Is student blogging the new social disease?What do you consider a blog to be? A digital diary for today's generation? An electronic preying ground for pedophiles? A collaborative learning Collaborative learning is an umbrella term for a variety of approaches in education that involve joint intellectual effort by students or students and teachers. Collaborative learning refers to methodologies and environments in which learners engage in a common task in which each and writing tool? A haven for cyberbullying? A space where everyone can be their own content creator See content provider. ? An isolating factor keeping students from interacting with each other? The ultimate social network? The answer to all of these questions is "possibly." How administrators, teachers and students use and/or abuse these new social networking See social networking site. social networking - social network tools is a subject of current debate in the media and in school administrative offices. Advancing Networks Don't feel like you're the only person confused by the literal explosion of blogs and other electronic tools that allow today's students to communicate and collaborate in ways previously unheard of Not heard of; of which there are no tidings. Unknown to fame; obscure. - Glanvill. See also: Unheard Unheard by those of us over 25. As with most current Internet resources, it took quite a few years before the general population could catch up to the new tools and network access. Students now have gone well beyond the features that e-mail provides to us as a communications device Typically refers to a terminal used to send voice, video or text. Mobile phones, wireless PDAs and personal computers equipped with microphones, speakers and cameras are all considered communications devices. See modem. . One-to-one, it's much slower than instant messaging Exchanging text messages in real time between two or more people logged into a particular instant messaging (IM) service. Instant messaging is more interactive than e-mail because messages are sent immediately, whereas e-mail messages can be queued up in a mail server for seconds or and not as instantly gratifying grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. . Even using groups in an e-mail setting is not as satisfying as simply posting ideas in an electronic area accessible by anyone at any time--the basic concept behind blogs. These new social networks include traditional blog sites but go beyond those to include more comprehensive features such as multimedia content (photos, sound and even video or animations) and "tagging" (giving users marks based on personality and attitude that make searching for characteristics of individuals easy). These Internet sites play a much different role in students' lives than collaborative tools such as instant messaging, chat rooms and interactive bulletin boards. Social networks by their nature are more static and provide a one-way look into any information the student has chosen to post. Real-time conversation is generally not supported as in collaborative tools. Infinite Options What role should schools play in the use of these social networks by students? First, don't be lulled into thinking that there are only a limited number of these social networking sites A Web site that provides a virtual community for people interested in a particular subject or just to "hang out" together. Members create their own online "profile" with biographical data, pictures, likes, dislikes and any other information they choose to post. . The typical sites you read or hear about such as MySpace, Xanga and Facebook are only the tip of the iceberg tip of the iceberg n. pl. tips of the iceberg A small evident part or aspect of something largely hidden: afraid that these few reported cases of the disease might only be the tip of the iceberg. . Keep in mind we're talking about the Internet here, which means the number of these sites actually approaches infinity with each passing day. Most content filtering See Web filtering and parental control software. services used by schools today prohibit access to these commercial sites, so student use is usually outside of the school day and the school setting. Second, teachers should be aware of the inherent benefits and dangers in using blogs and similar social network tools. While we encourage students to write more to become better writers--and this electronic medium is engaging for many--what students share to an anonymous online audience is of importance to discuss. The dangers of sharing personal information in an online setting should not be minimized, yet should be balanced with recognition of the positive aspects of the use of these tools. Third, for teachers who want to use blogs or similar social network tools in the school setting to encourage student writing, the safest way to manage appropriate access and use is to host your own weblog software Weblog software (also called blog software or blogware) is a category of software which consists of a specialized form of content management systems specifically designed for creating and maintaining weblogs. . Open-source blog applications such as WordPress allow you to provide access to only registered users, moderate the conversation and keep anonymous users from invading the learning space. A Reasonable Route Fourth, remember that the best use of Internet resources always has occurred when our students have been given clear expectations as to the outcome of their use of these resources. This means that students have a good understanding of how the tools work, when it is appropriate and inappropriate and when access to the tools is allowed in a school setting. As school leaders, our prerogative is to decide when and how these tools can be used to enhance the learning of our students and then find ways to provide appropriate access in the school setting. Resources These are the website addresses for references in columns and other links on Internet safety suggested by Jim Hirsch for use by educators: * "Strength of Internet Ties" report- www.pewintemet.org/PPF/r/172/report_display.asp * WordPress (Weblog software)--wordpress.org * Blogger--blogger.com * BlogSource--blogsource.com * Discussion of "blog"--en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog * Safety tips on MySpace--www.myspace.com/misc/tipsForParents.html Jim Hirsch is associate superintendent of technology in the Plano Independent School District Plano Independent School District (PISD or Plano ISD) is a public school district in Plano, Texas (USA). Plano ISD also takes students from some areas of Dallas, Richardson, Allen, Murphy, and Parker. [1] Led by Superintendent of Schools Dr. , 2700 W. 15th St., Plano, TX 75075. E-mail: jhirsch@pisd.edu |
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