Out of all the readings and videos the topic that suck with
me the most and interested me was the topic focusing on using social networks
as a way to mobilize citizenship. I never really realized this. Now that is has
been pointed out I step back and I am able to recognize how I have witnessed
this more and more every day. This consists of using websites such as Facebook,
twitter, intagram to send the desired message. Citizens are able to use these
medias as a group and reinforce information of their choosing. An informal
alliance is built between common beliefs and the will of support.
This made me think back to the day of the recent bombing in
Boston. I woke up and checked my phone. Many condolences statuses were posted
on Facebook and a family friend of mine even shared a local Boston page that
was fundraising for the cause and locals. My instagram feed consisted of post
after post of “Pray For Boston”. These social networks were being used as a
mechanism for support and patriotism.
Henry Jenkin’s video inspired this focus the most. As said
before in previous posts I am a visual learner so this caught the majority of
my focus. He focuses on social networking and how young generations have the
potential to do things that matter because they are our teachers within this World
Wide Web. They typically introduce us to these new medias and then we learn the
ins and out of them to keep up. I discussed the usage of social networks
mobilizing citizenship. Schools that are children go to are blocking these
websites because they are deemed to be useless. I don’t agree with this. Within
my student teaching experience I actually used social networking as much as
possible as a tool to interest and relate to my students. I assigned research
papers discussing current news topics among their generation and ask them to
pick topics out of their facebook feeds. Or when reading literature I have
asked students make a “FAKEBOOK” of a chosen character of their choosing.
As stated in Networked
Publics by Varnelis networking is part of everyday life. The internet is transforming our sense of proximity
and distance so we are able to stay in communication with people, states,
countries that are in the real world, far away from us. Key issues discussed
are within children being able to decipher and balance all the information
across all of the medias. (Jenkins pg.47) I don’t see this as a problem. I see
it as a tool, an ability that needs to be developed. You use all of these
medias to gain additional knowledge and then you combine your information to
make your own opinions or to produce a response to the concept which is all
generated by the combination of all the supplied information. I don’t foresee
this as a problem because in my educational experience I was encouraged in
school to use different medias with assignments. For example, when assigned a
paper my teacher would tell me that I was required to use four resources for my
paper, three which could be of my choosing, one being the focused course text
and one of my choices must be another book. Schools are encouraging this more
and more. Students need to balance these diverse medias and learn how to
combine all the information to produce. ”Educators need to create new activities
when new technologies are introduced into the classroom.” (Jenkins pg.39) I do
agree with this, but let’s do this where we know we will be guaranteed success.
We know social networking interests our students and they relate to it. So
instead of ruling it out, let’s utilize it.
“…blocking these websites because they are deemed to be useless. I don’t agree with this.” I agree with you. Sometimes a student in my class will not understand some concept and I know there’s a video on youtube that might help them, but youtube is block in my school so I cannot use it. It is sometimes frustrating because I understand that students may not always make the best decisions while online but that should not be the reason to limit my resources as a teacher.
ReplyDeleteCourtney,
ReplyDeleteI disagree with the practice of blocking websites also. The school I taught at did not block sites, we emphasized responsible use with the students and the parents. Students were always supervised and computers were positioned so that teachers could have clear view of what the students were doing on classroom computers. In the lab, roving supervision and regular history checking proved sufficient. One day a former student shared with me that he and some classmates had figured a way to access the blocked sites on the computers in the high school. I am sure this has happened in other schools as well. Blocking sites isn't always the answer.
I like your FAKEBOOK idea. My youngest son's Social Studies teacher had his class create faux Facebook pages for various individuals when they studied in the World Wars.
Courtney,
ReplyDeleteI think you are right on target: "We know social networking interests our students and they relate to it. So instead of ruling it out, let's utilize it." Exactly. Engagement is key, and when we and/or our students are engaged, we/they are fired up to particate and learn.
Carlos and Sharlene,
I think Sharlene's school had the right tact by emphasizing "responsible use with the students and the parents" with student use being supervised and history checked. How else will students learn how to act responsibly within a set of guidelines if they are not given the guidance and opportunity to do so?
Julie DeBold