Social Networking for Education

I like the idea of social networking for education.  When I created a webpage for another class, I connected it to Amazon's widget and has an RSS feed on the page.  I think that could possibly be a good way to set up a social networking site for education-- reading in particular.  Students could exchange books, thoughts, ideas, connections, reflections, summaries, evaluation, etc. Students could connect this widget and the RSS feed to a wiki page. Another way that a teacher could create a social networking site for students could be through using Edmodo. Students already get to blog on that page, but Google Reader can also be added for an aggregator. To either site, students could add suggested readings, topics/subjects, etc.  Now that I understand more about RSS feeds, Google Reader and aggregators, I feel like I can help students to enhance their learning through making powerful connections.

Possible Hazards of Blogging

I suppose that blogging could have some drawbacks. What comes to my mind about an very real problem would be that students would only need to search for blogs about similar topics to find a good post and use it as their own.  With so much readily available texts, teachers are always concerned about whether or not we have original student texts, or are students simply copying each others' work for a quick grade.  The true purpose of blogging is to share your intellectual musings and receive responses to which you can also reply, but with so many blogging sites available, it is easier than ever for students to lift the work of others and call it their own.

Chapters 1-3

I spent some time giving my undivided attention to our text, Chapters 1-3 of Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms (Richardson, 2010), and found it to be a bit dated.  For example, on pg. 45, Richardson states that, "about 70 percent of homes will have broadband access by 2012" (Richardson, 2010).  This information is not very helpful in 2013. However, there were many helpful suggestions about how to integrate blogging into education and what constitutes and does not constitute blogging. The distinctions were very helpful such as "Links with analysis and synthesis that articulate a deeper understanding or relationship to the content being linked and written with potential audience response in mind. (Read blogging.)" (Richardson, 2010, pg. 31).  I also appreciated that this book included information from both NCEA and IRA standards.  It is important that both students and teachers have a collaborative understanding of what includes good writing and blogging.  This understanding, if explicitly taught, should aid students in substantive blogging.  However, I felt as though I were reading an article in an education journal, and I'm not sure that this is the most informative book that we can read on this topic based on chapters 1-3.

--Jocelyn

Richardson, W., (2010).  Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms, 3rd 
 edition. Thousand Oaks, CA:  SAGE