It's no secret that many schools discourage the use of social networking sites (SNSs) and some schools even go as far as to block access to these websites. SNSs allow people to publicize a lot of personal information which might jeopardize the professional relationship that teachers need to maintain with their students. There's also the fact that spending too much time on social networking sites, like Facebook and MySpace, will reduce productivity. However social networking websites are a social phenomenon and it is not showing signs of slowing down. What teachers need to understand is that, on a very basic level, these websites are there to connect people and allow them to communicate better. Education is heavily dependent on communication, so SNSs can be seen as a powerful educational tool.
As I wrote earlier, if you sign up for an account on an SNS you need to make sure that you don't share any personal information that may cause 'role conflicts' in your work place. Having said that, a social networking site will allow you to automatically share important online resources with you colleagues. You might be able to find Social networking sites which offer tools specifically tailored for teachers. These SNSs are sometimes referred to as Niche Social Networking Sites, the niche being education. SNSs will also allow you to easily share with your students, any information related to school and to the subjects you are teaching them. Social networking websites are not only about connecting people, they also offer a new way for encouraging participation through open services.
No comments:
Post a Comment