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as Learning Networks: Embracing Social Networks and Their Applications in the Classroom AIMS October 9, 2009
Social Networks as Learning Networks: Embracing Social
Networks and Their Applications in the
ClassroomAIMS
October 9, 2009
Susan Davis(Sulu Dezno in SL)Dean of Faculty
The Chinquapin SchoolHighlands, TX
Larry Kahn(Galt Jefferson in SL)
Director of Academic and Information Technology
The Kinkaid SchoolHouston, TX
About You•7 of you took the survey
•You are a mixed group in terms of experiences with social networks.
•You are a mixed group in terms of what types of SN you are likely to join.
•You are a mixed group in terms of your expectations with regard to SN and education.
•Your concerns about SN differ.
What do you want?•“I would like to see how social
networking can be of value professionally and personally.”
•“Learn more about social networks as they apply to the student-teacher perspective (management, assessment, etc.).”
•“A better understanding of how these networks may help our school.”
What do you want?
•“SN best practices in classroom; good examples of classroom use.”
•“How to effectively use SN sites in the classroom and help educate the school (especially policymakers) that social networks are not evil and simply places to be avoided or blocked.”
What do you want?
•“New perspective on using SNs in the classroom, including how to maintain an appropriately formal and respectful environment between teachers and students.”
QuickTime™ and a decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Q&A/Discussion1. Work towards a working definition of social network? (a group...of people...in which you are social...)2. What are the social networks you currently participate in? Offline? Online?3. What do these activities have in common? What do you do when you participate in a network? (Share, report, gather information...)4. What happens when you go from an offline to an online network? (For example, a book group to Goodreads).
Why are social networks valuable
as learning environments for
teachers?
History•Sociologists have been studying how
people network socially since at least the 1930s.
•As early as the 1980s social networking began appearing on the Internet.
•Sites took off in 2002-2004 with the creation of Friendster, MySpace, Bebo, and Facebook.
Culture•Started as social sites for young
people…
•Disciplinary actions required by schools impacted response in education…
•The media give adults their initial perceptions…
Facebook now has over 300 million
users…
> 35 fastest growing
demographic…
Things change quickly…
•According to Forrester Research, 95% of 1,217 business decision-makers surveyed late last year said they plan to use social networks.
•2009 study of 70,000 educators reveals that they are beginning to embrace SN.
Survey of K-12 Educators
The Case for Education
•The world has changed and we are preparing children for the world we knew instead of the world they will know.
•Dr. Howard Gardiner
•Clay Shirky
•Dan Pink
•Sir Ken Robinson
Skill Shift
•Less importance on memorization of content.
•Increased importance on working with and creating meaning in content. This requires increased creativity, collaboration, analysis, critique, and synthesis.
At some level the kids get it...
Dr. Michael Wesch talks passionately about the crisis of relevancy in education.
My Story•Started as an IT Director. IT
Directors are generally VERY Conservative.
•Post on ISED (swimming pool analogy) got me thinking.
•My responsibilities have become increasingly more academic.
•PLP experience gave me chance to lean into my discomfort.
A Professional Learning Community (Ning)Some examples…
Second Life in the Classroom
My Personal Learning Network (Facebook)
What I learned…
•The importance of building a personal learning network.
•The importance of taking part in a professional learning community.
•The value in taking it to the classroom.
The importance of the Julie and Julia
moment
“My classroom has become a window…”
Vanessa Riesgo, US Spanish teacher, The Kinkaid School
