Kim Carter

What is a social network? a website where one connects with those sharing personal or professional interests, place of origin, education at a particular school, etc. ¹ As posted on Socialmediatoday.com the top three social networking sites are Facebook, Myspace and Twitter.

To access Facebook.com, you must create an account on the site which is free. Facebook's terms of use state that members must be at least 13 years old with valid ID’s. After updating you're details, your Facebook profile is generated. Using Facebook.com you can: ² *Browse and join networks, which are organized into four categories: regions, colleges, workplaces and high schools. *Pull contacts from a Web-based account, into Facebook.com. *Find friends in several ways, including search engine to look for a specific person and lot more. *Facebook has recently crossed 500 million users and is the most popular Social Networking site of the world. ²

Personal Facebook Homepage

On MySpace, your social network starts growing from the first day. When you join MySpace, the first step is to create a profile. You then, invite friends to join there and search for your friends on already profiled on MySpace these friends become your initial Friend Space. Once the friendship is confirmed all the people in your friends' Friend Space become part of your network. In that sense, everyone on MySpace is in your Extended Network. As part of terms of MySpace, the user must be at least 14 years old to register.²

Login page for Myspace

Twitter is a very simple service that is rapidly becoming one of the most talked-about social networking service providers. When you have a Twitter account, you can use the service to post and receive messages to a network of contacts, as opposed to send bulk messages. You can build your network of contacts, and invite others to receive your Tweets, and can follow other members' posts. Twitter makes it easy to opt into or out of networks. Additionally, you can choose to stop following a specific person’s feed.²

Login page for Twitter

Advantages Disadvantages Allows students to form friendships and maintain them outside classroom and school hours. Allows teacher to inform parents of important assignments and dates if website is not practical (more convenient for parents). Can become a distraction during class/school hours There is a higher chance and easier medium for bullying. Hinders language skills and development

Against For “Perusing social networking sites has the same effects as watching too much television; it's a major distraction with no viable benefit. Preoccupation with these sites has completely taken over as the major procrastination tool in students' free time. Just like adults put off their responsibilities (grading papers, perhaps?), students avoiding homework and studying are attracted to these time dumps like moths to a lamp. Their ease of use and access make social networking sites an innocent- appearing black hole of our students' time.”³ - KATE CONRATH “Experience tells me that social networking sites do not, in and of themselves, hurt grades- that problem is created by students not using their free time productively. I think the real issue, however, is the opportunity this technology presents for teachers. “³ “Jim Cummins, one of the great authorities on teaching English language learners, states that when teaching ELLs, "the learning process must be observed through the twin lens of cognitive engagement and identity investment." We not only need to get our kids to think, we also need to invest in who they are. Only when they feel that we truly value them will they work for us.”³ “At the end of the day, this is true not only for ELLs but for all students. Social networking Web sites can help us to address this challenge. “³ “Like it or not, these sites are now a part of our culture. Our students use them regularly, often religiously. We cannot eliminate them, nor should we try. Ultimately, they present a tremendous opportunity for us as teachers. We can use them as a means to invest in the identity of our kids. Whether it's Facebook, MySpace or another site, teachers can leverage their students' online networking in the classroom. We can have our students write blogs, use sites to discover and share interests, and most important, to better express themselves”.³ - Joseph Zecolla

¹ social network. (n.d.). Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon. Retrieved November 28, 2010, from Dictionary.com website: network network ² Sorav Jain. October 6, 2010 by 40 Most Popular Social Networking Sites of the World. Retrieved November 26, 2010, from popular-social-networking-sites-worldwww.socialmediatoday.com ³ Conrath, Kate "Does social networking hurt student grades?". American Teacher. FindArticles.com. 30 Nov, /Does social networking hurt student grades?