I have to admit that before today, I did not have a Facebook account. I am not particularly interested in sharing information about myself with many people online, partly because I am a rather private person and I do not trust the privacy settings of Facebook, and partly because I would rather spend my limited free time interacting with my family, talking with friends, reading a novel, or exercising. I decided, however, that now is a good time to sign up for Facebook. I do have some friends who live far away and who use Facebook regularly. I would like to keep in touch with them more easily. Also, even though I currently teach at the primary level, I might find myself working with older students again in the future, and Richardson makes a compelling argument for familiarizing ourselves with the social networking spaces frequented by our students. So off I went to sign up and "find friends"!
Less than half an hour ago, I received my first email confirming that I am a friend on Facebook. I enjoyed viewing the pictures on Kathy's Facebook page--especially the recent photos of her three adorable kids--but I felt a bit weird about leaving comments that all of her other friends could see. As I perused Kathy's site, I was surprised by the number of people from my high-school grad class who appeared as potential friends. Kathy went to high school in a different country, and I didn't add any information to my profile, so I'm not sure how Facebook could identify my former classmates. Friends of friends, I guess.
Although I will probably grow to appreciate Facebook, I am more interested right now in exploring the world of Ning. Richardson recommends some Ning sites as valuable professional development tools, and he is certainly right! I just visited the Classroom 20 Ning and discovered a wealth of information even before signing up to become a member. On a digital storytelling forum, I found an excellent blog post called Digital Storytelling for Beginners. This post describes four Web 2.0 tools (Little Bird Tales, JAMU, Blabberize, and VoiceThread) that can be used with young students (kindergarten and up) and provides examples of products created with each tool. On the same forum, another educator recommended Kerpoof as a site that is user-friendly and safe for young students. I visited the site and discovered a variety of comprehensive lesson plans. One on patterns, for example, offers suggestions for teaching patterns in the classroom (not using computers) before showing students images of patterns in art, provided on the Kerpoof site, and for getting students to create patterns online. In addition, there are many links to relevant websites and a list of picture books that contain patterns. I am also going to have a closer look at Kerpoof's lesson plan on the planets, a topic I will soon be exploring with my Grade 3 class.
I definitely have underestimated social networking as an educational tool! I will be spending more of my prep time exploring Classroom20 and the tools suggested by its members. I also hope to visit ArtSnacks, another Ning recommended by Richardson. I signed up this morning, but have not yet received confirmation that I have been accepted as a member.
Great reflective post that demonstrates your willingness to try, explore, evaluate and place social media tools in the right balance for you personally. Facebook is not for everyone and being aware of what it "is" for you is super important. Becoming familiar with it, while being safe and also while managing what information and "digital identity" it builds as you explore the site and new connections is vital.
ReplyDeleteYou are role-modelling safe, effective, balanced and curious attitudes towards social media that will help you educate others and students about what is most important about these tools.
I am so glad to see you find immediate value in belonging to a Ning of like-minded educators sharing the best resources and practices. That is a social network that will allow you to grow and stretch as an educator and T-L.