Comments on: Utilizing Social Networks in the School Setting http://www.rickscheibner.net/technology/utilizing-social-networks-in-the-school-setting/ Education -- Music -- Family -- Life Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:50:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: Jan http://www.rickscheibner.net/technology/utilizing-social-networks-in-the-school-setting/#comment-1874 Jan Wed, 01 Aug 2007 03:21:30 +0000 http://www.rickscheibner.net/2007/01/14/utilizing-social-networks-in-the-school-setting/#comment-1874 I've been thinking about this for awhile. My niece, in her first year at college in Iowa, knew her whole dorm before leaving Bellinham, for school. It was an enviable way to become acquainted with roomates and dormmates and made her college transition painless. However, no matter what I do or say as a school teacher, can't keep kids off My Space if working on individual computers while at school. Finding this frustrating? Yes! In the "best of all possible worlds" I too see the potential, for positive educational implications. Unfortunately, I don't live where conditions are optimum and kids won't succumb to the desire to misuse My Space. I'm afraid I have no other solution at this point but blocking it. I’ve been thinking about this for awhile. My niece, in her first year at college in Iowa, knew her whole dorm before leaving Bellinham, for school. It was an enviable way to become acquainted with roomates and dormmates and made her college transition painless.

However, no matter what I do or say as a school teacher, can’t keep kids off My Space if working on individual computers while at school. Finding this frustrating? Yes! In the “best of all possible worlds” I too see the potential, for positive educational implications. Unfortunately, I don’t live where conditions are optimum and kids won’t succumb to the desire to misuse My Space. I’m afraid I have no other solution at this point but blocking it.

]]> By: Todd http://www.rickscheibner.net/technology/utilizing-social-networks-in-the-school-setting/#comment-8 Todd Sun, 04 Feb 2007 22:29:49 +0000 http://www.rickscheibner.net/2007/01/14/utilizing-social-networks-in-the-school-setting/#comment-8 Elgg seems like it would work: http://elgg.org/ I've been thinking about these same things for a while now: http://www.toddseal.com/rodin/2006/09/bookspace/ You're right; we need to latch on to this. We risk becoming obsolete when schools remove themselves from the world our students live in. They use cell phones and AIM and MySpace and schools forbid those things. There's a way to use all of those in order to do our jobs even better than we were doing before, to sell our product (education) to our customers (students). Elgg is something that schools can install on their own servers and can set up passwords and all kinds of things to restrict who gets access to it and when. It would take a bit of work and expertise (which not every district has, mine included), but it could be done. Elgg seems like it would work:
http://elgg.org/

I’ve been thinking about these same things for a while now:
http://www.toddseal.com/rodin/2006/09/bookspace/

You’re right; we need to latch on to this. We risk becoming obsolete when schools remove themselves from the world our students live in. They use cell phones and AIM and MySpace and schools forbid those things. There’s a way to use all of those in order to do our jobs even better than we were doing before, to sell our product (education) to our customers (students).

Elgg is something that schools can install on their own servers and can set up passwords and all kinds of things to restrict who gets access to it and when. It would take a bit of work and expertise (which not every district has, mine included), but it could be done.

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