Discussion+Questions

====While Selwyn's research looks at the use of the Facebook wall in a university setting, he acknowledges that there are many other social networking sites that could be used. In recognition of the fact that students may be using a variety of social networking tools, these discussions will look at various applications and their possible uses in an educational setting. What is the best tool for our purposes?====

1.danah boyd said "The key thing to understand about the social network sites is that they're first and foremost about connecting with people you already know" (boyd, 2010). Selwyn would call this the offline to online connection.

===Think about your own use of social networking sites. Are you connecting with only people you know? Survey your students or family members about which sites they are active in and who (people they know or strangers) they interact with there. Do you use Twitter in a different way than you use Facebook?===

2. Schools on Facebook was launched with the awareness that a majority of students were already using Facebook so why force them to learn a new social networking system.

"If we want to reach out to students and extend learning opportunities beyond the brief time we have with them during the day, how do we leverage Facebook in a way that is safe, acceptable, and reasonable? What sort of policies do we need that allow us to see Facebook (or whatever social media tool catches the fancy of the next wave of students) as a tool for learning rather than the latest way kids bully each other? If we expect to reach our most at risk students and engage those we might lose to what they perceive as more interesting pursuits, it’s time we embraced their communication medium of choice." (Dawson, 2010)

Do you think it is best to develop a separate social networking system for use in high school or is there a way that Facebook could be used instead?
===3. Social networking sites may be used by teachers to create "virtual office hours" so that students can ask questions outside of class time. Imagine what this would look like. How could you use these "hours" for 2-way communication with your students?===


 * The optional article below discusses the findings of a study with university students. Some professors had traditional office hours while others had virtual office hours to meet with students using Facebook. The implications for using virtual office hours are discussed.

Li, Lei & Pitts, Jennifer. (Summer 2009). //Does It Really Matter? Using Virtual Office Hours to Enhance Student-faculty Interaction.// Journal of Information Systems Education, 20, 2, 175-185. ProQuest Journals. @http://login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/pqdweb?did=1755224771&sid=2&Fmt=3&clientId=12301&RQT=309&VName=PQD

4. Look at this chart which compares ten social networking sites side-by-side.

When you think about your students using these sites, what questions do you have as you look at this chart? How could you use this chart in teaching students? (Think privacy, safety, age groups)
Social Networking Chart

References:

boyd, danah. (2010, February 24). Millenials, Media and Information. Pew Research Center Publications. Retrieved from @http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1516/millennials-panel-two-millennials-medi

Dawson, Christopher. (February 27, 2010). Light at the end of the tunnel: Driving ed reform with tech//. ZD Net Education. Retrieved from []