Benefits of Social Networking and Second Life

Everyone is very familiar with the online social spaces of Facebook and MySpace…they are like second nature, especially to students of younger and younger generations. So, how can social networking become a benefit to the field of education? Simple. Social networking presents an opportunity where students can interactive with each other and express their interests. Through social networking, students can take control of their learning through the interactions they make and they can strengthen their connections to other students who share similar interests. Social networking allows for students all over to exchange vital academic information, and they can build online communities at an academic level. When integrating social networking in the classroom, the instructor takes on the responsibility of aiding students in building their networks, showing them things like how to communicate effectively and incorporate their learning and research in their networking pages.

Second Life (SL), to sum it up, is pretty much an online virtual world. Though some might associate it with leisure and entertainment, this online world can be used in education in a number of ways. For educators, SL can act as a network, connecting educators with each other and exchanging information, whether it is about the classrooms in which they teach or how to use SL effectively in their curricula. SL acts in the same manner for students, where students can interact with each other, and together both teachers and students can learn to build active educational communities. However, teachers using SL should thoroughly consider how virtual reality is going to be integrated in their pedagogy and realize that building truly effective learning environments virtually will take some time to build.

Backing up to social networking again, here are some sites that are worthy of exploring:

ResearchGATE: a social networking site for those in scientific fields to collaborate with others and share various reseach-based knowledge

Ryze Business Networking: for those in business; a great place to network and make business contacts

ISTE Community: this network is ideal for those interested in educational technology, like myself

Ning: this is a social networking site where one can create his or her network for just about anything; it is ideal for educators wanting to look into integrating social networking in the classroom—very simple to use and effective in communicating with others

What Web 2.0 tools would I use in the classroom?

In browsing some of the Web 2.0 apps on the site, Go2Web20.net, I have discovered there are a number of these crafty things that can be incorporated into classroom learning. But why incorporate them anyway? Well, one of the biggest reasons yet again is that students can be engaged in their learning and collaborate with each other in their studies. Through Web 2.0 tools, students can easily upload their work, presentations, writing, images…and these tools act as a vehicle for students to develop both academic and technical skills, while publishing their work to either a broad audience or just their classmates for any kind of feedback, from tips to encouragement.

It was hard to just pick a few Web 2.0 apps that would be useful in the classroom. While I browsed, I tried to find those apps that were either free for students to use, or those apps that were low in cost. One of the apps that I came across that I thought might be useful in the classroom is the site, Edmodo.com. Edmodo.com is a private place where teachers and students can interact, distributing and turning in assignments, sharing notes, and sending files and links to each other. Teachers can communicate with their students online, sharing important alerts, i.e. what assignment is due, and students can blog and interact with each other regarding classwork.

The other app I would choose to incorporate, although not as interactive as students blogging or communicating with each other, does allow for teachers, students, and their parents to keep track of student learning and progress. Engrade.com is a site that is pretty much like an online gradebook. Engrade.com allows for teachers to manage their classrooms, while providing access to grades for given assignments, notification of upcoming homework as well as attendance. Parents who are concerned about their children’s grades can log on to check the progress of their child online, and they have 24-hour access to classroom information. It’s a great tool for all involved in student learning to use.

These two Web 2.0 apps I would choose to incorporate in the classroom are really just a small selection in comparison to the unlimited selection of apps to use online. My suggestion is to start with Go2Web20.net and browse what is available out there for teachers to use in their classrooms.