Impacting Education

SOCIAL NETWORKS

Collaboration Partners: A. Buza & B. Sweat

Outline Overview

What are social networking sites (SNS)? Features/comparison of SNS Who uses social networks A user’s profile (an inside look)

Safety Issues School Policies Safety Issues (privacy) Benefits/concerns to social networks

Conclusions What should we do? Helpful Resources For Educators Parent/Community Involvement Parent Resources It takes a village…

Resources

What are Social Networking Sites (SNS)?Social Networks are a web-based service that

aids people in meeting others with the same interests and allows them to interact through a variety of special features.

Popular sites among teens today are:MySpaceFacebookNINGBlack PlanetMyYearbookPhotobucket

Features of Social Networking SitesPersonal Profiles are created to develop and online

personification that tells other users about ones self.

A "friends" list that allows easy access to the profiles of individuals of your choice with common interests

A list of Links that allows other users to connect to sites that are of interest to you from your profile page.

Special features not all networks have:graphics, music, video and photos to personalize profilesblog spots and spaces designated for comments made by

viewersInstant messaging within that network.

Who Uses Social Networks?Facebook Statistics: Facebook has the highest

growth rate, and is predicted to have the same number of registered users as MySpace in  2008/2009More than 60 million active usersOver 55,000 regional, work-related, collegiate, and

high school networksThe fastest growing demographic is those 25 years

old and olderSixth-most trafficked site in the United States

(comScore)People spend an average of 20 minutes on the site

daily (comScore)More than 14 million photos uploaded dailyMore than 6 million active user groups on the site

Who Uses Social Networks? – conc.MySpace Statistics: MySpace is the largest Social

Network in North America.  Primarily aimed at youth. MySpace has more than 110 million monthly active users

around the globe 85% of MySpace users are of voting age (18 or older) 1 in 4 Americans is on MySpace On average 300,000 new people sign up to MySpace every

day (this month we broke a record and had 4.5 billion page views to the site in one day)

We are localized and translated in more than 20 international territories

MySpace is one of the fastest growing websites of all time: 10 Billion friend relationships 1.5 Billion images 8 Million images being uploaded per day 60,000 new videos being upload to MySpaceTV each day

A user’s profile – an inside look (1)

A user’s profile – an inside look (2)

A user’s profile – an inside look (3)

School Policies Create a team of staff,

administrators, and parent volunteers to create acceptable user policies.

Train staff on what acceptable and unacceptable online behavior is according to the policy.

Make parents and students aware of all user policies and the consequences of in appropriate use.

Make sure the policy is well written in order to avoid violating First Amendment Rights.

Staff should also be aware of what guidelines and rules social networking sites have and be advised on how to report violations directly to the website.

Encourage parents and students to also report instances of cyber bullying, harassment, and/or lewd content.

Safety Issues (Privacy) SNS profiles can be set to different levels of privacy:

Public - anyone on the internet can view the profile. Members only - anyone who is a member of the SNS site can view the

information friend or non-friend. Friends Only - only those people who have been accepted/authorized

as a friend can view the profile 55% of online teens have profiles 66% of online teens report that their profile is not visible to all Internet users teens with completely open profiles, 46% reported including at least some

false information

Main Issues: Predators can piece together information found on public profiles to do

harm to user (i.e. - identity theft). Privacy regarding user information is highly scrutinized by the media Age to join - most sites (if not all) have a minimum age to join the

service range from 13 to 18 (Social Networking Sites Reviewed)

Benefits of Social Networking SitesSocial networking sites allow teachers and

students to connect on a level that extends beyond the typical walls of a classroom.connect people regardless of locationpractice social skills because the meeting takes place

online and not face-to-face (kids can think about the question/response)

sites can be set up and/or installed as a "walled off community" where security measures are put in place

practice the use of technology - given a chance to be emerged into an ever evolving technological world

Concerns of Social Networking SitesStudents are sharing information with anyone and

everyone.

Personal information can be easily used in a harmful way by bad people.

Cyber bullying – can happen both online and offline.

Students are bombarded by false information that may be potentially dangerous

Information stored online is permanent.  Even if information is edited or deleted, it is stored forever (Wayback Machine)

What should we do?What should schools do about student's access to

social networking sites while at school:1. Implement a curriculum at an early age that focuses on the

dangers and concerns of using the internet and social networks to meet new people and socialize with friends.

2. Emphasize and teach students how to use the internet and social network sites positively and as a collaboration tool!

3. Make sure EVERYONE (staff, students, parents) is educated about the safety concerns that accompany internet usage.

4. Monitor all computer activity within the building; especially incoming and outgoing e-mail.

5. Install firewalls, filtering, spyware, etc. to protect students against potentially dangerous sites.

Helpful Resources For EducatorsCybersmart Curriculum:

http://www.cybersmartcurriculum.org/This fantastic FREE website  focuses on schools

developing an internet safety curriculum.  Within this website teachers will find lesson plans about privacy, bullying, researching, safety, and the dangers of having cyberpals students don't already know.  Cybersmart also offers online videos that students can watch created by other students about online safety.  This site is also a great tool for parents and students to further educate themselves outside of school. Cybersmart is also in accordance with the ISTE National Technology Standards.

Parent/Community Involvement Any successful school program has great parent/community

involvement. When dealing with internet safety and social networks it is imperative that the parents are informed and actively involved. Schools should offer informative/training sessions for parents

about internet safety and popular social network sights after school in the evening on several different nights.

Parents should be taught what to do in case their child is being cyberbullied or if they feel their child may be in danger.

Parents should also be made aware of software that is available that can help them monitor their child’s internet activity and filter out websites that they feel may have inappropriate content.

Parents should be made aware of the online resources available that can help them identify potential dangers, inappropriate

Parent ResourcesGetnetwise is a FREE online resource that

focuses on the internet in the home. It is a great resource for both parents and kids. Offers a variety of information about many different

aspects, including social networks, of internet usage. 

Getnetwise also breaks down confusing internet terminology so that parents may understand what they are reading and viewing online.  This will also help them stay in touch with what their kids know about the internet, what is out there, and how to use it.

It takes a village…It takes a village…

or maybe just the cooperation and involvement of the schools, students, and parents before we can truly use the internet and social networks as a learning tool to help students collaborate. Until everyone is educated and trained on how to properly use the internet and social networks schools will continue to  shy away from using such resources to their fullest educational value in order to keep their students safe and parents worry free.

Resources http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vo113/issue1/boyd.ellison.html

http://social-networking-websites-review.toptenreviews.com/

http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/01/09/social-network-stats-facebook-myspace-reunion-jan-2008/

http://www.schwablearning.org/articles.aspx?r=1120

http://kids.getnetwise.org/tools/controversial

http://0-find.galegrroup.com.elibary.mel.org/itx/printdoc.do?contentSet=IAC-Documents