Why Schools Should Allow Social Networking…

With my current job, I do a lot of visits and outreach to high schools throughout the state of West Virginia and beyond. One issue I encounter frequently is the inability for students to use Facebook or Twitter while at school. I’m going to side with the students on this one. The ways and means we are using to teach our students have not adapted to how students teach each other and learn. It comes down to changing with the times.

I found this in my research, “Educators should stop thinking about how to repress the huge amounts of intellectual and social energy kids devote to social media and start thinking about how to channel that energy away from causing trouble and toward getting more out of their classes. After all, it’s not as if most kids are investing commensurate energy into, say, their math homework. Why not try to start bridging the worlds of Facebook, YouTube, and the classroom (Bramble, 2009).” I wholeheartedly agree.

The article goes on to say, “How can teachers bring social networking into the classroom? For starters, students could talk about what they’re doing on Facebook and company, map out the ways they’re making connections with one another, and share videos and software they’ve created. Once the conversation gets going, teachers could figure out whether some kids were being left out and find ways to increase those students’ media literacy and bring them into the fold. Teachers can manage the project by selecting the best content and conversations, and incorporating it into other parts of the curriculum. If a student created an entry on Wikipedia for a local band or sports team, other students could work on revising the entry and building it into a larger local history project. The audience for school projects need no longer be one hurried teacher (Bramble, 2009).”

Education needs reform in the country badly, I wonder if social media can help lead the charge?