these sites from educational ideas to hobbies.  This is exactly what I was looking for.  I was really overwhelmed by it all, because there were so many.  I was going in all different directions and I had to start focusing on one topic.

There were several social networks that I want to become a member of, such as NextGen Teachers. I enjoy learning about new ways to use technology in the classroom and there are so many sites dealing with that topic.  There was a social network called GlobalClassroom where you could take a free online technology courses. I thought that was a great idea.

It would be great to have a social network maybe just for the students, it would have to be organized and managed appropriately.  But, this would be another way to get students involved in life-long learning.  This would show them that there are endless ways to learn and become involved in things or ideas that you enjoy.  Just another way to catch their attention in school and make learning fun, as well as learning how to interact with peers through networking.

Thing #22

We need to know how are students are learning and what gets their attention.  The world is changing all the time, as well as our students.  We need to keep up with the technology that is changing around us and learn how to embrace it and use it as an advantage to teach.  A lot of the time our students are more advanced in the realm of technology than we are. 

I created a MySpace account about a year ago because I wanted to find old friends. I learned that there are a lot more people on MySpace than I ever figured there would be.  I looked for old college classmates, and it was real easy to narrow the search down.  I did find some educational groups, I would have to investigate them further to see if I was interested in being a part of that group. 

I disliked that children can use this type of networking in a negative way.  Some of the pictures that are posted are not appropriate.   I think that children need to be monitored by their parents when using these sites.  

I do like that you can have a group of friends that you can keep in touch with and contact without having to repeat your search.  I enjoy the pictures from my friends sites the most, I can keep up with my friends families and their adventures.  I also enjoy all of the image generators that can be used in MySpace. There are endless ones which makes each site unique.   MySpace also allows you to block people, or keep your site private which is a plus when your students want to make you a friend. 

I rarely use MySpace, but the page features are really awesome.  If I had time, I would love to explore more of the image generators that MySpace allows.  

I would not be comfortable using these sites for education (classroom use).  I can see teachers using it to talk to other teachers  or to become part of an educational group.