SOCIAL NETWORKING AND THE K-12 CLASSROOM By Belinha De Abreu Media Literacy Educator Drexel University
IT ALL BEGAN WITH…
IT ALL BEGAN WITH… INSTANT MESSAGING (IM)
IT ALL BEGAN WITH… EMOTICONS & TEXT LANGUAGE AFAIK As Far As I Know B4N Bye for now BFz4evr Best friends forever See you at __ FOMCL Fell out of my chair laughing H&K Hugs and kisses IMHO In my honest (or humble) opinion PRW Parents are watching SETE Smiling ear to ear TTYL Talk to you later 2d4 To die for 2g4u Too good for you 4gvn Forgiven
IT ALL BEGAN WITH… Texting in All Sorts of Places
IT ALL BEGAN WITH… Thank you for a great year Mrs. D. HAGS!
IT ALL BEGAN WITH… IDK MY BFF ROSE (AT&T Commercial)
IT ALL BEGAN WITH…
SOCIAL NETWORKING
HOW PREVALENT IS IT? YouTube & South Park
HOW PREVALENT IS IT?
In Teen Fiction By Author: Lauren Myracle
HOW PREVALENT IS IT?
Text messaging… …Has become the most popular form of communication for young adults. Do we use it in the classroom?
Advertisers are beginning to use the social networking/text language to communicate with teens and young adults. HOW PREVALENT IS IT?
WHERE ARE THEY ONLINE? Creating and Connecting – National School Boards Association
TEENS ONLINE FACTS 85% of teens ages engage at least occasionally in some form of electronic personal communication, which includes text messaging, sending or instant messages, or posting comments on social networking sites; 55% of online teens ages have created a profile on a social networking site such as Facebook or MySpace; 47% of online teens have uploaded photos where others can see them, though many restrict access to the photos in some way; 14% of online teens have posted videos online. Pew Internet and American Life Project
TEENS ONLINE FACTS
57% of online teens say that they watch videos on video sharing sites such as YouTube; 49% of teens play games online; Pew Internet and American Life Project, usage is steadily decreasing for this age group as a form of communication. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2007
THINGS TO KNOW: Content Creators- Online teenagers who have created or worked on a blog or webpage, shared original creative content, or remixed content they found online into a new creation. (Pew Internet and American Life Project) Participatory Cultures- A culture with relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement, strong support of creating and sharing one’s creations, and some type of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices. (Prof. Henry Jenkins – MIT)
IN THE CLASSROOM… Does it exist? –Yes, but not used by many teachers. Biggest Barriers? –School Internet Policies. –Educators do not see its value in the classroom. –Do not find it to be an effective communications tool. –Unknowledgeable.
IN THE CLASSROOM… Based on the Partnership for 21st Century Skills… Every student in this country must be: A critical thinker A problem solver An innovator An effective communicator A self-directed learner – Information and media literate Globally aware Civically engaged Financially and economically literate.
IN THE CLASSROOM… What is being used? –Blogging -Moodle –EduSpaces-edu 2.0 –Flickr-iGoogle –Second Life-SchoolTube –TeacherTube-Wikis
IS THERE A DISCONNET?
SOME PARTING THOUGHTS… “There are two ways to think: ‘How do you protect the kids from the technology?’ OR ‘How do you unlock the creativity of the kids by engaging them with technology?’ If you assume that students will get their hands into the cooking jar, you’re thinking about it the wrong way.” -Adam Newman, Outsell
SOME PARTING THOUGHTS… Zits by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman
SOME PARTING THOUGHTS… “I look at the technology that kids bring to school and try to harness that. You can either ban iPods, (and cell phones, Blackberries or MP3s), or fill them with content. What do they have in their bookbags that we’re not letting them use?” -Karl Schaefer, North Carolina’s Durham Academy, The Journal
A FEW RESOURCES: Goodstein, A. (2007). Totally Wired: What Teens and Tweens Are Really Doing Online. NY: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN-10: Engdahl, S. (2007). Online Social Networking (Current Controversies). NY: Greenhaven Press. ISBN-10: Kelsey, C.M. (2007). Generation MySpace: Helping Your Teen Survive Online Adolescence. NY: Da Capo Press. ISBN-10:
CONTACT INFORMATION: Belinha De Abreu Media Literacy Educator Auxiliary Assistant Professor Drexel University 3141 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, PA or or